Tot Watchers

Tot Watchers
Directed By	William Hanna Joseph Barbera
Produced by	William Hanna Joseph Barbera
Story By	Homer Brightman
Music By	Scott Bradley
Animation By	Kenneth Muse Lewis Marshall James Escalante
Distributed By	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release Date	August 1, 1958
Color Process	Technicolor CinemaScope Perspecta
Preceded By	Robin Hoodwinked
Followed By	Switchin' Kitten

Tot Watchers is a 1958 Tom and Jerry cartoon with backgrounds by Robert Gentle and layouts by Richard Bickenbach.

It was the final Tom and Jerry cartoon created at the original MGM studio ending a partnership that lasted 18 years. In 1961, Gene Deitch produced 13 cartoons for MGM at his studio, as most of his shorts were widely panned, with the exceptions of The Tom and Jerry Cartoon Kit and Buddies Thicker Than Water. When his unit closed down, Chuck Jones produced 34 more at his studio before being shut down in 1967 ending production of Tom and Jerry cartoons.

Cast

• Tom Cat
• Jerry Mouse
• Jeannie
• George and Joan's Baby
• The Police Officer
• Spike Bulldog
• Joan

Story

Babysitter Jeannie (voiced by Julie Bennett) is instructed to look after the baby while his mother (also voiced by Bennett) 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.

Realising that the baby is no longer worth the trouble, Tom does nothing the next time that it crawls from its pram. However, he and Jerry are forced to react after the baby crawls down to the street and into a construction site. The baby crawls from one steel beam to another while the cat and mouse look on. Jerry manages to catch up, and saves the baby from crawling off a wooden plank by grabbing his diaper. The diaper comes loose, and the baby falls, but he is then caught by Tom. Tom attempts to put the baby's diaper back on, but in the impending confusion, ends up putting the diaper on himself while the baby crawls off, nonchalantly.

Tom and Jerry catch up with the baby, only to lose it again, and fearing that it has crawled into a cement mixer, the cat and mouse dive straight in, only to find that the baby never did enter the mixer but instead playing with a hammer. The baby then playfully bonks Tom on the head.

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 they were "baby nappers". In the police car, the police officer cannot believe Tom and Jerry's explanation. Just then, to their surprise, the baby crawls past the police car and away into the distance.

Trivia

• This features the final appearances of Joan and her baby. This also marks the final appearance of Jeannie, who had not been well-liked by fans due to her character often bordering on neglecting her job as a babysitter.

Reception

The pan-and-scan version of this short was heavily panned by fans, as many important elements are cropped out, such as near the end, Jeannie takes the baby out of Tom's hand is not shown, but shows the baby being removed from Tom (looks as if the baby vanished out of nowhere).

External Links

• Tot Watchers at SuperCartoons.net
• Tot Watchers at B99.TV

Gallery