Touché, Pussy Cat!
Encyclopedia
Touché, Pussy Cat! is the 89th one-reel
animated
Tom and Jerry
short
, created in 1954 directed by William Hanna
and Joseph Barbera
and produced by Fred Quimby
with music by Scott Bradley. It was nominated for an Academy Award
in 1954, the series' final Oscar nomination, while Johann Mouse
won the last award for the series a year before.
Touché, Pussy Cat! is a follow-up and a prequel to the 1952 cartoon The Two Mouseketeers
which did win the award that year (as well as being named after Tuffy's catchphrase in the "Mousketeer" shorts). The cartoon was animated by Kenneth Muse, Ed Barge and Irven Spence, with backgrounds by Robert Gentle. It was released in theaters by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
on December 18, 1954.
It was the first of the Tom and Jerry shorts to be produced in CinemaScope
, but was the second CinemaScope-produced short to be released (after Pet Peeve
, released the previous month; Touché, Pussy Cat! has an earlier MPAA certificate number). The cartoon also exists in a non-Cinemascope format. Touché, Pussy Cat! spawned two further entries in the "Mouseketeer" series of Tom and Jerry cartoons, namely Tom and Chérie
in 1955, and Royal Cat Nap
in 1957, released 1958.
(formerly named Nibbles but voiced by the same actor) walking to the King's Mouseketeers Headquarters in Paris. Upon reaching the said place, Tuffy becomes excited at the prospect of finally becoming Mousekeeter that he starts lashing away at the door
with his rapier
. Tuffy thrusts the rapier at the door too hard and is sent flying into one of the nearby empty bottles. At that point, Jerry, being the Captain of the Mouseketeers, opens the door to investigate the ruckus. Jerry notices the note that Tuffy was carrying:
Tuffy introduces himself (in French), but his constant talking is too much for Jerry, who cannot keep Tuffy quiet (even by covering up his mouth with his yellow hat).
To see if Tuffy would make a good mouseketeer, Jerry puts him through a series of tests. However, Tuffy fails miserably, bringing destruction to the room, ending with Jerry being stabbed in the rear. While walking down the cobbled Parisian streets, Jerry stops to give way to a pretty female mouse, while Tuffy simply stands and watches. Jerry tells Tuffy to give way to ladies, but Tuffy gives way to a large puddle. Jerry trips over Tuffy and falls face-down in the puddle. Tuffy allows another lady mouse to walk over Jerry. Just as Jerry is about to chastise Tuffy, Tom comes into the scene. Jerry tries to hide Tuffy and himself from Tom's view, but Tuffy, ever the confrontational mouse, marches up to Tom and yells "En garde!" As the little rodent counts to trois, Tom slices his hat. Jerry, fearing for Tuffy's safety, pushes down an axe. It slices through Tom, who appears unaffected by this. He sticks out his tongue, but then splits into two.
Back at Jerry's Headquarters, a stern and disgusted Jerry is responding to his friend's letter, answering:
He orders Tuffy out of the building with the disgraceful letter for Tuffy to give to his parents, and Tuffy glumly walks off. Just then, he hears the sounds of swords clashing. Running back, he sees that Tom has ambushed Jerry and now's fighting Jerry with Tom winning. Tuffy comes to the rescue by using his sword to slash off the end of Tom's tail. Tom screams in pain and leaps into the air. "Touché, Pussy Cat!" exclaims Tuffy. Tom fights back and pins Tuffy to a nearby wall. However, Jerry pulls down on Tom's clothing, causing it to expose his underwear. As Tom again tries to fight back, Tuffy, who is hiding inside a barrel behind Tom, chops off his tail once more. "Touché, Pussy Cat!" yells Tuffy (again).
In the next scene, Jerry and Tuffy are running from Tom, but end up getting separated. Tuffy spies some paint and begins painting a simple and unflattering picture of Tom, to the tune of Frère Jacques
. Unbeknown to him, Tom is standing right behind him and is not amused. Tuffy points out to Tom his picture of the pussy cat, until he realizes his mistake. Still armed with a paintbrush, he paints on Tom's face and runs off, leaving Tom with a painted duo-monocle
and moustache on his face. Tom races after Tuffy, who delays Tom by cutting open some champagne bottles, sending several corks into Tom's face. As Tom begins to catch up with the little mouse, Tuffy slashes open a huge barrel of wine, which sent a great wave of the wine down the road, engulfing Tom and sending him down the sewers. Tuffy manages to swim to safety on a window's ledge, albeit drunk, and observes Tom's fate as he goes down the hole. Tuffy then remarks, "Pauvre, pauvre,...(hic!)...‘Pushee’ Cat" ("Poor, poor pussycat").
The final scene shows Jerry awarding Tuffy the coveted title of mouseketeer for his heroics after all. He gives Tuffy the mousketeer garments, and as Tuffy proudly shows off his new clothes and swordfighting skills, he accidentally stabs Jerry in the rear. At the end of the cartoon, Jerry, apparently thinking it was intentional, repeatedly spanks Tuffy's backside, as Tuffy remarks "C'est la guerre!" ("That's war.")
Reel
A reel is an object around which lengths of another material are wound for storage. Generally a reel has a cylindrical core and walls on the sides to retain the material wound around the core...
animated
Animated cartoon
An animated cartoon is a short, hand-drawn film for the cinema, television or computer screen, featuring some kind of story or plot...
Tom and Jerry
Tom and Jerry
Tom and Jerry are the cat and mouse cartoon characters that were evolved starting in 1939.Tom and Jerry also may refer to:Cartoon works featuring the cat and mouse so named:* The Tom and Jerry Show...
short
Short subject
A short film is any film not long enough to be considered a feature film. No consensus exists as to where that boundary is drawn: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all...
, created in 1954 directed by William Hanna
William Hanna
William Denby Hanna was an American animator, director, producer, and cartoon artist, whose film and television cartoon characters entertained millions of people for much of the 20th century. When he was a young child, Hanna's family moved frequently, but they settled in Compton, California, by...
and Joseph Barbera
Joseph Barbera
Joseph Roland Barbera was an influential American animator, director, producer, storyboard artist, and cartoon artist, whose film and television cartoon characters entertained millions of fans worldwide for much of the twentieth century....
and produced by Fred Quimby
Fred Quimby
Frederick C. "Fred" Quimby was an American cartoon producer, best known as a producer of Tom and Jerry cartoons, for which he won seven Academy Awards...
with music by Scott Bradley. It was nominated for an Academy Award
Academy Award for Animated Short Film
The Academy Award for Animated Short Film is an award which has been given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as part of the Academy Awards every year since the 5th Academy Awards, covering the year 1931-32, to the present....
in 1954, the series' final Oscar nomination, while Johann Mouse
Johann Mouse
Johann Mouse is the 75th one-reel animated Tom and Jerry short, created in 1953 directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera and produced by Fred Quimby with music by Scott Bradley and Jakob Gimpel and narration by Hans Conried...
won the last award for the series a year before.
Touché, Pussy Cat! is a follow-up and a prequel to the 1952 cartoon The Two Mouseketeers
The Two Mouseketeers
The Two Mouseketeers is a 1952 American one-reel animated cartoon and is the 65th Tom and Jerry short, produced in Technicolor and released to theatres on March 15, 1952 by Metro-Goldwyn Mayer. It was produced by Fred Quimby and directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, with musical supervision...
which did win the award that year (as well as being named after Tuffy's catchphrase in the "Mousketeer" shorts). The cartoon was animated by Kenneth Muse, Ed Barge and Irven Spence, with backgrounds by Robert Gentle. It was released in theaters by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
on December 18, 1954.
It was the first of the Tom and Jerry shorts to be produced in CinemaScope
CinemaScope
CinemaScope was an anamorphic lens series used for shooting wide screen movies from 1953 to 1967. Its creation in 1953, by the president of 20th Century-Fox, marked the beginning of the modern anamorphic format in both principal photography and movie projection.The anamorphic lenses theoretically...
, but was the second CinemaScope-produced short to be released (after Pet Peeve
Pet Peeve (1954 film)
Pet Peeve is the 88th one-reel animated Tom and Jerry short, directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera and produced by Fred Quimby with music by Scott Bradley. The cartoon was animated by Kenneth Muse, Ed Barge and Irven Spence, with backgrounds by Robert Gentle...
, released the previous month; Touché, Pussy Cat! has an earlier MPAA certificate number). The cartoon also exists in a non-Cinemascope format. Touché, Pussy Cat! spawned two further entries in the "Mouseketeer" series of Tom and Jerry cartoons, namely Tom and Chérie
Tom and Chérie
Tom and Chérie is the 94th one reel animated Tom and Jerry short, created in 1955 directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera and produced by Fred Quimby with music by Scott Bradley...
in 1955, and Royal Cat Nap
Royal Cat Nap
Royal Cat Nap is the 111th one reel animated Tom and Jerry short, created 1957, directed and produced by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, with music by Scott Bradley...
in 1957, released 1958.
Plot
The cartoon begins with TuffyTuffy
Tuffy is a fictional character from the Tom and Jerry cartoon series. He is the little grey, diaper-wearing orphan mouse whose cartoon debut came in the 1946 short The Milky Waif. Tuffy was later featured in the 1949 Academy Award-winning short The Little Orphan...
(formerly named Nibbles but voiced by the same actor) walking to the King's Mouseketeers Headquarters in Paris. Upon reaching the said place, Tuffy becomes excited at the prospect of finally becoming Mousekeeter that he starts lashing away at the door
Door
A door is a movable structure used to open and close off an entrance, typically consisting of a panel that swings on hinges or that slides or rotates inside of a space....
with his rapier
Rapier
A rapier is a slender, sharply pointed sword, ideally used for thrusting attacks, used mainly in Early Modern Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries.-Description:...
. Tuffy thrusts the rapier at the door too hard and is sent flying into one of the nearby empty bottles. At that point, Jerry, being the Captain of the Mouseketeers, opens the door to investigate the ruckus. Jerry notices the note that Tuffy was carrying:
Dear Capitaine Jerry:
This is my son whom you promised to make a Mouseketeer.
Thank you
your old friend
François Mouse.
Tuffy introduces himself (in French), but his constant talking is too much for Jerry, who cannot keep Tuffy quiet (even by covering up his mouth with his yellow hat).
To see if Tuffy would make a good mouseketeer, Jerry puts him through a series of tests. However, Tuffy fails miserably, bringing destruction to the room, ending with Jerry being stabbed in the rear. While walking down the cobbled Parisian streets, Jerry stops to give way to a pretty female mouse, while Tuffy simply stands and watches. Jerry tells Tuffy to give way to ladies, but Tuffy gives way to a large puddle. Jerry trips over Tuffy and falls face-down in the puddle. Tuffy allows another lady mouse to walk over Jerry. Just as Jerry is about to chastise Tuffy, Tom comes into the scene. Jerry tries to hide Tuffy and himself from Tom's view, but Tuffy, ever the confrontational mouse, marches up to Tom and yells "En garde!" As the little rodent counts to trois, Tom slices his hat. Jerry, fearing for Tuffy's safety, pushes down an axe. It slices through Tom, who appears unaffected by this. He sticks out his tongue, but then splits into two.
Back at Jerry's Headquarters, a stern and disgusted Jerry is responding to his friend's letter, answering:
Dear François,
It is with deep regret that I must inform you that your son will never make a mouseketeer.
Sincerely Captaine Jerry
He orders Tuffy out of the building with the disgraceful letter for Tuffy to give to his parents, and Tuffy glumly walks off. Just then, he hears the sounds of swords clashing. Running back, he sees that Tom has ambushed Jerry and now's fighting Jerry with Tom winning. Tuffy comes to the rescue by using his sword to slash off the end of Tom's tail. Tom screams in pain and leaps into the air. "Touché, Pussy Cat!" exclaims Tuffy. Tom fights back and pins Tuffy to a nearby wall. However, Jerry pulls down on Tom's clothing, causing it to expose his underwear. As Tom again tries to fight back, Tuffy, who is hiding inside a barrel behind Tom, chops off his tail once more. "Touché, Pussy Cat!" yells Tuffy (again).
In the next scene, Jerry and Tuffy are running from Tom, but end up getting separated. Tuffy spies some paint and begins painting a simple and unflattering picture of Tom, to the tune of Frère Jacques
Frère Jacques
"Frère Jacques" , in English sometimes called "Brother John" or "Brother Peter", is a French nursery melody. The song is traditionally sung in a round. When the first singer reaches the end of the first line the next person starts at the beginning...
. Unbeknown to him, Tom is standing right behind him and is not amused. Tuffy points out to Tom his picture of the pussy cat, until he realizes his mistake. Still armed with a paintbrush, he paints on Tom's face and runs off, leaving Tom with a painted duo-monocle
Monocle
A monocle is a type of corrective lens used to correct or enhance the vision in only one eye. It consists of a circular lens, generally with a wire ring around the circumference that can be attached to a string. The other end of the string is then connected to the wearer's clothing to avoid losing...
and moustache on his face. Tom races after Tuffy, who delays Tom by cutting open some champagne bottles, sending several corks into Tom's face. As Tom begins to catch up with the little mouse, Tuffy slashes open a huge barrel of wine, which sent a great wave of the wine down the road, engulfing Tom and sending him down the sewers. Tuffy manages to swim to safety on a window's ledge, albeit drunk, and observes Tom's fate as he goes down the hole. Tuffy then remarks, "Pauvre, pauvre,...(hic!)...‘Pushee’ Cat" ("Poor, poor pussycat").
The final scene shows Jerry awarding Tuffy the coveted title of mouseketeer for his heroics after all. He gives Tuffy the mousketeer garments, and as Tuffy proudly shows off his new clothes and swordfighting skills, he accidentally stabs Jerry in the rear. At the end of the cartoon, Jerry, apparently thinking it was intentional, repeatedly spanks Tuffy's backside, as Tuffy remarks "C'est la guerre!" ("That's war.")