DVD Reviews

Tom & Jerry: Deluxe Anniversary Collection – DVD Review

By Dana Rae Jul 9, 2010, 14:13 GMT

The world’s favorite cat and mouse celebrate 7 decades of mischief and mayhem in the Tom and Jerry 70th Anniversary Collection. ...more

Tom and Jerry, that unstoppable duo, has been rehashed many, many times since the original shorts. Get ready for another rehashing with this DVD 2-Disc release. The first disc contains the classics and Oscar winners and the second disc contains eight episodes ‘through the decades’ (meaning rehashed and redone) and two ‘excerpts’ from episodes. 

The second disc seems to be merely an after-thought of episodes. I watched this with my sons, ages 6 and 11, who are Tom and Jerry connoisseurs, and they did not like the second disc.

Mainly, this dislike was because Tom and Jerry has been redone so many times that if you truly like them, you want the originals. And that is what the first disc has on it.  

The episodes are not all-new, but the collection does feature an assorted plethora of shorts covering each decade since the duo’s creation.  The set begins with the short that started it all, the Oscar nominated Puss Gets the Boot. 

Puss Gets the Boot, and this short was the one that catapulted the then-unnamed Tom and Jerry to the stuff of legends but it also served to catapult the mutual efforts of another duo, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. 

The set features seven shorts that became Oscar winners for Best Short Subject, Cartoons. They include Yankee Doodle Mouse, Mouse Trouble, Quiet Please, The Cat Concerto, The Little Orphan, Johann Mouse and Two Mousketeers. For this reason, the collectors might want to pick this set up, as these are the greats of Tom and Jerry. 

Also included on the DVD is an excerpt from the 1945 live action film Anchors Aweigh, in which Jerry performs a dance routine with Gene Kelly. Another featured excerpt is from the 1953 musical film Dangerous When Wet, in which Tom and Jerry appear with Esther Williams in a dream sequence where they perform a synchronized swimming routine.
 
While merely a retelling of previous collaborations, this is a good look at evolution in reverse of the beloved pair. Anyone wanting to see the classics versus the modern Tom and Jerry will get their fill, but be warned, it’s a downhill slide. 

The true star of this collection that shines is, of course, the collection classic episodes. If a true T & J fan, just skip watching the second disc.

Visit the DVD database for more information.