"The Zoot Cat" is another American Tom and Jerry cartoon and this one here is from 1944, later years of WWII, so it will have its 75th anniversary soon. These 7 minutes are probably neither among the most known these these two have to offer nor among the least known, somewhere in-between. It is perhaps their most fashion focused work as the title already gives away and it is not just Tom who is in a zoot here, but Jerry too as we find out at the very end. This ending was certainly among the better moments (next to the burning-paw scene) of an otherwise really forgettable cartoon that suffered from an unlikable female cat taking away too much screen time from Jerry especially. It was not bad or anything, but not very funny either. Plus I don't like these a lot where Tom is talking and he is talking a lot here. Overall, I give this one a thumbs-down and it's really only worth seeing for T&J completionists. Everybody else can skip it.

As this short opens Jerry is tied up with a ribbon; we quickly learn why when Tom presents him to a lady cat.... she is unimpressed though and rejects his advances. Tom then hears a radio advert for Zoot suits and decides to make his own. The lady cat clearly thinks it is pretty sharp as this time he gets invited in. Tom starts dancing with her but Jerry is determined to spoil it for him; he throws a banana skin and Tom goes flying lands on the piano. This doesn't spoil his date though; he just recovers and starts playing it. Jerry continues his efforts though and eventually Tom loses his cool and ultimately his suit.This is a rather unusual Tom and Jerry short as the two usually silent characters talk and to be honest the voices didn't really fit the characters for me even though the somewhat dated jive talk was pretty funny. As always there is a fair amount of violence; some of it inventive some of it just cruel. While this isn't one of my favourite Tom and Jerry shorts it is still well worth watching; mostly for the jive talk; particularly the lady cat's rejection speech delivered to Tom at the start.

The "zoot - suit" era lasted roughly from 1939 to about 1946. It's most permanent affect was to help spread "cool" lingo from extreme jazz lovers into the mainstream of the U.S. culture. But this probably would have happened anyway: the average person would have liked the music and picked up the various slang terms. Instead the zoot suit was to become an object of suspicion for ultra-conservative types (who hated jazz anyway) as being anti-social. And after awhile, it seemed just like a fad that had played out. With it's over-padded shoulders, attempts at streamlined and tight midriff section, and wild patterns (frequently with crazy stripes), covered with a wide brimmed - low crowned hat, the "zoot suit" just struck an unnerving note with conservatives, and a reaffirmation of independence with jazz fans.Here Tom Cat is shown going to the home of a pretty female cat, with a present (a disgusted Jerry Mouse in a blue box with a ribbon on it). Tom tries to make himself presentable, pomading his hair (with lard, symbolically enough), and curlicuing his whiskers. When he gives her the gift, Tom also serenades the cat on his ukulele, and sounds so annoying that when he is accidentally hit in the face with a board from her veranda the audience feels cheered.The female cat tells Tom how square he seems, and shuts the door, after returning his gift (Jerry thinks him square too, and shows it before he runs off). Tom decides to show he can be real cool - he constructs a costume of a zoot suit and hat from a hammock and a lamp shade. Then he returns and briefly captures the girl's affections. But I said briefly: Jerry sees to that.As pointed out this was one of the few Tom and Jerry cartoons that gave the two characters voices (Jerry has the same voice used in ANCHORS AWEIGH). Oddly enough, at one point, when Tom seems about to consummate the relations with the female cat, he stops talking jive, and starts an imitation based on his idea of Charles Boyer (hardly a zoot suit type).It is not a bad little cartoon. I am not usually a fan of Tom and Jerry or of Hanna-Barbera's work, but for it's capturing a moment of 20th Century American culture I think this was a pretty good cartoon.

Here's one fact that I had forgotten. The much lauded "talking" between Tom and Jerry in the feature film a few years back WAS NOT THE FIRST TIME THEY TALKED! They didn't say more than a couple of lines, but, BOTH Tom and Jerry spoke actual words in this cartoon! So much for Hollywood "Myths". I guess the screenwriters overlooked this episode.It's a fun outing, like most of Tom and Jerry's adventures. Tom's trying to be hep to impress a local female cat, and Jerry's only making things harder on Tom than normal. Good fun, and wild to hear them speak.