Tom and Jerry 70th Anniversary

The two names synonymous with cartoons, for as long as one can remember, have turned 70 this year. And far from running out of anyone’s mind, the parents of its current target audience remember it as the one show that they would watch along with their kids.

“That’s what we would connect over. I don’t remember having a problem with my kids watching Tom and Jerry, because it was mostly humor,”

The never-ending fight between the house cat Tom and the mouse, Jerry, has been a comic trademark for multiple generations reaching beyond language and nationality.

The animation teamwork of William Hanna and Joseph Barbera gave to us the never ending cartoon rivalry of Tom and Jerry. The first animated short entitled "Puss get the boot" debuted for Metro-Goldwyn -Mayer on February 10th, 1940. [I have included the cartoon here for your enjoyment] Hanna and Barbera went on to create more than one hundred cartoons from 1940-1959 winning seven academy awards for their work.

Even though various producers carried forward their story in varying styles of animation, it was best remembered for those produced by Fred Quimby. The slapstick animated short stories of Tom and Jerry were created by William Hannah and Joseph Barbera in 1940. Produced by Fred Quimby, TJ took many forms including the latest one, which instead of the silent comedy of errors take, has conversations. The others include a feature film called Tom and Jerry. The Movie in 1992, a TV series, direct to home videos and television specials.

“I don’t like the fact that Tom and Jerry talk to each other. Their silent adventures were more fun.”