Matinee Mouse
Matinee Mouse is a 1966 Tom and Jerry compilation film short, featuring clips from several classic shorts and a pan-and-scan edition of the classic CinemaScope shorts from the Hanna-Barbara era. The story was supervised by Tom Ray, while William Hanna and Joseph Barbera received a special director's credit.
| Matinee Mouse | |
|---|---|
 Title card | |
| Directed by | Main: William Hanna Joseph Barbera Story Directed and Supervised by: Tom Ray Title director: Chuck Jones |
| Produced by | Chuck Jones Tom Ray Fred Quimby William Hanna Joseph Barbera |
| Story by | William Hanna Joseph Barbera |
| Starring | Mel Blanc William Hanna |
| Music by | Dean Elliott |
| Animation by | Archived Animation: Kenneth Muse Ed Barge Irven Spence Ray Patterson Lewis Marshall Al Grandmain (effects animation, uncredited) Original Animation: Ken Harris Don Towsley Grant Simmons Don Patterson (all uncredited) |
| Layouts by | Richard Bickenbach Ernie Nordli (both uncredited) |
| Backgrounds by | Robert Gentle Philip DeGuard (former uncredited) |
| Color process | Metrocolor |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Release date | July 14, 1966 |
Running time | 6:07 |
| Language | English |
Plot
Tom chases Jerry all over the house (clips from Love That Pup, The Flying Cat, Professor Tom, and The Missing Mouse) until Jerry gets back at Tom by beating him up to a pulp in the closet and throwing him out (which was a clip from Jerry and the Lion). Tom begs for mercy as they both call a truce with white flags, both become even and started to walk happily along down the street, they stop by the local cinema, where they both notice a poster advertising their cartoons (implying that Tom and Jerry have occupations as actors). The man who was standing by the wall noticed this cat and mouse. He looks up at the poster, then shrugs.
They walk in to watch the feature (clips from Love That Pup, Jerry's Diary, The Flying Sorceress, and The Truce Hurts), but every time they get thwarted or attacked in the movie, they always begin laughing, but can't stop and then start beating up each other. Mild annoyance soon turns to violence in the seats, where Tom and Jerry continually slam the seats on each other. Eventually, Jerry tears apart his flag (with Tom following suit) before hitting Tom with a xylophone mallet. The movie keeps the characters fighting until the characters in the fighting clip in 1948's The Truce Hurts stops as the onscreen characters (Tom, Jerry, and Spike the bulldog) pause their fight to watch Tom and Jerry in the audience fighting out in the seats and then the short ends.
Crew
- Animation: Irven Spence, Ed Barge, Kenneth Muse, Ray Patterson & Lewis Marshall
- Effects Animation: Al Grandmain
- New Animation: Ken Harris, Don Towsley, Grant Simmons & Don Patterson
- Layouts: Dick Bickenbach
- Backgrounds: Robert Gentle
- Written & Directed by William Hanna & Joseph Barbera
- Music: Dean Elliott
- Additional Layouts: Ernie Nordli
- Additional Backgrounds: Philip DeGuard
- Sound Editing: Lovell Norman
- Produced by Fred Quimby, William Hanna, Joseph Barbera, Tom Ray & Chuck Jones
- Story Directed and Supervised by: Tom Ray
Production notes
Matinee Mouse is the only Sib Tower 12 Tom and Jerry short that features Spike and Droopy.
In Matinee Mouse (and another compilation film, Shutter Bugged Cat), Tom and Jerry are animated using their original designs rather than the designs from the Chuck Jones shorts. However, due to differences in color processing and animation, the changes between Hanna/Barbera footage and Tom Ray footage are not entirely seamless.