The man behind Looney Tunes’ Wile E Coyote and Roadrunner started his own studio with 34 shorts of Tom & Jerry made between 1963 & 1967.

They also changed Tom’s owner Mammy Two-Shoes, a heavy-set, middle-aged, black woman, to Clint Cobbler, a bald, overweight, short-tempered, middle-aged white man.Īlthough none of these films were nominated for the Academy Awards, they were a huge commercial success, becoming the highest-grossing animated short film series of the time, breaking the record of Looney Tunes. Unlike the originals that were set inside or outside a house, these 13 shorts moved to more exotic locations including a whaling ship, jungles of Nairobi, Ancient Greek acropolis, and the Wild West. These 13 differed from Hanna-Barbera’s original in their settings. When the franchise was revived by MGM in 1961, they hired Rembrandt Films to produce 13 shorts. Under Hanna-Barbera’s supervision, MGM produced 114 animated shorts, and won seven Academy Awards. Although changes were made to the characters over the years, these initial years are considered to the golden era for Tom & Jerry. During this period Tom had a very round face and an unruly fur. While Jerry’s physical appearance has changed very little, Tom has transformed over the years. Hanna-Barbera offered studio employees a US$ 50 prize to come up with the best name. The short was an instant hit but the names were not. On their introduction, they were Jasper and Jinx. But they were yet to become Tom and Jerry. However, Hanna-Barbera stood their ground, and Tom & Jerry made their debut in February 1940 in the short Puss Gets the Boot. After all, there had been enough cat & mouse cartoons. Burdened with the task of directing profit-generating films for the studio, the pair came up with the idea. The original creators of the cat & the mouse, William Hanna & Joseph Barbera worked for the MGM cartoon studio. Let’s travel back in time with this classic pair. But over a period of time, they too have evolved. This adorable duo forms an important part of our growing up years. There is not a single one of us who have not seen Tom & Jerry, or don’t recollect the cat & mouse chase.

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