The Hungry Wolf 1942
It's the dead of winter, a hungry wolf is out of food, and he's desperate.
It's the dead of winter, a hungry wolf is out of food, and he's desperate.
An art museum, on a dark and stormy night. The statue of Nero comes to life and tries to burn the nearby painting of Rome but his matches go out. He tries to get a set of "hear no evil" monkeys to take the matches from a still life, but they refuse and he teases them. The other artworks come to their defense. Nero plays hurt, and gets the monkeys to help; after they stumble around in the still life for a while, they get drunk on lighter fluid and start breathing flames, which they combine with the fluid to act as a flamethrower. Soon, the museum is ablaze and all the paintings are either sounding the alarm or coming to fight the fire.
Jasper is given an ultimatum by his master: break one more thing and you're out. Rodent Jerry does his best to make sure that his tormentor "gets the boot".
Tom chases Jerry into a bottle of invisible ink, and the now-invisible Jerry proceeds to have fun torturing Tom.
Jerry rescues a bag of puppies from the river. Most of them run away as soon as Jerry releases them, but one stays behind. Jerry tries to get rid of it, but ultimately takes pity and invites the frisky pup inside, where he has to hide it from Tom, who keeps throwing it out.
Tom is playing with Jerry when a cute lady cat is delivered to Mammy for her to take care of. Tom is smitten at first sight.
It's snowy and cold outside, and warm inside where Jerry squeezes past a mousetrap to cavort under a present-laden Christmas tree. Mistaking the sleeping Tom for a plush toy, Jerry wakes him and a mad chase ensues.
Two baby squirrels ask grandpa to explain what "men" are when he comes in singing "peace on earth, goodwill to men". Grandpa tells the story of man's last war. This classic animation short was an Academy Award Best Short Subject, Cartoons nominee.
Jerry narrates in voiceover: Tom has fallen hard for the cat next door, and competes with rich cat Butch for her affections. But Butch outspends Tom to a ludicrous level at every turn. Tom goes downhill after that, until we see him contemplating suicide.
Tom invites Toots to an elegant dinner. However, he's made the mistake of trying to put Jerry to work, as a serving boy, a corkscrew, and other tasks. Jerry puts up with a little of this, but mostly gets revenge on Tom.
Spike is showing his son Tyke how to barbecue when his cooking is disrupted by a typical Tom-and-Jerry chase.
During yet another pursuit of Jerry, Tom ends up being killed when an upright piano slides down the stairs and slams into him. He meets a feline St. Peter at the gate of the Heavenly Express, but is initially turned away due to his constant torture. However, he will be allowed onto the train if he can have Jerry sign a letter of forgiveness within one hour. If not, it's Hell for Tom. Will he go up or down?
Jerry is awakened from a nightmare by a knock on the door: someone has left a foundling in a walnut shell with a note, giving his name as Nibbles and saying he needs lots of milk. Fortunately, there's a dish handy, but it's next to Tom. Nibbles scurries out and dives off Tom's nose, then grabs a whisker for balance, waking Tom up. Jerry grabs him just in time and they hide under the milk. Tom laps up some milk and gets Nibbles; Jerry rescues him, and they run for the hole. Next, they try a very long straw; Tom catches them and sucks Nibbles through the straw. Much chasing follows, with a pause now and then for some milk. Tom traps Jerry in a milk bottle and chases Nibbles a while; he finally corners Nibbles and spanks him with a flyswatter. Jerry is so enraged he burst out of the milk bottle and lets out a ferocious roar; he grabs Tom by the tail and thoroughly pummels him, then stands over him as Tom feeds Nibbles milk.
Spike is building the doghouse of his dreams. However, Tom chases Jerry through the chassis of the house and also pulls a board off it to attack the mouse with. When Jerry perches on Spike's head, even lying on top of his dream house does not stop it from being smashed. Tom bolts, but Spike stomps on his tail, then dusts himself off and wrenches the cat facing in his direction. He issues Tom an ultimatum: leave his dream house alone or suffer the consequences ("Wait a minute pussycat! Ever since I was a pup I've wanted a place of my own and I still want it! But if one thing happens to my little dreamhouse...there's goin' to be moider!").
Mrs. Mouse is reading "A Visit from St. Nicholas" to her brood when a cat tries to break in. The cat overhears them arguing about the existence of Santa, so he dresses up accordingly.
Mammy Two-Shoes tells Tom and Butch that the cat who gets rid of the icebox-raiding, breadbox-invading mouse (Jerry) is the one who can stay.
Tom, whose appetite was whetted by a radio cooking program, wants to make a meal out of the pet goldfish. Jerry, who is friends with the fish, does what he can to thwart their feline foe.
Spike the bulldog, grateful to Jerry for getting him out of the dogcatcher's van, offers to help the little mouse any time he whistles. Tom, Jerry's feline tormentor, seeks to overcome this new disadvantage.
Tom enters from stage left in white tie and tails, sits at the piano, gets his focus as the orchestra in the pit beneath him warms up, and begins to play Liszt's "Hungarian Rhapsody". Unbeknownst to Tom and the audience, Jerry is asleep across several of the high-note keys inside the instrument, so Tom's playing eventually wakes him. Jerry is pummeled by hammers, bounced by wires, and squeezed by Tom as the cat tries to play the concerto while dispensing with Jerry. Jerry's defensive antics add to the brio of the program and answer Tom with Jerry's own skillful musical attack. By the concerto's end, the duet leaves only one animal standing for the audience's applause.
When a bulldog threatens Tom to keep away from his puppy, Jerry realizes that sticking close to the boy is the best way to keep away his feline tormentor. But Tom is not about to let the mouse evade him so easily.