Cartoon a Day: Tom and Jerry in the Hollywood Bowl

Tom and Jerry in the Hollywood Bowl

1950

Directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera

Available on: Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection

We've talked before about how there are certain scenarios that most major cartoon characters seem to cover at some point in their career. Don't wake the sleeping neighbor is one of them. The bullfight is another popular one. And then, of course, there is the conducting an orchestra bit, which leads us to "Tom and Jerry in the Hollywood Bowl."

Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse have both conducted orchestras, so why not the cat and mouse? They are actually somewhat better suited for the job than some other characters. One of the keys to this type of cartoon is the timing of the gags to the music. Tom and Jerry cartoons depended on excellent timing in this way all the time. Since there was rarely much dialogue to deal with, a strong music track was essential.

It is a bit strange to see Tom and Jerry step out of their normal roles. I mean, Bugs or Mickey can pretty much step into any role, but you don't expect Tom to suddenly be the featured conductor at the Hollywood Bowl. Still, it works here and you actually end up sympathizing with Tom for once as Jerry is really the one causing the problems in this short.