The short-lived Gene Deitch era of Tom and Jerry cartoons, from 1961-1962, saw MGM enlist the Czechoslovakia-based Rembrandt Films to revive the franchise. Deitch spearheaded the creation of an unconventional batch of shorts that, though commercially successful in their time, have not enjoyed as much critical acclaim as others in the series.

Legendary animator Chuck Jones took over in the early 1960s, and while his work remains popular and a fixture on television, I personally thought he turned Tom and Jerry into clones of the other characters he worked on, so I always preferred the 1940s and 1950s versions of the characters.

Warner Home Video's new packaging of these cartoons provides an opportunity to reappraise the series and place it in proper context. Like many others, I am anxious for the long-delayed follow-up to the excellent Golden Collection Volume 1, which begins the chronological presentation of all Tom and Jerry shorts in their uncut, restored form, beginning with the revered Hanna-Barbera era, eventually taking us up to the Gene Deitch era.

Where do the Gene Deitch cartoons fit in? While I would rank them below the output of the 1940-1958 years, I find them a fun alternative to the Chuck Jones installments. In an insightful interview included on the disc as an extra, Deitch defends his legacy, explaining that MGM, which had shut down its own animation facilities, slashed the budget and outsourced the franchise to a group of animators who had literally never seen Tom and Jerry before. Even so, Deitch feels they did good work and were hitting their stride when MGM changed course and non-renewed the Rembrandt Films contract after the batch of 13.

The cartoons in this set are inconsistent, but filled with many interesting and, yes, funny moments. Fans criticized the rougher animation, the sparser backgrounds, and sound effects of the Deitch episodes in comparison to the higher-budgeted predecessors, but by the end of the DVD, you see significant improvement over the initial effort, 'Switchin' Kitten.' One of my favorites of the collection is the next-to-last entry, 'Buddies Thicker Than Water,' which has a hilarious ending where Jerry gets revenge on Tom, who betrays him after the mouse lets the freezing, hungry cat into the swank penthouse where he's staying.

Despite their reputation in some quarters, these toons do have their virtues and are absolutely worth checking out. Deitch explains in his interview it was a deliberate move to take Tom and Jerry out of their familiar settings and into different environments, and it is amusing seeing them in outer space, the Wild West, ancient Greece, and in a laboratory run by a mad scientist in a haunted castle. The varied settings make a nice change of pace, bringing new spins on the familiar chase formula. The fact that you see bizarre sights like Tom clinging to the exterior of a rocket ship while apparently having no problems breathing only adds to the offbeat appeal.


Working on a lower budget, the animators at Rembrandt weren't able to make films as sophisticated-looking as the earlier T&J efforts, but they injected their own creative elements into the shorts. The opening credits are often particularly clever. I like the 3-D effect of the titles in 'Mouse Into Space' and the literal title card inspired byHave Gun Will Travel in 'Tall in the Trap.' The Moby Dick parody 'Dicky Moe' is one of the more visually distinctive shorts on the set, featuring dark backgrounds suggesting gloomy skies at sea.

Perhaps the most fondly remembered Deitch short, 'Tom and Jerry Cartoon Kit,' is a clever postmodern take on the series. An unseen narrator deconstructs the content of the titular box, which gives its owner everything needed to make a Tom and Jerry cartoon. The kit contains Tom, Jerry, assorted weapons, a watermelon, and coffee and cigarettes (the narrator quickly notes those are for the cartoonist). There is some real minimalist design in this one, with many scenes featuring virtually no background to speak of, but it works because the concept is ahead of its time, and the droll tone helps make it a winner.

One frequent criticism of this run of Tom and Jerry puzzles me: that it is too violent. Too violent? These enemies were already committing animated mayhem for the better part of 20 years, and they weren't doing so with verbal bon mots. They were running all over the place doing wild things to each other and breaking stuff all along the way. The Deitch cartoons are no exception, nor should they be!

Another distinguishing feature of these 1961-1962 cartoons is Jerry seems less the scrappy underdog and more an antagonist on Tom's level. As a longtime rooter for Tom, I have my biases, but it's interesting how Jerry continually finds elaborate ways to get at his nemesis. On the other hand, I must admit Tom is not without his faults. In 'Buddies Thicker Than Water,' after Jerry rescues him from freezing weather and hunger by inviting him to share a swank penthouse, Tom betrays him to the human resident. More jarring is the opening to 'Mouse Into Space,' when Tom, apparently tired of burning all those calories chasing his prey, sticks a loaded pistol into Jerry's literal hole in the wall and fires it at his head!

Even as I wait for the remainder of the Golden Collection, I appreciate that Warner has done right by this lesser-known era of Tom and Jerry. The DVD collection offers a glimpse into one of the most unique portions of one of theatrical animation's most treasured legacies. Furthermore, two insightful documentaries (in addition to the fantastic interview with Deitch, Warner Home Video recycles a general history of the franchise, 'Much Ado About Tom and Jerry') give useful context.

Gene Deitch deserves credit for appearing on the DVD, being honest yet not defensive about this era, and his work on Tom and Jerry deserves a look, not merely for the significant historical value of this collection. Under difficult circumstances, including a limited budget, the veteran animator and his team created cartoons that offer a fascinating take on an oft-used formula. It's fun watching the progression in quality of the series on this set and, more importantly, seeing a couple of old favorites provide new laughs in unfamiliar situations.

Rick Brooks is the proprietor of Cultureshark, a blog in which he uses an often irreverent approach to express his reverence for the classics and the un-classics.