Jeannie is a average teenage girl, babysitter and student who not babysits George and Joan's Baby in the Tom and Jerry MGM shorts: Busy Buddies and Tot Watchers. She is voiced by the late Julie Bennett.
Appearance[]
Jeannie's a fair-skinned blonde with hair tied back into a ponytail with a blue bow with her bangs hanging down. She also wears a pink blouse with a burgundy skirt and black slip-on shoes.
Personality[]
Jeannie is not a very good babysitter at all, because while the baby's parents are out, she regularly relies on the telephone rather than doing her actual babysitting, and Tom and Jerry are shown to be better babysitters than she is.
When the baby crawls out of his bed in Busy Buddies and Tot Watchers, Tom and Jerry both do their best to bring him back home and put him in bed, but Jeannie claims that the two were "bothering" the baby, and she hurt Tom with a broom (especially in Tot Watchers).
Despite her sub-standard babysitting skills, Jeannie's very kind and friendly and has many friends in high school. Her least favorite and weakest subject is apparently algebra, but she wants to do well in that particular class. In her final appearance, she eventually called the police so they can arrest Tom and Jerry whom they both claim to be "babynappers," until it was discovered that the baby started crawling out of the house, where she could eventually take the blame or not. She could probably defend the lines she crosses just to avoid being caught, in which the baby's parents end up giving in to her lies and false accusations in Busy Buddies and to the cops in Tot Watchers, especially to consider that the baby was close to being killed due to her negligence.
History[]
In Busy Buddies, Joan and George are going out and tell the babysitter, Jeannie, to look after an unnamed baby. However, she is more interested in talking on the telephone. At first, Tom and Jerry take the opportunity to help themselves to some food, Jerry helps himself to some cookies and Tom helps himself to a watermelon and milk, but they soon discover the baby crawling away while Jeannie continues to talk on the phone, unaware.
Jeannie is unaware through all of this (even when the baby crawls over her), and at one point even hits Tom with a book for "bothering the baby" when he returns the baby to the crib. At the end, Joan and George return and ask Jeannie how things went. She explains that she had a little trouble with Tom, but the baby was "no trouble at all".
In Tot Watchers, Babysitter Jeannie is instructed to look after the baby while his mother goes out. However, Jeannie pays more attention to talking on the telephone apathetically than her actual babysitting. In the midst of Tom and Jerry's usual fighting, they see the baby crawling out of its pram. Any attempt to return the baby to where it came from simply results in the baby escaping from the pram again. During one escape, the baby crawls into Spike's dog house. Tom accidentally grabs Spike instead of the baby, and is promptly attacked, scratched and bit. This time, Tom angrily brings the baby back to Jeannie herself, who hits Tom over the head with a broom, thinking that Tom has taken the baby away from her.
Later on, Jeannie is in panic and crying, telling a police officer that she was babysitting, took her eye off the baby for "one teensy minute" and the baby was gone. Tired Tom and Jerry arrive with the baby. Jeannie grabs the baby while the two try to escape, but the police officer (voiced by Bill Thompson) arrests Tom and Jerry, assuming that they were "baby nappers".
Friends[]
Jeannie has friends from high school, but only mentioned during dialogue on the telephone. Her friends include Mike, Gary, and Jane.
The problem[]
- She spends too much of her time talking on the phone to her friends about their dates and her own activities.
Appearances[]
Tom and Jerry[]
Quotes[]
- "Yes, Ma'am."
- "Good night."
- "Hi! It's Jeannie. Yeah, yeah ah. No, I'm babysitting. Oh no oh no really you mean Mike well?."
- "Oh huh? Oh yes. Me. Oh gosh no suppose Gary saw me."
- "Oh It's a swell sharp you all gonna see it. Yeah, oh wait a minute I'll check out the Baby"
- "The baby's okay who? Jane she got her hair you mean in the back with bangs oh no."
- "Scat you, cat go on scat!"
- "Oh it's that darn cat bothering the baby. Oh he said call on Monday."
- "Oh just fine. I have little trouble with Tom, but the baby was an angel. He was no trouble at all."
- "Goodbye."
- "Hi it's me Jeannie. Oh no I'm babysitting for two hours oh hehehe. He's silly oh oh I did yeah. I have a date already. Oh no you kidding she woudn't do that"
- "Scat you bad cat"
- "Hi it's me again oh no the baby's alright it's that cat after watch"
- "Scat you cat"
- "All say it is that cat keeps bothering the baby oh no he did really?"
- "Gasp oh that's right I saw him in a drive in swell show kid huh?"
- "Yeah it's that darn cat again yeah if I could get a passing grade in Algebra oh ? I hate Algebra gosh whoever thought that stuff up?"
- "I just turned my back for one teensy minute and she's oh and the baby was gone Oh, please officer you must get that baby back, you- there's a baby"
Trivia[]
- Jeannie became one of the most unfavorable characters in the franchise by fans, alongside with Nancy from Baby Puss and Tom's notorious owner from the infamous Gene Deitch-era although she's nowhere near as abusive as the other two.
- On the 1960s animated sitcom The Flintstones, various teen babysitters, that were hired by Fred or Wilma Flintstone to look after Pebbles, do the similar climax as Jeannie, such as talking on the phone and/or dancing to rock music while the parents leave.
- This humor is no longer used in modern cartoons as child neglect became a very serious issue amongst parents, especially in the 21st century.
- It had since been confirmed Jeannie would never appear in anymore entrees after Tot Watchers due to being given lots of negative reviews from the critics and fans of the series, along with outlawing such dark humor from the Warner Bros. era completely.
- There is also the same character from the 1970s animated series Jeannie.
Gallery[]
