It's been said that the classic Tom & Jerry cartoons, the ones everyone loves by Hanna-Barbera and Fred Quimby, were violent. Sure, there was a great deal of violence but it was always done with style and an uncanny penchant for humor. Classic T&J is my all-time favorite cartoon.
But these psychedelic, early 1960s adventures are a different story. The violence turns unpleasant, and the epitome of these strange hybrid of Tom & Jerry is this episode: Down & Outing.
I hate absolutely loathed Tom's owner, who would turn beet red whenever Tom screwed up and went absolutely ballistic on Tom, smashing him over the head with a plethora of foreign objects. I'm not one of these ultra-PC types that can't stomach violence. But this version of T & J ranks up high as some of the most unnerving pieces of "entertainment" I've ever seen.
I like psychedelic media, but somehow it didn't work here. And if the violence, done in poor taste, was bad enough, wait until you hear the music. Again, it's just plain weird, like a bad hangover.
Stick to classic Tom & Jerry.
But these psychedelic, early 1960s adventures are a different story. The violence turns unpleasant, and the epitome of these strange hybrid of Tom & Jerry is this episode: Down & Outing.
I hate absolutely loathed Tom's owner, who would turn beet red whenever Tom screwed up and went absolutely ballistic on Tom, smashing him over the head with a plethora of foreign objects. I'm not one of these ultra-PC types that can't stomach violence. But this version of T & J ranks up high as some of the most unnerving pieces of "entertainment" I've ever seen.
I like psychedelic media, but somehow it didn't work here. And if the violence, done in poor taste, was bad enough, wait until you hear the music. Again, it's just plain weird, like a bad hangover.
Stick to classic Tom & Jerry.