The Night Before Christmas (1941)

Well, a mouse *is* stirring... And he's having fun playing with the toys, until he mistakes Tom for a stuffed toy and wakes him up.

Directors:

Joseph Barbera, William Hanna

Stars:

The Debutantes, Frank Graham, The King's Men

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Uncredited cast:
The Debutantes	...	Vocalists (uncredited)
Frank Graham	...	Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
The King's Men	...	Vocalists (uncredited)

Storyline

It's snowy and cold outside, and warm inside where Jerry squeezes past a mousetrap to cavort under a present-laden Christmas tree. Mistaking the sleeping Tom for a plush toy, Jerry wakes the cat and a mad chase ensues. Various toys come to Jerry's rescue as he dashes about. Mistletoe is his final refuge before he must escape to the outdoors just ahead of Tom's claws. Out in the snow, he may become a mouse Popcycle, and unless Christmas peace can descend, Tom may be in for a nasty surprise as well. Can the lads find the spirit of the season?

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Plot Keywords:

mouse | christmas | cat | mousetrap | plush toy | 

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Genres:

Animation | Short | Comedy | Drama | Family | Fantasy

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 December 1941 (USA)

Also Known As:

Not Even a Mouse

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fred Quimby Productions,Loew's,MGM Cartoon Studio

Technical Specs

Runtime:

9 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The third Tom and Jerry cartoon released into theaters.

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Connections

Followed by Old Rockin' Chair Tom (1948)

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Soundtracks

It Came Upon the Midnight Clear
(1850)
Music by Richard Storrs Willis (1850)
Lyrics by Edmund Hamilton Sears (1849)
Chorus: The Debutantes and The King's Men (all uncredited), with special lyrics

User Reviews

Tom & Jerry Show The Christmas Spirit

This early Tom and Jerry cartoon can be excused if it is overly cute-over-comedy in subject matter. Hey, it's the Christmas season and this cartoon reflects that in an old-fashioned, nice way.

Apparently, this is Jerry's first Christmas because he's amazed to see Christmas tree ornaments, candy canes and stuff animals and other presents under the tree.

This does have the usual chase scene, but isn't that long and the film ends on a very touching sentimental note the last few minutes.

As others have said, this is about as nice as Christmas cartoon as you're ever going to find. At the beginning, I thought this might be nothing but it's such a feel-good Tom & Jerry that it's very, very worthy of being in anyone's collection.