"The Yankee Doodle Mouse" is an American 7.5-minute cartoon from 1943, which means that this one will have its 75th anniversary next year and that it was from the days of World War II. And as it was made by Hanna Barbera, it is a Tom & Jerry cartoon, one of their more, maybe even most, known and liked. Actually is is really many very short films put together here. They may not have much of a connection, but they have certain things in common. For example, they are pretty much always about explosions and Jerry keeps being in a somewhat hopeless situation, but he keeps prevailing and eventually triumphing with Tom being the loser, sometimes through bad luck, at other times through his own incompetence. There are no other cats, other mice or dogs in here - pure Tom vs. Jerry. To me, the film needed a bit to get going, but the middle part is where it is at its best and funniest and the ending is solid too. Okay I think that is all. Oh yeah, I guess the Oscars pretty much liked the patriotic note at the very end and as they have always been kinda big on Tom and Jerry, they gave them another Academy Award here picking this one over works by some other greats from that era. It's probably not my favorite cartoon about the world's most famous cat-and-mouse duo, but it is a decently entertaining watch for lovers of old cartoons. I give it a thumbs-up.

This cartoon appears, at least to me, to possibly be an effort by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (AMPAS--the Oscar people) to announce that they were squarely behind the war effort--though THE YANKEE DOODLE MOUSE was an excellent film. Unlike a typical Tom and Jerry cartoon, this one had several allusions to WWII--such as Jerry sending dispatches to the war office that he's taken car of the enemy, the cat. This is all very typical of a WWII era cartoon and perhaps this wasn't the main reason the cartoon won the Oscar for Best Animated Short--we'll never know.Regardless of why it won, it was a superior product. The animation quality of these earlier Tom and Jerry cartoons were he best of the series--with amazingly beautiful story boards. Of the big three animation studios of the day, Disney, Warner Brothers and MGM, MGM probably had the best quality animation from a purely technical standpoint. Additionally, it's fun watching these characters beat the snot out of each other. However, this isn't exactly new stuff--most Tom and Jerry cartoons are very, very similar to each other. As usual, Tom tries to kill Jerry and by the end Jerry wins the day--no huge surprises here. While me saying this is a bit of a spoiler, it probably comes as no surprise to anyone that Jerry is the winner. Heck, I can only remember one time where Tom ended up the victor in all their many films.

By the end of 1941, the US had entered WW2, and Hollywood was doing its part to raise morale with uplifting movies depicting the heroic efforts of American service men and women. Tom and Jerry also joined in with the war effort with Yankee Doodle Mouse, a war-themed cartoon that sees the beleaguered mouse fighting bravely against the odds against the imposing cat, and ultimately succeeding in winning his battle.The main purpose of this episode was to boost morale, and the cartoon definitely succeeds in being extremely entertaining stuff, with a lively pace and some lovely visual humour on display: Tom laughing at a tiny explosive which results in a massive explosion; Tom putting his face into a kettle containing more explosives, and being turned into a 'flower'; Jerry using a bra as a parachute; and Tom tying his own hands to a rocket.Very patriotic (Jerry salutes a firework Stars and Stripes at the end!), but also very funny and inventive, this one deservedly won an Oscar in 1944.

Tom and Jerry are one of the funniest cartoon duos in years. In this 1943, which was released during WWII, Tom and Jerry fight each other with fireworks. The slapstick violence in this cartoon is really funny.I like how they fight with the explosives. It uses some classic jokes, and unique ideas, like Jerry using a cheese grater as an army jeep, or a bra as a parachute.This is one the best, and the violence goes on and on for about 7 minutes straight.A 10 out of 10, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera did a really good job on this cartoon of the outrageously funny duo. I like at the end where the contract says "Send more cats!"