Dicky Moe is a 1962 Tom and Jerry cartoon. It was the eighth of thirteen cartoons by director Gene Deitch. The title is a play of Moby Dick.
Plot[]
In a 19th century fishing harbor, the captain of the Komquot is terribly obsessed with catching the great white whale Dicky Moe. His obsession unnerves his crew so badly that they all desert the ship. Shortly afterward, the captain finds Tom searching for food in the harbor, knocks him out, and takes him aboard. Tom believes at first that he is going on a cruise, but the captain soon puts him to work scrubbing the deck. As Tom works, he sees Jerry set up a beach chair outside his hole. He grabs Jerry and scrubs away all of his color, Oh no! Leaving the mouse visible only as a black outline where his color should be. But don't worry, Jerry returns to his hole to get his brown color back, switches Tom's water bucket for one filled with tar, and tricks him into scrubbing with it. Tom chases Jerry across the deck, only to get the entire bucket of tar dumped on him from head to toe; he briefly poses as the captain's shadow to avoid being spotted, then gets wiped clean when the captain throws a door open, smashing him into the wall. Next, Tom spots Jerry lounging in the rigging and tries to shake him loose by undoing the knots. One of the heavy blocks swings loose and knocks Tom into a barrel of harpoons, leaving his nose stuck in one of them as the captain grabs it and throws for target practice. At that moment, Jerry tricks Tom into stabbing his own tail with the harpoon and dropping an anvil on his own head, which sends Tom crashing through the ship's hull and into the ocean. With the help of a rope thrown by Jerry, Tom climbs aboard as the captain sights Dicky Moe and fires a harpoon gun. Tom realizes too late that he is holding the free end of the harpoon's rope, and he is yanked off the ship. As the whale swims off, with Tom tied to him by the rope, the captain yells for Tom to come back, while Jerry settles down with a book and pities Tom.
Characters[]
Starring[]
Featuring[]
Censorship[]
- Due to the short's language being considered sexually-related, including the whale’s name Dicky Moe, this short has rarely aired on Cartoon Network. As of 2018, Boomerang started airing this short more often. It also airs on MeTV.
- This short is based on the story Moby Dick, as it is infamous for containing sexual references. These references were censored in some prints.
Notes[]
- This short is prominently featured on a Disc 1 menu screen in Tom and Jerry: The Deluxe Anniversary Collection, although the short itself is nowhere on the set.
- The "HELP" scream has been used in two other shorts: It's Greek to Me-ow! and Landing Stripling.
- Despite the title card depicting Tom and Jerry being eaten by Dicky Moe, no such event happens in the cartoon itself.
- Jerry reads the books from right to left.
- Jerry wearing his purple beanie from this cartoon was in the intro of Down Wit' Droopy-D, which aired on Cartoon Network from 1992 to 1998.
Gallery[]
Main article: Dicky Moe/Gallery