Tom and Chérie is the 94th one-reel animated Tom and Jerry short, created in 1955.
Plot[]
In the opening shot, Jerry is looking at a portrait of a very pretty french mouse named Lilli. He then writes Lilli a love letter and calls his assistant, Tuffy, and tells him to deliver it. Tuffy goes out, looks at the letter and goes a deep shade of red after looking at it. But, when Nibbles is about to go out and deliver the letter, Tom appears saying 'En garde!' and swipes his sword at him, scaring him back in. He pokes his sword through the door.
Tuffy tries to tell Jerry about the cardinal's cat, but Jerry shows the little mouse his book, persuading him that a mouseketeer is brave. Tuffy then looks in the mirror and asks himself if he is a man or a mouse. But after going out and encountering Tom again, he decides he is a mouse.
Later, Tom is hiding in wait for Tuffy. Nibbles tries to disguise himself with a knight's helmet. He says hello to Tom, but he is not fooled. He immediately jumps in front of Tuffy and fights him. Jerry hears the commotion from outside. Tom then lifts off the helmet and it falls right on top of his head, knocking him into a nearby window and giving Tom his first loss to Tuffy. Tuffy is still swiping his sword, not knowing he had defeated Tom until Jerry pokes him on the back. Tuffy tries to call for the cat by saying "pussy" many times but to no avail. He tries to persuade Jerry that Tom was here, but Jerry brings him back to his mouse-hole and makes Tuffy write 'Un mouseketeer est brave' about 100 times on a blackboard. Then Tuffy goes to the door and holds his hat out. It gets chopped into pieces by Tom. Tuffy then nervously peeks out, but Jerry pokes him on the back with his sword, sending Tuffy rocketing past Tom to Lilli's house.
He knocks on the windowsill, and after Lilli comes to the window, she sees the love letter. She giggles at the sight, then disappears and returns with another letter with perfume on it. Tuffy then goes to deliver it to Jerry. But to see if Tom is around, he puts his hat on his sword and waves it. Tom waves his hat and then appears and fights Tuffy again. Then Tuffy hides in a vent and pokes Tom in the bottom saying 'Touché, pussycat!', earning Tuffy his second victory over Tom. Tuffy runs inside Jerry's mouse-hole and gives the letter to Jerry. He kisses it and writes another love letter before giving it to Tuffy and then the little mouse delivers it, encountering Tom every time. And by every fight Tuffy haves with Tom, he gets more tattered and torn by the minute.
Eventually, Jerry receives a letter from Lilli, telling him that their love is finished, much to Tuffy's delight as he thinks he wouldn't deliver letters anymore. Heartbroken, Jerry tears up the letter and throws away her portrait. But all is not lost, as he simply replaces her portrait with that of another beautiful, rich, French mouse who is named Marie and begins his correspondence with this one. A battered and exasperated Tuffy is forced to deliver this letter. Tom jumps out once again, yells "En garde!" and is ready for another duel. But the little mouse just walks past him.
Tom then challenges him two more times. Despite that, Tuffy keeps ignoring him. After the third and final attempt, Tuffy, lethargic and getting frustrated by Tom, looks up at him and says with contempt, "En garde, en garde, en garde! Foo!" before resuming his assignment to deliver the letter, leaving the puzzled cat behind still holding his sword in his hand.
Characters[]
- Tuffy Mouse
- Jerry Mouse
- Tom Cat
- Lilli (pictured & silhouette)
- Marie (picture only)
Availability[]
.jpg "Tom and Jerry Merry Mice DVD (frontside).jpg (160 KB)")
Notes[]
- This is the first Tom and Jerry cartoon produced and released in theaters entirely in the CinemaScope widescreen aspect ratio, with no alternate Academy ratio format option. This was in stark contrast to the cartoons Pet Peeve, Touche, Pussy Cat!, Southbound Duckling, and Pup on a Picnic, all produced and released in theaters in both ratios. This would not be done regularly until at least when Fred Quimby retired as producer beginning with That's My Mommy, as the next two Tom and Jerry shorts Smarty Cat and Pecos Pest are the last Tom and Jerry cartoons produced in the standard Academy ratio and format.
- This is one of only two Tom and Jerry cartoons during the Hanna-Barbera era where Tom and Jerry never come in contact with each other, with the other being in The Duck Doctor.
- It was the third (of four) cartoons in the Mouseketeer series of cartoons, the first of which, The Two Mouseketeers (1952) won an Academy Award, and the second, Touché, Pussy Cat! (1954) received an Academy Award nomination. The final cartoon of the series, Royal Cat Nap would air three years later.
- This was the only Mouseketeer short where Tuffy never says "C'est la guerre" at the end of the cartoon.
- Tom is part of the cardinal's guards. In the real-life, Richelieu even reserved some bright rooms in his apartment for cats and, when he died in 1642, he left a sum of money in his will so that his pets could continue to live in dignity.
- Despite the title, Chérie is not present in the cartoon.
- The title is a pun of on this show (Tom & Jerry).
Gallery[]
- Main article: Tom and Chérie/Gallery