Heavenly Puss
Heavenly Puss | |
---|---|
Tom and Jerry series | |
Poster | |
Directed by | William Hanna and Joseph Barbera |
Story by | William Hanna and Joseph Barbera |
Music by | Scott Bradley |
Layouts by | Vale Gracey |
Backgrounds by | Art Riley |
Studio | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio |
Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Release date(s) |
|
Color process |
Technicolor Perspecta (reissue) |
Running time | 7:48 |
Language | English |
Preceded by | Hatch Up Your Troubles |
Followed by | The Cat and the Mermouse |
Heavenly Puss is a 1949 one-reel animated cartoon and is the 42nd Tom and Jerry short, created in 1948, and released on 9 July 1949. It was directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, and produced by Fred Quimby. The cartoon's music was composed by Scott Bradley and the animation was credited to Ray Patterson, Irven Spence, Kenneth Muse and Ed Barge.
Plot
Tom is sleeping near the fireplace, but sees Jerry sneaking past him. Jerry goes up onto the dinner table and tries to reach for the food, but Tom whacks him with a knife and Jerry retreats, running up the staircase. Tom pulls the carpet off the staircase to catch Jerry, but also pulls down a large upright piano. While Jerry dodges, the piano squashes Tom to death. Tom's spirit ascends to the "Heavenly Express", a train that sends dead cats to Heaven.
Several cats are waiting to enter, including Butch, who has lost a fight with a bulldog, Frankie, who was struck with a flat iron while singing on a backyard fence, Aloysius, who was run over and flattened by a steamroller, and Fluff, Muff and Puff, the trio of cats who were thrown into a river and drowned as a result of animal cruelty. The gatekeeper allows them all through as their deaths were untimely, but refuses Tom because he has persecuted "an innocent little mouse" all of his life. Tom is given a certificate of forgiveness for Jerry to sign to board the train which leaves in one hour. If he fails, Tom will be banished to hell where the devil (Spike) awaits.
At first, Tom thinks it was all a dream until he sees the certificate and a clock appears with the gatekeeper warning him to hurry. Tom pleads Jerry to sign, bringing cake, but Jerry eats the cake quick and sprays the pen's ink into Tom's face. Then Tom tries to forge Jerry's signature, but the gatekeeper stops him ("Thomas! Ah ah ah-ah-ah!"). Later Tom attempts to bribe Jerry with a piece of cheese, but this upsets Jerry and he tears up the certificate, causing Tom into rage, violently grabbing Jerry. Before Tom attempted to hit Jerry, the devil pops out and reminds Tom of the consequence of doing so, tempting him to finish the job. In fear, Tom quickly acts compassionately, as the devil disappears. After quickly taping up the torn certificate, Tom pleads with Jerry into signing it, which Jerry sympathetically does in the end. However, Tom misses the deadline and the heavenly escalator disappears when he attempted to hurry back upwards. Tom then falls into a hole that directly leads to Hell where he will be tortured by the devil. But then it is revealed that Tom was actually dreaming and he finally wakes up when a piece of hot coal burns his tail, much to his relief. Then, Tom coaxes Jerry out of his hole, and suddenly peppers him with kisses and hugs him with joy, much to Jerry's confusion.
Voice cast
- Billy Bletcher as Devil Dog (uncredited)
- Daws Butler as Conductor (uncredited)
Availability
- Tom and Jerry's Greatest Chases, Vol. 2
- Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection Vol. 1, Disc One
External links
- Heavenly Puss at The Big Cartoon DataBase
- Heavenly Puss at the Internet Movie Database
- watch Heavenly Puss on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvz-4gnSLog