Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection

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The Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection is a series of two-disc DVD sets, released by Warner Home Video in the same style as the Looney Tunes Golden Collection. Originally planned as an uncut chronological set, the issued Spotlight Collection sets include selected Tom and Jerry shorts on each volume. Volume one was released on October 26, 2004, volume two on October 25, 2005, and the third and final volume on September 11, 2007.

Volume 1 does not include any cartoons where Mammy Two-Shoes, an African-American maid character, speaks; she is briefly seen, though not heard, in The Little Orphan. By contrast, Mammy appears in several cartoons on volume 2, although production errors led to a mixing of audio tracks so that some cartoons include the original Mammy Two-Shoes dialogue performed by Lillian Randolph, while others include redubbed dialogue tracks commissioned by Turner Entertainment in the mid-1990s to censor the Black dialect in the character's dialogue.

Contents

[edit] Spotlight Collection, Vol. 1

A superscripted one ( 1 ) denotes cartoons presented in the CinemaScope aspect ratio using a new anamorphic widescreen transfer.

[edit] Disc 1

  1. The Yankee Doodle Mouse
  2. Sufferin' Cats!
  3. Baby Puss
  4. The Zoot Cat
  5. The Million Dollar Cat
  6. The Bodyguard
  7. Mouse Trouble
  8. Tee for Two
  9. Flirty Birdy
  10. Quiet Please!
  11. The Milky Waif
  12. Solid Serenade
  13. Cat Fishin'
  14. The Cat Concerto
  15. Kitty Foiled
  16. The Truce Hurts
  17. Salt Water Tabby
  18. The Invisible Mouse
  19. The Little Orphan
  20. Heavenly Puss

[edit] Disc 2

  1. Texas Tom
  2. Jerry and the Lion
  3. Tom and Jerry in the Hollywood Bowl
  4. Jerry and the Goldfish
  5. Cue Ball Cat
  6. Slicked-up Pup
  7. Jerry's Cousin
  8. Cat Napping
  9. The Flying Cat
  10. The Two Mouseketeers
  11. Smitten Kitten
  12. Johann Mouse
  13. Two Little Indians
  14. Baby Butch
  15. Mice Follies
  16. Designs on Jerry
  17. Pecos Pest
  18. Touché, Pussy Cat! 1
  19. The Flying Sorceress 1
  20. Blue Cat Blues 1

[edit] Bonus Features

  • Commentary by Jerry Beck on: The Zoot Cat, Kitty Foiled, Heavenly Puss
  • "Behind the Tunes: The MGM Orchestra" {documentary on the music of Tom and Jerry)
  • "How Bill and Joe Met Tom and Jerry" {documentary on the origin of the series}
  • Jerry Dances with Gene Kelly {excerpt from Anchors Aweigh}
  • Tom and Jerry Swim with Esther Williams {excerpt from Dangerous When Wet}

[edit] Spotlight Collection, Vol. 2

A superscripted one ( 1 ) denotes cartoons in the standard Academy ratio presented in newly remastered versions. A superscripted two ( 2 ) denotes cartoons presented in the CinemaScope aspect ratio using a new anamorphic widescreen transfer.

[edit] Disc 1

  1. Puss Gets the Boot 1
  2. The Midnight Snack 1
  3. The Night Before Christmas 1
  4. Fraidy Cat 1
  5. Dog Trouble 1
  6. Puss n' Toots 1
  7. The Bowling Alley Cat
  8. Fine Feathered Friend
  9. The Lonesome Mouse
  10. Puttin' on the Dog
  11. The Mouse Comes to Dinner
  12. Mouse in Manhattan
  13. Springtime for Thomas
  14. Trap Happy
  15. Part Time Pal
  16. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Mouse
  17. Old Rockin' Chair Tom
  18. Professor Tom
  19. The Cat and the Mermouse
  20. Polka-Dot Puss

[edit] Disc 2

  1. Saturday Evening Puss
  2. Little Quacker
  3. Texas Tom
  4. Safety Second
  5. Sleepy-Time Tom
  6. Nit-witty Kitty
  7. Cruise Cat
  8. Triplet Trouble
  9. Push-Button Kitty
  10. The Missing Mouse
  11. Jerry and Jumbo
  12. Just Ducky
  13. Little School Mouse
  14. Tom and Chérie 2
  15. Muscle Beach Tom 2
  16. Down Beat Bear 2
  17. Mucho Mouse 2
  18. Tot Watchers 2

[edit] Bonus features

  • Audio Commentaries: Commentary on Saturday Evening Puss, Puss Gets the Boot, The Night Before Christmas, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Mouse by MADtv's Nicole Parker and Animation Historian Earl Kress
  • Documentary: Animators as Actors: Actor's workshop of where the inspiration for character personalities come from
  • Featurette: The Comedy Stylings of Tom and Jerry
  • Introduction: Tom and Jerry Introduction by Whoopi Goldberg
  • Production Sketches: 1941 Pencil Sketch: The Midnight Snack

[edit] Spotlight Collection, Vol. 3

Vol. 3 completes the Hanna-Barbera Tom & Jerry canon, save for Mouse Cleaning and Casanova Cat. According to a Warner Home Video press release, these cartoons were omitted from the set for apparent racial stereotyping. [1] (These cartoons are presented uncut on as part of the European PAL DVD set Tom and Jerry - The Classic Collection .)

[edit] Disc 1

  1. A Mouse in the House
  2. Hatch Up Your Troubles
  3. Love That Pup
  4. Jerry's Diary
  5. Tennis Chumps
  6. The Framed Cat
  7. His Mouse Friday
  8. The Duck Doctor
  9. Little Runaway
  10. Fit to Be Tied
  11. The Dog House
  12. That's My Pup!
  13. Life with Tom
  14. Puppy Tale
  15. Posse Cat
  16. Hic-cup Pup
  17. Downhearted Duckling
  18. Neapolitan Mouse
  19. Mouse for Sale
  20. Smarty Cat

[edit] Disc 2

(All cartoons in CinemaScope - 16:9 widescreen)

  1. Pet Peeve
  2. Southbound Duckling
  3. Pup on a Picnic
  4. That's My Mommy
  5. The Egg and Jerry
  6. Busy Buddies
  7. Barbecue Brawl
  8. Timid Tabby
  9. Tops with Pops
  10. Feedin' the Kiddie
  11. Tom's Photo Finish
  12. Happy Go Ducky
  13. Royal Cat Nap
  14. The Vanishing Duck
  15. Robin Hoodwinked

[edit] Bonus features

  • Cat and Mouse: The Tale of Tom and Jerry: a documentary on the history of the Tom and Jerry shorts, and the censorship issues the series has had to deal with.
  • The KarateGuard: a 2005 Tom and Jerry short directed by co-creator Joseph Barbera.

[edit] Negative reactions to edited cartoons

The Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection sets have received negative consumer reaction, due to the edits in certain cartoons on each set. The first set contained three edited shorts (The Little Orphan, The Truce Hurts and The Milky Waif), which Warner stated was a mistake (with the wrong prints being used). All three of these shorts originally included various characters in blackface. A replacement program was begun at the end of 2006, two years after the set's initial release.

The second volume contained four shorts (The Lonesome Mouse, Polka-Dot Puss, Saturday Evening Puss and Nit-Witty Kitty) with edited sound tracks, again reported to be due to use of incorrect prints. These four shorts contained the censored Mammy Two-Shoes audio track, instead of the original.

Consumers have also expressed displeasure at the fact that, although advertised as being "restored and remastered", none of the cartoons on the first volume are restored, save for those presented in widescreen. The first six cartoons on volume two were remastered for the set, as were the widescreen cartoons. However, all other cartoons on both discs use prints prepared in the 1990s for television broadcast. Warner Home Video later released replacement discs for both Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collections 1 and 2.

Complaints also arose over Mouse Cleaning and Casanova Cat being left off of Volume 3 because of racial stereotyping, according to a Warner Home Video press release. [2] These two shorts were the only Tom and Jerry shorts from the Hanna and Barbera era not present on DVD. One short that is particularly heavy on racial stereotyping, His Mouse Friday, is included on the DVD, but is presented in an edited version.

[edit] Other notes on sets

  • Texas Tom (1950) was accidentally included on both Volume 1 and Volume 2.
  • Touché, Pussy Cat! (1954), on Volume 1, uses an unreleased stereo mix of its soundtrack. This mix is missing a few lines of dialogue present in the mono mix, specifically the character Tuffy singing "Frère Jacques" while painting an unflattering caricature of Tom (the score accompaniment to "Frère Jacques" is still present in the soundtrack without the singing). [3]
  • Pup on a Picnic (1954) is presented on Volume 3 in a 1.78:1 ratio instead of the CinemaScope format listed on the back of the box, although it was originally made in the standard Academy ratio. [4]
  • Three shorts (Touché, Pussy Cat! on Volume 1, and Pet Peeve and Southbound Duckling on Volume 3) were originally produced simultaneously in standard Academy and CinemaScope formats. The CinemaScope version of each of these short is missing non-critical information present at the top and bottom of the frame in many shots from their Academy versions. This is not an error, but a consequence of working in both aspect ratios.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Tom and Jerry DVD news: Rear Cover Art, Extras for Tom and Jerry - Spotlight Collection Volume 3 | TVShowsOnDVD.com
  2. ^ Tom and Jerry DVD news: Rear Cover Art, Extras for Tom and Jerry - Spotlight Collection Volume 3 | TVShowsOnDVD.com
  3. ^ Johnson, Gay (December 8, 2004). "Review of Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection: Volume 1." Images Journal.
  4. ^ Corey, Joe (October 15, 2007). "Review of Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection: Volume 3." The DVD Lounge.

[edit] Links