Johann Mouse

Johann Mouse is a 1953 American one-reel animated cartoon and the 75th Tom and Jerry cartoon, released in theaters on March 21, 1953 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The short is directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, composed by Scott Bradley, and animated by Kenneth Muse, Ray Patterson, Ed Barge, and Irven Spence. It won the 1952 Academy Award for Best Short Subject: Cartoons, the seventh and last Oscar given to a Tom and Jerry short.[2]

Johann Mouse
Directed by
Story by
  • William Hanna
  • Joseph Barbera
Produced byFred Quimby
Narrated byHans Conried[1]
Music byScott Bradley
Inspired by:
Johann Strauss
Piano arrangement:
Jakob Gimpel[1]
Animation by
Layouts byRichard Bickenbach
Backgrounds byRobert Gentle
Color processTechnicolor
Production
company
Distributed byMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date
  • March 21, 1953 (1953-03-21)[2]
Running time
7:57
LanguageEnglish

Plot

In 19th century Vienna, Tom Cat and Johann Mouse played by Jerry Mouse live in the house of composer Johann Strauss. Whenever Strauss plays the piano, Johann comes out of his hole to dance to the music, and Tom will repeatedly try to catch him to no avail. One day, Strauss goes away on a journey, much to Tom's dismay. Tom realizes that the key to catching Johann would be through music, so he begins teaching himself how to play the piano using Strauss' written tutorial, "How to Play the Waltz in Six Easy Lessons." As Tom plays the piano, he is able to lure out and capture Johann, but his playing is immediately praised by the house servants, and so he lets go of Johann and happily continues his performance.

Tom's piano playing and Johann's dancing spread by word-of-mouth across Vienna, eventually reaching the Emperor of Austria. Tom and Johann are then commanded to perform at the palace before the emperor. Tom and Johann perform with vigor and delight at the palace, but Tom eventually succumbs to his instincts and tries to chase after Johann, only to fail once again and making the audience clap once again.

Production

As with every short of Tom and Jerry during its first two decades, Johann Mouse is directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, with its score composed by Scott Bradley. The piano arrangements for the short was created and played by Jakob Gimpel, a Polish-born concert pianist.[1] Within the Tom and Jerry series, Johann Mouse is unique for having a record album directly adapted from the short itself, released in May 1953[3] and with Bret Morrison substituting Hans Conried as narrator.[4]

Reception

Ben Simon of Animated Views praised Johann Mouse for its "extraordinarily exquisite watercolor production values", and noted that Hans Conried was "having fun as the narrator".[5] Writer and historian Michael Samerdyke considered the short to be "simply adorable", and observed that continues "Tom and Jerry's romance with classic music." Samerdyke also wrote that the short has "a lovely, bittersweet feel. The storybook narration and the darling action is all sweet, but beneath it all lies the awareness that the world of Strauss waltzes and their elegance is over."[2]

Joseph Barbera later considered Johann Mouse, alongside The Cat Concerto, to be his favorite Tom and Jerry cartoon.[6]

Home media

References
  1. "Tom and Jerry" (PDF). Johann Strauss Society of New York. 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 25, 2012.
  2. Samerdyke, Michael (August 28, 2014). "1953". Cartoon Carnival: A Critical Guide to the Best Cartoons from Warner Brothers, MGM, Walter Lantz and DePatie-Freleng. Lulu Press, Inc. ISBN 978-1-31-247007-1. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  3. "Johann Mouse (Two records)". The Billboard. The Billboard Publishing Company. May 23, 1953. p. 136. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  4. Ehrbar, Greg (April 8, 2014). "Tom & Jerry on Record". Cartoon Research. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  5. Simon, Ben (February 25, 2008). "Warner Bros. Academy Award Animation Collection: 15 Winners, 26 Nominees". Animated Views. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
  6. Korkis, Jim (August 15, 2014). "Animation Anecdotes #175". Cartoon Research. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  7. Tom & Jerry cartoon festival, featuring "Johann Mouse". OCLC 12572234. Retrieved October 13, 2020 – via WorldCat.
  8. Bowker's Complete Video Directory 2000: Volume 2. New Providence, New Jersey: R. R. Bowker. 2000. p. 1597. ISBN 9780835243094. Retrieved October 13, 2020. Video Released Oct. 1990...
  9. Beierle, Aaron (March 21, 2000). "Tom and Jerry's Greatest Chases". DVD Talk. DVDTalk.com. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  10. Miller III, Randy (October 20, 2004). "Tom and Jerry: Spotlight Collection". DVD Talk. DVDTalk.com. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  11. Rich, Jamie S. (June 20, 2010). "Tom & Jerry: Deluxe Anniversary Collection". DVD Talk. DVDTalk.com. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
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