Tom and Jerry's Greatest Chases Vol. 3 (2009)

3 1/2 Stars (out of 4)

Mouse in the House

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Previously, Warner Home Video has released a few deluxe "Tom and Jerry" DVD sets aimed at collectors, but the collectors have rejected them, irritated that the cartoons are edited and censored. So these single-disc sets, aimed more at kids, are probably the better deal for casual fans. In the golden age of cartoons, MGM had an animation studio as impressive as Warner Bros. or Walt Disney's, but it took them a while to establish any enduring characters that could do repeat business. Joseph Barbera and William Hanna came up with Tom and Jerry, and they were a hit. Conducted with no dialogue and with endless variations on the chase theme, they eventually won seven Oscars and a handful of other nominations for Best Animated Short. Though Hanna and Barbera would eventually come to be known for cheap, made-for-TV cartoons like "The Flintstones" and "Scooby-Doo," the Tom and Jerry cartoons contain rich, fluid movements, and unusually rich backdrops. The third volume of kid-friendly Tom and Jerry cartoons comes with the last of the seven Oscar winners, The Two Mousketeers (1951); Volume One came with four, and Volume Two came with two more. It also comes with two Oscar nominees, the lovely The Night Before Christmas (1941) and the widescreen Touché, Pussy Cat! (1954). The very clever Designs on Jerry (1955) involves Tom designing a huge, complex mousetrap and takes place mostly as the characters on the blueprints come to life. And the widescreen The Flying Sorceress (1956) is notable for the great voiceover actress June Foray revising her famous "witch" character. Overall, this set is recommended, but less essential than the first two sets. The other 9 cartoons are: The Bowling Alley-Cat (1942), Fine Feathered Friend (1942), Puttin' on the Dog (1944), Cat Napping (1951), The Flying Cat (1952), Smitten Kitten (1952), Baby Butch (1954), Pecos Pest (1955) and Blue Cat Blues (1956).

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