Everyone loves trivia about their favorite animated features and series, but with over 100 years of animation history behind us right now, there’s always some new obscure fact to learn. That’s why ComicsAlliance is going deep into the minutiae of your favorite names in cartoons in this continuing video series. You think you know cartoons? Well, here’s a few things you might not know!

This week we're taking a look at cartoons' ultimate game of cat and mouse, Tom and Jerry! Tom and Jerry are two of animation's most famous characters, and the concept that turned Hanna-Barbera into a household name. This video runs through the history of the characters, from the unexpected source of the characters' names (and the other things that share them) to the animator who started out spoofing the cat and mouse duo but ended up directing them to the surprising cultural icons Tom and Jerry find themselves teaming up with these days.

Show notes:

  • For remastered versions of the earliest Tom and Jerry shorts, go here. (Warning: this collection features uncensored versions of the shorts, which means there are some insensitive racial caricatures included.)
  • If you would like even more Tom and Jerry, this six-disc collection features 115 shorts.
  • If you are a Chuck Jones connoisseur, you can get a complete collection of his 34 shorts here.
  • If for some reason you're more of a Gene Deitch fan, you can get all 13 of his shorts here.
  • Tom and Jerry: The Movie is available here.
  • The most recent direct-to-video Tom and Jerry film, Back to Oz, is available here.

Check out some installments of our other video series below, and let us know which cartoon series you think we should cover next in You Think You Know Cartoons?

 

 

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