Tom Cat

Tom Cat
	Tom and Jerry character
	File:Tom Tom and Jerry.png; Tom's design in the Hanna-Barbera shorts.
First appearance	Puss Gets the Boot (As Jasper) The Midnight Snack (As Tom)
Created by	William Hanna; Joseph Barbera
Voiced by	See below
Information
Nickname(s)	Tommy
Aliases	Thomas
Species	Domestic short-haired cat
Gender	Male
Family	Mammy Two Shoes; Unnamed man from Posse Cat and Cruise Cat ; George and Joan
Relatives	George (identical musophobic cousin); Butch ("buddy" or rival); Meathead ("buddy" or rival); Topsy ("buddy" or rival); Lightning ("buddy" or rival); Fluff, Muff and Puff (enemy); Jerry ("buddy" or mostly rival)

Thomas "Tom" Cat is a fictional character and one of the title characters (the second being Jerry Mouse) in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's series of Tom and Jerry theatrical cartoon short films. Created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, Tom is a blue/grey anthropomorphic domestic short-haired cat who first appeared in the 1940 animated short Puss Gets the Boot.^[1] Tom was originally known as "Jasper" during his debut in that short,^[2] however, beginning from his next appearance in The Midnight Snack and onwards, he is known as "Tom" or "Thomas".^[3]

History[]

Tom and Jerry cartoons[]

His full name, "Tom Cat", is based on "tomcat", a phrase which refers to male cats. He is very rarely heard speaking with the exception of a few cartoons (such as Tom & Jerry Tales' League of Cats) and "Tom and Jerry: The Movie". His only notable vocal sounds outside of this are his various screams whenever he is subject to pain or panic. He is continuously after Jerry Mouse, for whom he sets traps, many of which backfire and cause damage to him rather than Jerry.

Tom has changed remarkably over the years, especially after the first episodes. For example, in his debut, he was quadrupedal and had normal cat intelligence. However, over the years (since the episode Dog Trouble), he has become almost completely bipedal and has human intelligence. As a slapstick cartoon character, Tom has a superhuman level of elasticity. Tom is usually defeated (or very rarely, killed) in the end, although there are some stories where he outwits and defeats Jerry.

Anchors Aweigh & Dangerous When Wet[]

Tom and Jerry appeared together in the 1945 Technicolor Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musical Anchors Aweigh where Tom briefly appears as a butler for Jerry, the latter who has a dance sequence with Gene Kelly, and also in another musical with the same studio Dangerous When Wet (1953), where, in a dream sequence, main character Katie Higgins (Esther Williams) does an underwater ballet with Tom and Jerry, as well as animated depictions of the different people in her life.^[4]

Voice actors[]

Clarence Nash: Vocal effects in the Hanna-Barbera era (1940–1942, Sufferin' Cats!) (Archival recording from Disney cartoons)
William Hanna: Vocal effects in the Hanna-Barbera era (1942–1958) shorts: The Lonesome Mouse, The Million Dollar Cat, Tom and Jerry: Shiver Me Whiskers (archival recording from classic shorts), The Tom and Jerry Show (archival recording from classic shorts)
Stepin Fetchit: 1948 short: Mouse Cleaning
Daws Butler: 1956 short: Mucho Mouse (and a few others as well)
Allen Swift: Vocal effects in the Gene Deitch era (1961–1962) shorts
Mel Blanc: Vocal effects in the Chuck Jones era (1963–1967) shorts
John Stephenson: The Tom And Jerry Show
Frank Welker: The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show, Tom & Jerry Kids
Richard Kind: Tom and Jerry: The Movie
Jeff Bennett: Tom and Jerry: The Magic Ring
Bill Kopp: Tom and Jerry: Blast Off to Mars, Tom and Jerry: The Fast and the Furry
Spike Brandt: 2005 short: The Karate Guard
Don Brown: Tom and Jerry Tales
Maurice LaMarche: Tom and Jerry in War of the Whiskers
Billy West: Tom and Jerry and the Wizard of Oz

Love interests[]

Apart from chasing Jerry, Tom has multiple love interests with female cats. Their names start with "T", except in Tom and Jerry Kids. They are:

Toots, a fluffy beige cat who appears in Puss n' Toots and The Mouse Comes to Dinner, the latter being her only speaking role. This version of Toots also appeared in some 1940s Tom and Jerry comics.
Toots, a different cat by the same name who appears in The Zoot Cat. She has occasionally and erroneously been referred to as "Sheikie," but this is actually Tom's nickname, as seen on a gift card in the cartoon.
An unnamed, non-speaking cat who appears very briefly in The Bodyguard. She was made as a mere object of slap-stick humor, as when Tom gave her a wolf-whistle, he ironically gave himself away to Spike, who was supposed to protect Jerry every time he whistles.
Tara, a non-speaking cat who appears in Texas Tom.
Toodles Galore, a non-speaking recurring cat who sometimes adores Tom and sometimes treats him badly (particularly in Love Me). She appears in multiple shorts.
An unnamed white cat appearing in Blue Cat Blues. Similar to the cat seen in Muscle Beach Tom, except with a personality like Toodles.

Owners[]

Over his years as a housecat, Tom has multiple owners, varying in different cartoons.

Mammy Two Shoes (1940–1952, Tom and Jerry Tales (majority of episodes))
Nancy (Baby Puss)
King of France (The Two Mouseketeers, Royal Cat Nap)
Ship's captain (Cruise Cat, Puss 'n' Boats)
Johann Strauss (Johann Mouse)
Ranch cook (Posse Cat)
Joan and George (Pet Peeve, Mouse for Sale, The Flying Sorceress, Busy Buddies, Tom's Photo Finish, The Vanishing Duck, Tot Watchers)
Clint Clobber (Down and Outing, High Steaks, Sorry Safari)
Sea captain (Dicky Moe)
Thin white lady (Saturday Evening Puss (1960s reanimated version), Buddies Thicker Than Water, The Unshrinkable Jerry Mouse, Tom and Jerry: The Fast and the Furry)
Astronaut (O-Solar Meow)
Unnamed man (The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show, The Mansion Cat)
Robyn Starling (Tom and Jerry: The Movie)
Chip the wizard (Tom and Jerry: The Magic Ring)
Rick and Ginger (The Tom and Jerry Show)

References[]

↑ IMDb. Puss Gets the Boot. Retrieved on 16 May 2010.
↑ Mark Christopher Carnes, American national biography (2)
↑ IMDb. The Midnight Snack (1941). Retrieved on 16 May 2010.
↑ IMDb. Dangerous When Wet (1953). Retrieved on 16 May 2010.

Category:Tom and Jerry characters Category:Fictional anthropomorphic characters Category:Fictional cats Category:Fictional characters introduced in 1940 Category:Hanna-Barbera series and characters Category:MGM cartoon characters

[1] IMDb. Puss Gets the Boot. Retrieved on 16 May 2010.

[2] Mark Christopher Carnes, American national biography (2)

[3] IMDb. The Midnight Snack (1941). Retrieved on 16 May 2010.

[4] IMDb. Dangerous When Wet (1953). Retrieved on 16 May 2010.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]