Polka-Dot Puss
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Polka-Dot Puss
Tom and Jerry series |
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|---|---|
 The title card of Polka-Dot Puss |
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| Directed by | William Hanna Joseph Barbera |
| Produced by | Fred Quimby |
| Story by | William Hanna (unc.) Joseph Barbera (unc.) |
| Voices by | Lillian Randolph (as Mammy Two Shoes, unc.) |
| Music by | Scott Bradley |
| Animation by | Kenneth Muse Ed Barge Ray Patterson Irven Spence |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
| Release date(s) | February 26, 1949 |
| Color process | Technicolor |
| Running time | 7 min 38 secs |
| Preceded by | Mouse Cleaning |
| Followed by | The Little Orphan |
| IMDb profile | |
Polka-Dot Puss is a 1949 Tom and Jerry cartoon produced in 1948 and released on February 26, 1949. The short was directed by Tom and Jerry's creators, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, produced by Fred Quimby, animated by Kenneth Muse, Ed Barge, Ray Patterson and Irven Spence, and scored by Scott Bradley.
[edit] Synopsis
The cartoon begins with Tom using Jerry as a yo-yo. Tom then hears Mammy Two Shoes (voiced by Lillian Randolph, whose voice is often dubbed on reissue prints) telling him that it is time to put the cat out for the night. Noticing that the weather outside is rather unpleasant, Tom craftily fakes a cold, pretending to sneeze violently. "Why, Thomas, is you catchin' a cold?" Mammy enquires. Tom nods and sneezes again. Mammy has a change of heart and allows Tom to sleep inside for the night, but gives the cat a stern warning; "If I thought out you weren't telling the truth, I'd wash your mouth out with soap!" After Mammy walks away, Tom grabs Jerry, who appropriately shoves a bar of soap in Tom's mouth. Tom spits out a multitude of soap bubbles and chases Jerry into his mousehole, but ends up with a mousetrap on his nose.
In the next scene, Tom goes to sleep on the living room floor, nose bandaged up. Jerry then enters the room with a small pot of red paint, painting several polka dots on his face. When Tom wakes up, Jerry convinces him that he has measles, showing the newspaper which reports about a measles epidemic on the front page, and showing a mirror, allowing Tom to see his own spotty reflection.
Jerry consults the book "Dr. Quack's Home Threatment", and applies a number of unorthodox treatments to the now hypochondriacal cat, such as placing a stethoscope next to a ticking alarm clock to intensify Tom's apparent heartbeat, then setting off the alarm. Later, Jerry tests Tom's reflexes, almost bludgeoning the cat with a hammer. As Tom screams in pain, Jerry places a thermometer in Tom's mouth. Out of Tom's view, Jerry holds a cigarette lighter underneath the thermometer, causing the temperature to rise, and the thermometer to explode.
The next chapter of the medical book urges Jerry to apply chills to Tom's high fever, and in the next scene, we see Tom in the freezer, blue of the cold and teeth chattering. Jerry unloads a spoonful of ice-cubes into Tom's mouth and then closes the freezer door for a few seconds. As he opens the door, a frozen-solid Tom slides out of the freezer. Jerry panics and shoves Tom into the oven, turning it onto a low temperature. Opening the oven door, Tom is now conscious, but still very cold, and baking in his own juices. Jerry pours some juice over Tom and then closes the door, adjusting the oven's temperature. When he opens the door again, Tom is bright red and burning. Thinking quickly, he places Tom onto a baking tray and heads for the bathroom, giving the cat a cold shower.
Tom later emerges from the shower, covered in towels and using hot-water bottles as sandals. He observes himself in the mirror, and notices that most of his spots have gone. As he wipes his forehead, another spot is removed and transferred to his paw. Just then, Tom sees a small jar of red paint hidden in the corner, and realization dawns on him; his mirror image changes to a jackass. Tom becomes furious and grabs a sabre, ready to exact his revenge on Jerry. He finds the mouse sat hunched-up with head in hands, looking very sorry for himself. He only blinks at Tom apathetically when prodded with the sabre's keen point. Only when Tom snatches him up does Jerry break out in genuine measle spots, which proliferate before Tom's horrified gaze. Tom quickly dashes in terror to the bathroom medicine cabinet and doses himself frantically with everything he can find, while a speeded-up version of George Frideric Handel's Dead March plays over. By the cartoon's end however, both the cat and the mouse are covered in spots from head to toe and are being quarantined by Mammy Two Shoes herself.
