"The Super Bowler" is the twelfth episode of The Tom and Jerry Show (1975).
Synopsis[]
Tom and Jerry's compete against each other in the National Bowl-Off, and Tom resorts to a number of dirty tricks to win.
Plot[]
It's The National Bowl-Off at Al's Alleys, and Tom and Jerry push their bowling mettle to the metal as they vie for the bowling trophy! Tom pulls just about every dirty trick imaginable in order to trounce Jerry: a bowling ball which falls to pieces, a bowling ball with iron bars on the side, gimmicked bowling pins, and Super Glue. Finally, Tom makes good use of a robotic bowling ball programmed to knock pins down by whistle control. But the whistle proves to be his tragic undoing when he accidentally swallows it; whenever he hiccups and whistles, the ball chases him at every turn! To make matters worse, in attempting to dodge the wild ball, Tom unintentionally helps Jerry win the Bowl-Off! That night, as Tom sleeps, the ball still rolls when he hiccups; he raises his bed continually to avoid being run over by the ball. In his little mouse hole, Jerry is so disturbed at the noise that he resorts to using earmuffs to drown it out, and he falls back to sleep.
Characters[]
- Tom Cat
- Jerry Mouse
- Announcer
- People
Trivia & Notes[]
- The title of this cartoon is a play on words from an annual event concerning another sport: The Super Bowl!
- This is the first of three New Tom & Jerry cartoons with a title using the word "Super"; others are "The Super Cyclists." (80-25) and "The Supercape Caper" (80-42).
- The animation in this cartoon depicting Tom handling and delivering the ball is heavily based on that in the 1942 classic MGM Tom & Jerry short, The Bowling Alley-Cat, which inspired "The Super Bowler".
- The gag of Tom swallowing his whistle and hiccuping was inspired by a similar fate which befell a bulldog at the end of the 1949 Tex Avery short Bad Luck Blackie.
- Leonard Weinrib speaks the only lines of dialogue throughout "The Super Bowler" as the commentator for The National Bowl-Off.