Rusty-34

I simply don't know HOW Gene Deitch was able to come up with award winning cartoons, especially after watching his "Tom and Jerry" dreck. You cannot blame MGM when they decided to switch to Chuck Jones and Abe Lebtivow afterward.

This obsessed captain is almost pure evil, or at least that's what he depicts. He forces Tom to work on his ship when he tries to retrieve the whale. He keeps going "Dicky Moe" in this angrily, demonic voice that makes you wonder how much of a cold-hearted demon this person really is. This goes with the majority of all the human characters in Deitch's shorts, they are utterly downright cold, you wouldn't want to be near them! In the Hanna Barbara cartoons, at least the human characters had a REASON to be mad at Tom when he was destructive.

If you want to get into Tom and Jerry, PLEASE STAY AWAY FROM THE GENE DEITCH ERA, maybe with the exception of the "Tom and Jerry Cartoon Kit."

I have to admit, I am not too crazy about the Gene Deitch T&J shorts. They're not as funny and somewhat disturbing. It's more watchable than some of the other Deitch-directed T&J cartoons, but it contains the usual elements; the nightmarish synthesized sound effects. At least the steel drum-playing cat that seduces Tom's crush is not that disturbing than some of the other characters.

It's better than most of the other Deitch T&J cartoons (some could really give you nightmares) but not a good T&J short overall.

I am never too fond of the Gene Deitch Tom and Jerry shorts. Some of them really feel like you're going through one heck of a nightmare. The scenics are not as good as the Hanna-Barbara cartoons, and the human characters...they're terribly one-dimensional and usually very cold and terrifying to be near. Some of them are downright creepy.

This certain one didn't give me the creeps fully, but it also wasn't that funny. Those human characters (the Sheriff and the Cheese Store owner) were no laughing matter, and were more like monsters of pure evil. William Hanna and Joseph Barbara did this MUCH better. They are disturbing and nightmarish. Now sure the Hanna Barbara-era had it's share of this, such as the Hell scenes in "Heavenly Puss," and the "Don't you believe it!" phrase in "The Missing Mouse," although they weren't used as frequently as the way Deitch did. These cartoons are disturbing often all the way through.

If you want go get started on Tom and Jerry, start with the original MGM Hanna-Barbara theatrical shorts; the way T&J were meant to be seen. The Chuck Jones and company team are also worth a view, IMHO.