Jerry's Diary

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Jerry's Diary

Tom and Jerry series

The title card of Jerry's Diary
Directed by William Hanna
Joseph Barbera
Produced by Fred Quimby
Story by William Hanna
Joseph Barbera
Music by Scott Bradley
Animation by Kenneth Muse
Ed Barge
Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date(s) October 22, 1949
Color process Technicolor
Running time 6 min 43 secs
Preceded by Love That Pup
Followed by Tennis Chumps
IMDb profile

Jerry's Diary is a 1949 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Tom and Jerry cartoon. It was directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, produced by Fred Quimby, scored by Scott Bradley, and animated by Kenneth Muse and Ed Barge. Jerry's Diary was the first of several "wrap-around" cartoons where the plot device is based on flashbacks from previous cartoons. As the budget for creating cartoons at this time was very expensive, this sort of cartoon, done once every few years, was a way of the studio saving money.

[edit] Plot

Jerry can't help but wonder what he did to deserve having a pie thrown at him...
Jerry can't help but wonder what he did to deserve having a pie thrown at him...

The cartoon opens with Tom setting up a bunch of traps in front of Jerry's mouse hole. He raises a cleaver over the hole and is stopped by the tubby looking talking radio. "Hello, little kitty. This is your old Uncle Dudley again. Say, do you know what week this is?" Tom shakes his head. "It's be kind to animals week. (Tom looks puzzled.) You are kind to animals aren't you? (Tom looks at the cleaver.) Why of course you are! (Tom hides the cleaver behind his back.) But this week you'll be extra kind, won't you?. Oh come on, please, just this week?" Tom thinks about it and agrees. "That's the spirit! Let's do it now!" Tom then returns with flowers, a present, and a pie with, "To Jerry with Love" written on it. Tom knocks on the wall but Jerry doesn't answer. Tom removes the grate on the wall and sees that Jerry is not at home. But he does see his diary. Tom reaches in, grabs it, and starts to read it.

The first entry reads: "Sunday, April 5. Tom and I played golf today--as usual he didn't bring any tees--so it was up to me to fill in." The cartoon then fades to a scene from Tee for Two.

We return to Tom reading from the diary and he laughs. Another scene is shown and Tom is angry. He flips through to another entry in the diary. The next entry reads: "Thursday, May 12. Had a close shave today--They say curiosity killed the cat--Today it almost caught the mouse." The cartoon then fades to a scene from Mouse Trouble.

Tom gets angry from what he has read and throws away the flowers. He turns to another entry which reads: "Monday, June 3. Today I planned a couple of surprises for Tom--He thinks it was just an accident." The cartoon then fades to a scene from Solid Serenade where Jerry is being chased and he dives into the kitchen sink, then he drains the sink forcing Tom to crash into a pile of plates.

Tom is furious at what Jerry has written about him and he destroys Jerry's present. He is just about to throw the diary away when he opens it again and reads one more entry: "Saturday, July 4. Plenty of fireworks today. Things really started popping when Tom lit a firecracker and tossed it toward me." The cartoon then fades into scenes from The Yankee Doodle Mouse.

Tom then rips Jerry's diary to pieces and Jerry comes home. He is very happy to see that Tom has baked him a pie. Jerry points at the pie and then points to himself asking if the pie is for him. Tom is just about to grab Jerry but the radio stops him. "And now before your old Uncle Dudley says goodbye, did you get a nice little surprise for your animal friend?" Tom picks up the pie with a devilish smile. "You did? Well let him have it." Jerry holds out his hands and Tom hits Jerry with the pie. Jerry then looks into the camera and shrugs his shoulders as the cartoon closes.

[edit] Notes