Filet Meow is a 1966 Tom and Jerry cartoon directed by Abe Levitow and produced by Chuck Jones.
Plot
As morning approaches, Tom sneaks into the house and sees a female goldfish swimming in a bowl. Tom does not want to eat such a sweet creature at first, but finds that he assuages himself that he must eat. He extends his arm into the bowl, and gropes for the fish, but doesn't seem to notice when she lets out a bubble that drifts into Jerry's hole and carries the message: "HELP!" Jerry wakes up and grabs a long, slender pin. Tom, triumphant in his success, sneaks back out of the house, but is soon seen leaping out through the door and through a window in pain from being struck with the pin. Jerry returns the fish to the bowl.
Tom revives, and removes the pin from his behind, but soon finds he is stuck in a trash can. He pops his arms and eyes out of the can and tests himself with the pin; it will not work on the steel. Tom grabs an axe and rushes into the house. Jerry is terrified at the sight of "the evil trash monster" and runs toward his hole, suffering numerous near misses from the axe. Tom continues chopping at the hole, but doesn't notice that Jerry inserts Tom's tail in the axe's path. Tom soon realizes that he's cut up his own tail, gasps, and cries in tears, but screws it back on before he hears a whistle. It is Jerry waving at him, with a grease slick set out for the cat. Tom cannot see the grease and slips on it. Jerry closes the door on Tom, which smashes him into only the lid of the can. As Tom walks out when Jerry shows him the door, he falls onto an open trash can. The trash man soon collects him, and as he is dumped into the trash truck, which drives away, Tom is never seen again. After a few seconds, the cat walks back down the street, fuming.
Tom goes to the garden and he removes tacks from inside his foot. He sneaks back into the house with a hose system and sees Jerry standing guard with another long pin. Tom hides under the table and builds his hose system with a lot of residual noise. Jerry and the fish appear terrified. Tom emerges and lays the hose around the house until he runs out into the basement.
Jerry is scratching his head when suddenly the goldfish disappears down a hole in the bowl. Jerry pulls her out. Tom is sucking in the water and spitting it out so that he will eventually swallow the fish, except that Jerry pulled her out of the hose. Jerry fills a large bottle with water to serve as a temporary bowl. Whilst Tom is still at it, Jerry sees all the water disappearing from the bowl and then sees part of the hose. Jerry comes up with an idea and dashes off. Tom, once again, is beginning to get tired and frustrated.
Jerry has hooked up the other end of the hose to a full bathtub. Jerry waves at a passing truck labeled "SEA VIEW PET SHOP" and gets an idea as it dumps its cargo in: a large green shark, which sees Jerry and attempts to devour the mouse, but is sucked into the hose by Tom. Due to the large weight of the shark, the shark is sucked down the hose in slow-motion.
Tom, who apparently has filled the entire basement with water, then sees that he has "reeled in" the green shark, and screams in alarm. Tom puffs up the hose, and tries to blow him back, but fails to notice however that the pipe has burst, freeing the shark in the process and into the flooded basement. The shark bites the cat's tail (pulling off his fur in the process), but Tom is able to escape and swim off in his boxers through the wall and leaves behind a river in the grass.
Jerry charms the little goldfish, but is soon surprised by the shark in the fish bowl, who growls fiercely at the mouse. Jerry panics and follows the same route Tom took out of the house and sight. The green shark grins, the goldfish in his fin as the cartoon ends. (As the Shark is revealed to be the goldfish’s boyfriend, the goldfish is using Jerry to make the shark jealous.)
Characters
Starring
- Tom Cat (main antagonist)
- Jerry Mouse
Featuring
Notes
- The title is a reference to filet mignon.
- This short is similar to Jerry and the Goldfish, which was released fifteen years earlier.
- This short marks the second time Tom has used a trash can as armour, the first being in It's Greek to Me-ow!
- This is the Goldfish's last appearance until "Hunger Games".
- Tom's gasp when he realizes he has chopped his tail into bits is reused from the Hanna-Barbera cartoons, as is the scream when he notices the shark in the hose.
- This is the 148th entry overall.
Availability
Gallery
