"The Tom and Jerry Cartoon Kit" is an American/Czechoslovakian cartoon from 1962, so this one had its 55th anniversary last year and despite the age, it is still among the later Tom and Jerry works. This is also proven by Gene Deitch having taken over at that point already from Hanna Barbera in this MGM production that runs for a bit over 6.5 minutes as they always do. I would say that story-wise and comedy-wise it isn't too bad and probably not worse than some of the weaker HB original T&J cartoons, maybe even better. The melon scenes were kinda okay and the martial arts judo stuff wasn't too shabby either, at least at the very end when the ground breaks under Tom. The title is really random though as it only refers to the first minute. And Jerry must be quite a talented fighter if he picks up all these amazing skills from a book without actual training. The film's biggest weakness though was not just the background animation, but the complete lack thereof and the longer it goes the more painful it becomes to see. Eventually it is just the two central characters in front of one background color. Essentialism is one thing, but I just cannot approve of that. A bit of a pity as plot- and comedy-wise it was solid for the most part, but the lows are lower than the highs are high, so I give this one a thumbs-down and recommend skipping the watch here.

As the voice-over for director Gene Deitch's The Tom & Jerry Cartoon Kit explains: "Anyone can now enter the lucrative field of animated cartoons". We know, Mr. Deitch—you're living proof!This one does away with a plot entirely, the cartoon consisting of totally random and surreal action, and keeps the need for drawing to an absolute minimum by making all of the backgrounds flat colour. What next? Pure white backgrounds? That would keep the costs down even further.Others here on IMDb seem to like The Tom & Jerry Cartoon Kit slightly more than Deitch's other efforts, but I don't get it, finding this just as wretched.

Though that is not saying much, this cartoon is mediocre. However, along with Tall in the Trap and Calypso Cat it is one of the more tolerable Tom and Jerry cartoons that Gene Dietch made, I can't stand the rest. The animation is not great but it is better than the animation in the likes of Switchin' Kitten and Sorry Safari, as the colours are not as flat and the backgrounds not quite as static. The story is also an improvement, it is standard, but it is not non-existent or disturbing. And Tom and Jerry themselves are at least okay. However, the music is still rather creepy, the pace is uneven often feeling rushed and the sound effects are bizarre. While I raised a smile a few times, there was nothing I would deem as hilarious. Overall, this is not saying much but for me when it comes to Gene Dietch this is one of the better ones. 5/10 Bethany Cox

When I was a kid, I would watch hours of Tom & Jerry every day (between TBS and the local stations, I could probably have spent 12 hours a day watching Tom & Jerry). I didn't know much about the history of animation, but I figured out a few "styles"... Early Hanna-Barbera, 50's Hanna-Barbera, Chuck Jones-style, 60's style, Filmation, and... the Gene Deitch ones.I instinctively didn't like the Filmation ones, but the Gene Deitch vignettes... these are the things the nightmares of children are built upon.I don't know how to properly convey how weird these things are in the pantheon of Tom & Jerry cartoons. Gene Deitch was a master animator, but of avant-garde subjects; his angular, flat style just doesn't work- it feels like you're watching a badly dubbed cartoon, rather than new-style animation. It actually felt like I was watching a cartoon done in a third-world country that "appropriated" the T&J characters- Stalinist cartoons, perhaps.The sounds, too... Tom & Jerry always had creepy bits (who doesn't remember "Don't you believe it!" after Tom gets blown up by the atomic white mouse?) but the Deitch shorts... the sf/x all sound synthesized and strange. If Jerry is confused, what do you hear? Not a tiny voice going "Hmmm", but a wobbling-sheet-metal sound, as if it were being done in an echo chamber.The over-all effect is the same feeling I get when watching Italian horror/sexploitation flicks, or Jorge Buttgereit's work (Nekromantik, Der Todesking)- this is *definitely* not what I should feel like when watching a Tom & Jerry cartoon...