The Zoot Cat (1944)

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

"The Zoot Cat" is another American Tom and Jerry cartoon and this one here is from 1944, later years of WWII, so it will have its 75th anniversary soon. These 7 minutes are probably neither among the most known these these two have to offer nor among the least known, somewhere in-between. It is perhaps their most fashion focused work as the title already gives away and it is not just Tom who is in a zoot here, but Jerry too as we find out at the very end. This ending was certainly among the better moments (next to the burning-paw scene) of an otherwise really forgettable cartoon that suffered from an unlikable female cat taking away too much screen time from Jerry especially. It was not bad or anything, but not very funny either. Plus I don't like these a lot where Tom is talking and he is talking a lot here. Overall, I give this one a thumbs-down and it's really only worth seeing for T&J completionists. Everybody else can skip it.

This is not the best of the Tom and Jerry cartoons, but it is very funny. I thought the animation was very nice for its time, it is one of the better-looking early Tom and Jerry cartoons. I thought the music was outstanding, I know I keep mentioning the music in everything I review but the music is always something I like to talk about. Here it was fun and rousing. I thought the dialogue was hilarious, maybe some of the cool hip language used here is a tad dated but it was funny and worked reasonably well. The female cat's dialogue was enough to have me on the floor doubled up from laughing, it was just so witty and fresh. I thought the story was effective, simple yet effective. I thought the visual gags were a delight, there were enough to delight any Tom and Jerry fan. I thought the characters were well done, Tom sometimes talks a little too much, but he is fine, and Jerry is still his sweet and rascally self. Plus the female cat was a welcome addition. Overall, enjoyable. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Tom is trying to impress a female cat by grooming his whiskers, offering Jerry as a gift and trying his damnedest to be smooth. But it doesn't work and the girl tells him to take a hike.Not discouraged, Tom fabricates a sophisticated-looking suit out of an old hammock and tries once more. This time she falls for him and they start to play around. Obviously Jerry is going to ruin it for him and end up with the gal himself.What's weird about this cartoon is that Tom and Jerry actually talk, which is not something I thought they ever did until that awful movie in 1992. Either way, it's still a rather funny short.

Tom the cat tries to impress a girl cat by giving her Jerry the mouse and singing her a song. But she rebukes him for being to square. So he makes a makeshift home-made zoot suit and continues to woo her. This is one of the few shorts where Tom and to a little extent Jerry both talk. Whereas most Tom and Jerry cartoons are timeless, this one is dated and not as funny as normally. One of my less favorite shorts, it's still watchable though. This cartoon can be found on disc one of the Spotlight collection DVD of "Tom & Jerry" My Grade: C DVD Extras: Commentary by historian Jerry Beck where he talks about the animator, voice actress and the songs amongst other things.