- This article is about the short. For The Tom and Jerry Show (1975) episode, click here.
The Flying Sorceress is a 1956 American one-reel animated cartoon and is the Tom and Jerry short with backgrounds by Robert Gentle and layouts by Richard Bickenbach.
Plot[]
The episode starts: The cartoon opens with Tom chasing Jerry through the house, but all that can be seen is Tom's shadow. Then a large crash is heard and Tom is being scolded by Joan, she stated that every time he chase Jerry, he break something ("Well, Mr. Clumsy, everytime you chase that mouse, you break something. Well, clean it up and it better not happen again."), she punished him by clean off the broken lamp. While Tom is cleaning the mess he made he looks at the newspaper with an ad that says,
Wanted: Intelligent cat to act as traveling companion for elderly lady. Apply in person, 13 Sunnydale Road.
Tom then throws down his broom and dustpan, grabs the paper, and leaves.
Tom walks along Sunnydale Road and see the house. To his horror, it appears to be a haunted house that is solely covered by a storm cloud. Tom then walks up to the door and rings the doorbell. A loud bell goes off and the door opens. Tom then walks in and the door closes by itself. Then a voice is heard, "Just a minute. I'll be right down." A door opens and a witch comes riding in on her broom. She looks at Tom and says, "So you want to be my traveling companion, eh?" Realizing the job is less appealing than he thought, Tom shooks his head before attempting to flee. The witch however, grabs Tom and continues, "Well you don't look like a witch's cat to me." She then gives a huge scream to scare Tom, making every fur in his body to stand up, like a hissing cat. She then gives her broom a kick and they take off. But they stop at the window where there is a small cemetery. The witch then says, "Look out there sonny, you'll be number 8 if you don't hang on tight." There are 8 graves, 7 of them with the names of cats and the 8th is open with an empty tombstone. The witch then gives another kick to her broom and they take off on a wild ride. During the ride, the witch loses her hat. Tom had taken it and tries to parachute down to the ground. But the witch quickly grabs Tom and the ride continues. They return to the house and the witch, says, "Not bad sonny, you get the job." She then tells where Tom can sleep and she goes to bed. Tom's bed is a cat box in the shape of a casket. This frightens Tom, who think that it's a deathbed for him, just as he quivers and shakes, but then looks at the witch's broom, and decides to take it on a joyride. He makes a clicking noise (you would do to tell a horse to go) and kicks it. The broom then takes off with him when he gets on it. Tom gets the hang of riding a broomstick for the first time by himself and he even does a few tricks. But he doesn't watch where he is going and gets caught in a tree and nearly chokes himself by the throat.
Tom then flies by his house where Jerry is sitting on a chair enjoying a piece of cheese. He stops for a second thinking that he saw something and then goes back to eating. Tom then flies by again and Jerry looks out the window. He gives a bug-eyed look and Tom appears on the broom. Jerry then opens the front door and gets knocked down by Tom. Tom then gets off the broom and points to Jerry. The broom then blocks Jerry's mouse hole, hits Jerry into a wall and the broom sweeps Jerry into a dustpan and into the trash. Tom then leaves and returns to the witch's house where the witch is waiting for him. She is very angry and says, "Stealing a ride, eh? Well, I'll give you a REAL ride!" Tom gulps at the punishment he is about to receive. She creates a puff of red smoke and the broom takes off with Tom on it. The broom bumps Tom's head on the ceiling, drags his head through the ceiling, causes him to bounce down the stairs, and into a table. Tom tries to hide under a chair, but his rear end is sticking out and the broom hits him. Tom yelps in pain from the hit and springs. The broom then acts like a pogo stick with Tom holding on.
The scene then changes to show Tom's owner shaking the broom with Tom on it saying, "Wake up Tom, Tom you're dreaming. Wake up Thomas, wake up!" Tom wakes up and finishes cleaning up the mess he made. He then looks at the broom, sits on it, and smiles. Then he gives it a kick and clicks again. The broom takes off with him on it, sailing towards the moon, as Jerry and his owner look on. Tom's owner sighs and remarks, "NOW what is that cat up to??" as the cartoon ends.
Characters[]
Main Characters[]
Major Characters[]
Notes[]
- This is the first Tom and Jerry cartoon to use the 1956 green title card shown until Blue Cat Blues, featuring Tom by his name and Jerry sliding down his name. The yellow backgrounds have been also used in The Egg and Jerry.
- This is the 98th short of the series.
- This cartoon marks the first time where Joan's head is visible onscreen, as in her previous two appearances, Pet Peeve and Mouse for Sale, her head appears to be off-camera.
- Also, Joan wears the same outfit from Mouse for Sale.
- Clips of this cartoon are reused in Matinee Mouse, albeit cropped to pan-and-scan and with heavily altered audio. The witch's line "Stealing a ride, eh? Well, I'll give you a REAL ride" has been removed. The finger-snapping had been replaced with creating a pump of red smoke.
- On the WB Kids YouTube channel, the cartoon is presented in a 16:9 aspect ratio instead of its CinemaScope format in the Classic Cartoon Compilation videos.
- The seventh grave has Butch's name shown.
- This short is included as a bonus feature with Tom and Jerry's Giant Adventure on at least Vudu and Prime Video.
Gallery[]
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