What in the world became of Tom and Jerry?

[D'Snowth]

Okay... so I was browsing through Goodwill today, simply because every once in a while, I'll find a treasure there of some sort, almost always along the Muppety line (like a terrific Christmas Kermit plushie, and some really old SST storybooks and such), and while I was looking through old VHSs today (I saw the original 1987 Random House re-release of CEOSST), something caught my eye that had me so confused, Ican't help but wonder... was this for real? The box said something along the lines of the Best of Tom and Jerry, or the Ultimate Tom and Jerry Collection, or something like that, and the back of the box even said Tom and Jerry were one of the most popular and beloved cartoon duos of all time... but I was NOT met with a gray tom cat, and a brown little mouse... instead, I was met with... well, I'm not even sure WHAT they were... I couldn't tell if they were a couple of badly drawn clowns, or poorly drawn monkeys, or even crudely drawn blackface performers... all I know is... something happened with Tom and Jerry, and I have no idea what... WHAT?!!

 

[Drtooth]

Is this the description you're talking about? A cartoon duo like Mutt and Jeff that predated the HB MGM cartoon by a decade?

You see, the problem lies in the fact that Tom and Jerry is basically a pun on a mixed cocktail that consists of Eggnog and rum (we just call it alcoholic eggnog now). This drink had been around a while yet, dating back to the 1800's. So naturally, it was only a matter of time before 2 groups of cartoonists stumbled upon naming cartoon characters after this drink.

You think that's bad...

We Americans tend to think of this little kid when it come to Dennis the Menace.

But ask for him by name in the UK and you get this wild brat.

And the worst part is? They came out literally at the same time with no knowledge of the other.

 

[bazooka_beak]

Ah, those guys! I rented a cartoon DVD once that had a "Tom and Jerry" cartoon on it, and it was.... weird. I think there was some nudity or something. It was just bizarre.

 

[Sgt Floyd]

I picked up a DVD of those Tom and Jerry characters at the dollar store for...a dollar. It was just a collection of old cartoons that I thought would be cool to check out. They were weird. And honestly not very good

 

[Drtooth]

I picked up a DVD of those Tom and Jerry characters at the dollar store for...a dollar. It was just a collection of old cartoons that I thought would be cool to check out. They were weird. And honestly not very good

As an animation fan and wanna be critic who's seen just about everything in the world from just about every era... I have a special place in my hate for 1930's cartoons. Honestly, that was the Fleischer's best era and those cartoons were gold... but everyone else SUCKED in that era (conversely, with the exception of their Popeyes and Superman cartoons, a lot of their color stuff sucked. Gabby SUCKS! Betty Boop cartoons were fun, Gabby was just garbage). It was "HEY! we can do sound now!" at the first half, than everyone just copied (the then upcoming) Disney and Fleischer. 40's? that was a MARK improvement. Even the earliest Bugs Bunny cartoons with fat Elmer Fudd. Those were brilliant and a million times funnier than the old Porky's (Robin from Batman put it best in that cartoon network short, "Porky did his best work when he was a sidekick, and there's nothing wrong with that.").

And Blackface was NEVER funny! It was a passive aggressive whiny &*#$%y outlet for those who lost the Civil War and never got over it. They shoved it into cartoons because it was the fart joke of the day... classless, easy cheap laughs without sophistication. As offensive as bucktooth glassed Asians and all those other stereotypes were back then, Blackface came from a sinister immature anger. But even then, race jokes were easy. Of course, there were also the cases where they didn't realize they were being offensive. Coal Black for example... that was respectful... or as respectful as they came. And that was during WW2... what people don't realize it was a war propaganda cartoon all along. I still never managed to get through the entire thing.

 

[CensoredAlso]

And Blackface was NEVER funny! It was a passive aggressive whiny &*#$%y outlet for those who lost the Civil War and never got over it. They shoved it into cartoons because it was the fart joke of the day... classless, easy cheap laughs without sophistication.

I think you nailed it, it was lowest common denominator humor.

Of course, there were also the cases where they didn't realize they were being offensive.

I think you can say that for dialect comedians in Vaudeville. That wasn't so bad because everybody got made fun of, lol. Sort of like shows like South Park today where no one is spared. And it reflected the changing society with the wave of immigrants.

 

[Drtooth]

I think you can say that for dialect comedians in Vaudeville. That wasn't so bad because everybody got made fun of, lol. Sort of like shows like South Park today where no one is spared. And it reflected the changing society with the wave of immigrants.

The thing about South Park and Family Guy is that they go out of their way to be offensive, but in a clever (as far as Family Guy goes, sometimes clever), bitingly nasty way. But it isn't just race with these guys... religion, physical disabilities... that stuff's supposed to shock those who find them sacred cows that AREN'T of that religion and are able bodied and feel sorry for them. Plus, if either of these shows did blackface, we'd know it was ironic. We didn't have ironic humor until maybe the 90's. Where as the older cartoons, they were there because the laughs were easier back then. Even some of my favorite cartoons like Mighty Heroes had some cringeworthy moments.

But as I said before... if you want to see the most disgusting thing in the world, find these cartoons on YT and read the comments on them supporting the racial stereotypes. I looked up one of the T&J cartoons to post here, and read a disgusting comment that basically amounted to "be thankful we enslaved your ancestors otherwise you'd be hunting zebras" or something like it was a favor. There's no call for anyone to say that, unless they were Cartman and getting what he deserves later.

 

[CensoredAlso]

I looked up one of the T&J cartoons to post here, and read a disgusting comment that basically amounted to "be thankful we enslaved your ancestors otherwise you'd be hunting zebras" or something like it was a favor. There's no call for anyone to say that, unless they were Cartman and getting what he deserves later.

Yeah some people use the anonymity of the Internet to say nasty things. Others are just trolls who like to get reactions from people.

 

[Muppet fan 123]

Ah, those guys! I rented a cartoon DVD once that had a "Tom and Jerry" cartoon on it, and it was.... weird. I think there was some nudity or something. It was just bizarre.

 

[bazooka_beak]

And Blackface was NEVER funny! It was a passive aggressive whiny &*#$%y outlet for those who lost the Civil War and never got over it. They shoved it into cartoons because it was the fart joke of the day... classless, easy cheap laughs without sophistication.

I just watched the uncut version of "Pluto's Judgement Day" (I had only previously seen a clip via "Disney's Halloween Treat"), and... I was just thrown by the "Uncle Tom" skit. These three "blackface" kittens were dragging Uncle Tom's headstone around with them, and I just don't see how that's funny. I thought Disney was better than that. I wasn't around in the 30s, so I don't really know the deepness of the culture, but that still doesn't make it OK. What were they thinking?