Cartoon a Day: Quiet Please

Quiet Please
1945
Directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera
Available on: Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection Vol. 1

This Tom and Jerry short has a premise that is a common cartoon scenario. There is a character who desperately wants some sleep, Spike the Dog in this case. The tired character tells another character that if he (Tom this time around) makes just one sound he's dead meat, which leads a third character (Jerry) to try and make as much noise as possible.

So, not a terribly original concept, but it is one that is consistently funny in most of the cartoons it's used in. This cartoon does have several funny sequences, the light bulb scene is a standout. But, like most Tom and Jerry cartoons, many of the things these characters do to each other look extremely painful, once again the light bulb scene is a standout.



There is some great animation display. About my only complaint from an artistic standpoint is that there isn't enough contrast in the background colors and the colors of the three main characters. That's nitpicking though, after all, this film did win an Oscar.