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Fit to Be Tied is a 1952 one-reel animated and the 69th Tom and Jerry cartoon.

Plot[]

After the main events of The Bodyguard, Spike is happily prancing along the backyard when he steps on a nail and yells for help. Jerry removes the nail on Spike's paw with a hammer after hearing the dog's pained cries, and as a reward, Spike becomes Jerry's protector, providing him with a bell to ring whenever he is in trouble. Jerry walks away, carefree and pleased with his good deed.

Tom sees a good opportunity to catch his unaware rival and hides until Jerry walks around the corner, catching the mouse by surprise. After snatching up Jerry, Tom becomes curious as to what the bell could be for and rings it. Spike drops right on top of him and throws him onto the concrete twice, then picks him up onto his back and prepares one last move (which he apparently has learned on television), where he spins around, and slams the cat to the concrete, who breaks apart and reforms in the space of a second.

Spike returns the bell to Jerry and skips away, but not without being seen by Tom. Making the connection, the cat tries an alternative by covering the mouse with a flowerpot such that he cannot ring the bell; unfortunately, there is a hole in the bottom, which the mouse sticks the ringing bell out of. Spike's fist extends itself from clear across the block and knocks Tom into a gumball machine, which then falls back onto the cat such that gumballs roll out of his head.

Eventually, under pain of canine catastrophe, Tom is forced to become Jerry's "servant" around the house. Tom sets out five trays of cheese for Jerry, and while the mouse sniffs one, Tom attempts to filch the bell. Jerry thwarts him and eats a big wedge of cheese, causing himself to expand to the size of the wedge. Meanwhile, Tom reads the daily paper and is delighted to notice this headline: LEASH LAW PASSED: Public safety puts dogs on leash, complete with a picture below the headline showing the dogs unhappy with the new leash law.

Pleased with his freedom from both mouse and dog, Tom jaunts outside with the paper and 'tsk's at the dog while pulling at his leash. Tom measures the leash's length, draws a line in the grass, and slaps the dog with the paper. Spike attempts to bite at Tom repeatedly, but the leash barely restrains the dog. Tom pies Spike, smashes his head between cymbals, punches him with a boxing glove, and then lets the dog's chomping teeth turn a log into a baseball bat. At his leisure, Tom knocks the dog out with it and then uses it as a pool cue to shoot Spike back into his doghouse, sending the dog crashing into the doghouse like a bowling ball hitting bowling pins.

Tom returns, ecstatic, to Jerry and bops him on the head, and when the mouse rings his bell, no response is heard. Tom slaps him again and mocks him by offering the mouse four other bells as further embarrassment. When these fail to work, Jerry realizes the truth and flees with his small bell. Tom corners him and beats him silly to the point that Jerry swallows the bell. Jerry runs to Spike's doghouse and rings himself, pleading for help. Spike, with sad eyes, presents his leash, hence explaining his reasoning on why he couldn't help Jerry.

Tom takes a break from chasing Jerry to tantalize Spike again, and holds out a lead pipe as Spike angrily tries to bite the cat again, ultimately causing Spike to inadvertently take a couple of bites on the lead pipe, leaving some holes in the dog's teeth in the process. All the dog's teeth fall out, and Tom nonchalantly sweeps them back up and returns them. Picking up on the pattern, Spike angrily rubs out the line, draws a new one in a spot he can reach and plops back down innocently. Tom chases Jerry both ways and stops to torment Spike again, but Spike lands directly on the cat this time. Realizing he's been tricked, the feline leaps out of his skin!

Before Spike can process this information, Tom steals his skin back and escapes into a croquet field. Jerry runs through the field until he sees Tom, but cannot avoid being pelted by Tom's mallet. As Jerry hits the starting post, the bell is expelled from his stomach; Tom catches both the mouse and the bell and continuously rings the bell as the cartoon fades to a new scene.

Tom has now pressed Jerry into servitude, using the bell as his signal. Jerry brings Tom's tray of food to him and falls under its weight. While Tom gobbles a turkey leg, Jerry reads the paper which shows the leash law's reversal: LEASH LAW LIFTED: Happy hounds hail freedom, due to citizens' protest against the leash law. Ecstatic, Jerry hits Tom with the newspaper, causing Tom's turkey to be lodged in his throat. Before the cat can capture him, Jerry rings his bell, and nothing happens for the moment. Tom, still believing the dog to be tied up based on Spike's non-appearance, rings the bell and bops Jerry alternately. Spike, carrying a newspaper himself, sneaks behind Tom and whacks him. Clueless, Tom rings the bell and gets smacked again. Tom then rings the bell one more time and ducks the newspaper's swing, then peeks behind him and briefly sees Spike. An enraged Spike whacks the cat a third time, then cordially returns the bell to Jerry and engages Tom in a brutal fight.

After the brawl, Spike and Jerry are strolling down a street, with Tom inside a dog's leash and collar. Spike kicks Tom whenever Jerry rings the bell.

Characters[]

Voice Actors[]

1952 Fit to be Tied Tom and Jerry production drawing

A production drawing from the short.

Spike buckteeth

Spike's buck teeth visible after Tom bashes him on the head.

Notes[]

  • Even though there are many cartoons where Tom has attacked Spike, this is one of the very few instances where he torments Spike intentionally for sheer amusement. Because Spike is leashed up, the cat takes advantage of the situation as he will not be able to reach to harm Tom. Usually when Tom attacks Spike, he does so either to get him out of the way against Jerry or just to save himself from getting beaten up by the bulldog.
  • This short was shown in the movie, Baby's Day Out.
  • This is one of the only two shorts where Tom physically beats up Jerry. The other being Little School Mouse. This would be paralleled with Jerry beating up Tom several times in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Mouse.
  • This is one of the five cartoons where Spike attacks Tom off-screen. The others are Quiet Please!, Love That Pup, Cat Napping, and Tops with Pops.
  • This is the 69th short of the series.
  • This is one of the few times Spike beats Tom without threatening him.
  • The short was one of the first cartoons to feature wrestling techniques as Spike was a fan of professional wrestling.
  • When Tom knocks out Spike by clobbering the dog in the head with a baseball bat, Spike briefly appears with buck teeth coming from his upper jaw before it disappears once he falls onto the ground.

Errors[]

  • Just before Spike spins around and slams Tom on the ground, his right hand turns white for a split second twice.

Gallery[]

Main Article: Fit To Be Tied/Gallery

Tom and Jerry Cartoons
1940 Puss Gets the Boot
1941 The Midnight SnackThe Night Before Christmas
1942 Fraidy CatDog TroublePuss n' TootsThe Bowling Alley-CatFine Feathered Friend
1943 Sufferin' Cats!The Lonesome MouseThe Yankee Doodle MouseBaby Puss
1944 The Zoot CatThe Million Dollar CatThe BodyguardPuttin' on the DogMouse Trouble
1945 The Mouse Comes to DinnerMouse in ManhattanTee for TwoFlirty BirdyQuiet Please!
1946 Springtime for ThomasThe Milky WaifTrap HappySolid Serenade
1947 Cat Fishin'Part Time PalThe Cat ConcertoDr. Jekyll and Mr. MouseSalt Water TabbyA Mouse in the HouseThe Invisible Mouse
1948 Kitty FoiledThe Truce HurtsOld Rockin' Chair TomProfessor TomMouse Cleaning
1949 Polka-Dot PussThe Little OrphanHatch Up Your TroublesHeavenly PussThe Cat and the MermouseLove That PupJerry's DiaryTennis Chumps
1950 Little QuackerSaturday Evening Puss • Texas TomJerry and the LionSafety SecondThe Hollywood BowlThe Framed CatCue Ball Cat
1951 Casanova CatJerry and the GoldfishJerry's CousinSleepy-Time TomHis Mouse FridaySlicked-up PupNit-Witty KittyCat Napping
1952 The Flying CatThe Duck DoctorThe Two MouseketeersSmitten KittenTriplet TroubleLittle RunawayFit To Be TiedPush-Button KittyCruise CatThe Dog House
1953 The Missing Mouse • Jerry and JumboJohann MouseThat's My Pup!Just DuckyTwo Little IndiansLife with Tom
1954 Puppy TalePosse CatHic-cup PupLittle School MouseBaby ButchMice FolliesNeapolitan MouseDownhearted DucklingPet PeeveTouché, Pussy Cat!
1955 Southbound DucklingPup on a PicnicMouse for SaleDesigns on JerryTom and ChérieSmarty CatPecos PestThat's My Mommy
1956 The Flying SorceressThe Egg and JerryBusy BuddiesMuscle Beach TomDown Beat BearBlue Cat BluesBarbecue Brawl
1957 Tops with PopsTimid TabbyFeedin' the KiddieMucho MouseTom's Photo Finish
1958 Happy Go DuckyRoyal Cat NapThe Vanishing DuckRobin HoodwinkedTot Watchers
1961 Switchin' KittenDown and OutingIt's Greek to Me-ow!
1962 High SteaksMouse into SpaceLanding StriplingCalypso CatDicky MoeThe Tom and Jerry Cartoon KitTall in the TrapSorry SafariBuddies Thicker Than WaterCarmen Get It!
1963 Pent-House Mouse
1964 The Cat Above and The Mouse BelowIs There a Doctor in the Mouse?Much Ado About MousingSnowbody Loves MeThe Unshrinkable Jerry Mouse
1965 Ah, Sweet Mouse-Story of LifeTom-ic EnergyBad Day at Cat RockThe Brothers Carry-Mouse-OffHaunted MouseI'm Just Wild About JerryOf Feline BondageThe Year of the MouseThe Cat's Me-Ouch
1966 Duel PersonalityJerry, Jerry, Quite ContraryJerry-Go-RoundLove Me, Love My MousePuss 'n' BoatsFilet MeowMatinee MouseThe A-Tom-Inable SnowmanCatty-Cornered
1967 Cat and Dupli-catO-Solar-MeowGuided Mouse-illeRock 'n' RodentCannery RodentThe Mouse from H.U.N.G.E.R.Surf-Bored CatShutter Bugged CatAdvance and Be MechanizedPurr-Chance to Dream
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