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 The Yankee Doodle Mouse More at IMDbPro »

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8 out of 9 people found the following review useful:
Extremely Good; Well--Deserved Academy Award Winner, 19 December 2006
10/10
Author: ccthemovieman-1 from United States

This is a Tom & Jerry "war" cartoon with Jerry in the war mode pulverizing hapless Tom. Right from the beginning when he's tossing "hen-grenades" (eggs) to the end, he's using all kinds of objects as warfare. There are bunch of clever references to war slogans but modified, such as "That Friendly Rat May Tell The Cat" as one of the old warnings to use to give folks about being careful who you talk to, etc.

Jerry, complete a bottle-cap for a helmet, also dive-bombs the poor cat, riding paper airplanes with firecrackers, until he's finally shot down but he parachutes with a bra and lands safely. He even uses smoke screens by dragging a bag of flour along the ground. - whatever he can think up to win the "war." It's all clever and very funny.

This is non-stop action with a patriotic ending. I have no argument about this winning an Academy Award for best animated short.

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5 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
Tom and Jerry go to war, 30 May 2005
9/10
Author: movieman_kev from United States

Jerry the mouse and tom the cat are at war with each other, Jerry using such items as egg 'hen' grenades, light bulb bombs, and various other Weapons of Mass Distraction. Tom is pretty much the Nazi to Jerry's American soldier in this one. It won the Oscar for best short cartoon in 1944 and rightfully so as this is one of the funnier Tom and Jerry cartoons that I've seen and worth having in ANYone's collection. This hilarious award winning cartoon can be found on disc one of the Spotlight collection DVD of "Tom & Jerry" Which is a great buy however way you slice it.

My Grade: A

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5 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
The first of seven Oscars for the cat and mouse, 27 March 2001
9/10
Author: Robert Reynolds (minniemato@hotmail.com) from Tucson AZ

This cartoon was the first of seven Oscar winners in the Animated Short category. While it is the least of the seven, in my view, it speaks more to the quality of the others than to any weakness in this particular cartoon. Sort of "Jerry Goes To War", it is a reflection of the times and is very well executed and funny. Shows frequently on Cartoon Network. Recommended.

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2 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
One of the Best Tom and Jerry Cartoons, 7 October 2006
Author: Safari-1969 from Northeastern United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

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!"

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3 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
An perfect game of Cat and Mouse, 7 September 2006
8/10
Author: Shawn Watson (gator_macready@yahoo.com) from The Underverse

In this Oscar-winning cartoon (a fact that they're modest enough to mention in the opening credits) Tom and Jerry wage war on each other in the basement of a house. Using household objects as weapons in a variety of imaginative ways, they advance and retreat on each other, desperate to win their mini-conflict.

I suppose this was one of MGMs entries into the pro-WWII cartoon efforts that Disney and Warner seemed to be having a blast with. It's got a very patriotic feel to it and makes war out to be fun. I have no problem with this kind of propaganda at all, but I am surprised that PC-thug groups haven't forced outrage over this, since their lot have ruined many other Tom and Jerry cartoons. Maybe their so blinkered that they cannot really see the subtext.

Anyway, it's a surprisingly good cartoon and really did earn the Academy Award it was honored with.

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1 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
T&J do their bit for the war effort., 13 March 2008
8/10
Author: BA_Harrison from Hampshire, England

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.

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0 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
Curious title, but one of the better early Tom and Jerry cartoons, 18 June 2010
9/10
Author: TheLittleSongbird from United Kingdom

There is no doubt in my mind this was one of the better early Tom and Jerry cartoons. Even with its decidedly curious and somewhat ironic title. The Yankee Doodle Mouse is extremely good all the same, with a great story and a very patriotic ending. The animation is fantastic, the visual effects are dazzling especially with the US flag and the music score here is one of my favourite soundtracks on a Tom and Jerry cartoon. Even more impressive were the sound effects, they were really authentic, and the sight gags are brilliantly timed and all of them work superbly. Overall, even with the curious title, but it is for me one of the better early Tom and Jerry cartoons. 9/10 Bethany Cox

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0 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
Perhaps the Academy was pandering to the war effort?, 2 September 2009
8/10
Author: planktonrules from Bradenton, Florida

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

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.

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1 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
Funniest of 'em all! (possible spoiler), 26 October 2003
Author: Norbert from NYC

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I personally think that this Tom and Jerry clip is the best out of all the other ones! When the show starts, it's already funny. As usual, Jerry tries to "get" Tom badly. Many funny things happen, and it is worth seeing this clip again, and again. I highly recommend it, it's appropriate for all ages, even adults. Overall: 96 out of 100

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