Tom and Jerry: The Complete CinemaScope Collection (Blu-ray Review)

• Reviewed by: Tim Salmons
• Review Date: Feb 21, 2025
• Format: Blu-ray Disc
• 

Director

William Hanna, Joseph Barbera

Release Date(s)

1954-1958 (February 11, 2025)

Studio(s)

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (Warner Archive Collection)

• Film/Program Grade: B+
• Video Grade: A-
• Audio Grade: A-
• Extras Grade: B-

Review

The last few years of the Tom and Jerry theatrical animated shorts before production ceased were bittersweet in many ways, mostly because television had more or less decimated the kinds of entertainment you could still make a profit on in theaters. Cartoons had begun making their way to TV, and outside of an occasional full length animated film, particularly from Disney, there wasn’t much of a place left for the animated misadventures of Tom and Jerry. They would later be brought to television, as well, and revived through different animated production entities, but there was nothing quite like the original run at the hands of William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, mostly under the producorial thumb of Fred Quimby at MGM.

In 1954, MGM, taking a cue from 20th Century Fox, decided to produce a series of Tom and Jerry shorts in the newly-minted widescreen format CinemaScope, which was mostly being used for live action feature films. Twenty-three were produced altogether from 1954 to 1958, with a couple of CinemaScope shorts produced with the characters Spike and Tyke, as well as a Disney-esque cautionary Christmas tale about the life of animals, particularly mice, after the end of the world at the hands of humans. Ultimately, it was the last gasp since MGM shut Hanna and Barbera down in 1957, with the final theatrical short, Tot Watchers, debuting the following year.

In complete honesty, there’s nothing particularly groundbreaking about seeing Tom and Jerry in widescreen. The same great characters, comedy, and animation are maintained, but now with a larger canvas on which to present them. Many who grew up watching these shorts on TV have likely only ever seen them full screen, which excises much of the intended picture on the left and right sides of the frame. In their proper aspect ratio, sword fights between Tom, Jerry, and Nibbles (or Tuffy) in Touché, Pussy Cat! are spaced much further apart, while Tom’s feline rival Butch’s extended convertible in Blue Cat Blues stretches from one end of the screen to the next. We also see more of the environments surrounding Tom and Jerry, both inside and outside, but most of these shorts could have worked just fine in full screen had been produced that way.

Nevertheless, the fact that MGM chose to produce and release Tom and Jerry shorts in CinemaScope at all gives us a different angle on where this beloved series was at when it came to its initial close. Hanna and Barbera were beginning to run out of ideas and repeating themselves more noticeably, but at the same time, there are some gems to be gleaned from this era. Touché, Pussy Cat!, That’s My Mommy, The Egg and Jerry, and Happy Go Ducky in particular are all genuinely wonderful, and classics in their own right. Like any animated collection, not all of these shorts are top tier Tom and Jerry, but they’re far better than many would lead you to believe.

All of the Tom and Jerry shorts (and the bonus shorts) presented here were animated and shot on 35mm film using traditional cel animation with CinemaScope lenses, finished photochemically, and presented in the aspect ratio of 2.35:1. (It’s worth noting that the first four were also shot for standard 1.37:1, which was abandoned.) All twenty-six shorts, are presented here on a dual-layered BD-50 Blu-ray disc. The masters for these shorts were inherited by the Warner Archive Collection and it’s not 100% clear when the original scans took place, but it’s anywhere in the ballpark of 5 to 15 years prior. However, the scanning was done at a high enough quality that they still hold up years later. Warner Archive has gone the extra mile and performed additional clean-up and color correction, maintaining the integrity of the original scans. The vast majority retain their natural, filmic look with obvious grain and fine detail, though there are exceptions. In particular, Muscle Beach Tom and Tot Watchers appear a little too cleaned up, which was obviously carried out prior to Warner Archive’s involvement and, therefore, inherent to the original masters. Bitrates sit between 30 and 40Mbps with only minor speckling, as well as mild telecine wobble. The latter is a little more obvious in some shorts more than others, but noticeable during opening and closing titles. Beautiful color and line detail is on display, with most of the inherent visual flaws that come with cel animation left intact. Overall, this is one of the best batch of animated shorts yet released through Warner Archive in terms of consistency.

Audio is included in English 2.0 stereo and mono DTS-HD Master Audio with optional subtitles in English SDH. The first three shorts are presented with what appears to be their original Perspecta Stereo theatrical soundtracks, while the rest are presented in mono. It’s unclear whether the rest were also presented in stereo, or if the sound elements were damaged or missing altogether. Either way, the mono offers plenty of support for the various elements, while the stereo tracks are wide with obvious panning and ambient touches. It’s also worth mentioning that missing dialogue in Touché, Pussy Cat! and missing sound effects in Blue Cat Blues in previous presentations have been addressed. There are some minor hiss and volume fluctuations between some of the shorts, but everything is otherwise clean with good fidelity.

The Blu-ray release of Tom and Jerry: The Complete CinemaScope Collection sits in a blue Amaray case with newly-produced artwork based upon the 1955 Tom and Jerry MGM CinemaScope theatrical announcement poster. The following shorts are included (in their original release order):

1. Pet Peeve (1954) (6:26)
2. Touché, Pussy Cat! (1954) (6:43)
3. Southbound Duckling (1955) (6:16)
4. Pup on a Picnic (1955) (6:56)
5. Tom and Chérie (1955) (6:46)
6. That’s My Mommy (1955) (6:05)
7. The Flying Sorceress (1956) (6:37)
8. The Egg and Jerry (1956) (7:39)
9. Busy Buddies (1956) (6:17)
10. Muscle Beach Tom (1956) (6:42)
11. Down Beat Bear (1956) (6:26)
12. Blue Cat Blues (1956) (6:48)
13. Barbecue Brawl (1956) (6:44)
14. Tops with Pops (1957) (7:34)
15. Timid Tabby (1957) (6:55)
16. Feedin’ the Kiddie (1957) (7:19)
17. Mucho Mouse (1957) (7:06)
18. Tom’s Photo Finish (1957) (6:19)
19. Happy Go Ducky (1958) (6:12)
20. Royal Cat Nap (1958) (6:40)
21. The Vanishing Duck (1958) (7:08)
22. Robin Hoodwinked (1958) (6:23)
23. Tot Watchers (1958) (6:37)

• Bonus Shorts:
  • Good Will to Men (1955) (8:29)
  • Give and Tyke (1957) (6:38)
  • Scat Cats (1957) (6:29)

As you can see, those aforementioned additional shorts with Spike and Tyke, as well as the Christmas short, have been included as extras. They’ve also been given the same amount of restorative care. Unfortunately, there are no extras detailing the history of CinemaScope and/or the animated shorts produced in this format. However, the whole ballgame here is having all twenty-six of these shorts together in one package and in excellent quality. As this is the 85th anniversary of this franchise, let’s hope that more Tom and Jerry animated goodness is in store.

- Tim Salmons

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