Barbecue Brawl (1956) User Reviews

Almost The Same Story As 'Pup On A Picnic'

[ccthemovieman-1 · 6/10 · 4 December 2007]

"Son, now you know why dogs hate cats!"

So says "Spike" to his little bulldog pup "Tyke" after Tom winds up in the salad bowl. All Spike is trying to do is have a barbecue with some steak and salad, but Tom keeps interrupting by chasing Jerry, who hides in the salad bowl, bag of charcoal, etc., and Tom blindly disrupts things always forgetting Spike is there.

This cartoon theme is similar - too similar - to another Tom and Jerry animated short in the '50s, called "Pup On A Picnic." In that one, Spike takes his pride-and-joy, baby bulldog "Tyke," on a picnic out in the woods. In this cartoon, he's preparing a barbecue out in the backyard. The material in both cartoons is basically the same. This is really noticeable when you're viewing these on the Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection Volume Three, which I was, because they come almost back-to-back.

Even the endings on both cartoons feature the same twist: a army of ants (complete with trumpeter), invading the premises and stealing the food.

So....overall, not bad but too much of a rip-off of the other cartoon. Were the writers running out of ideas?

"Get out of my salad!"

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 13 January 2013]

I've always loved Tom and Jerry, and while Barbecue Brawl is not one of their very best it is well worth watching. There are definitely striking similarities to Pup on a Picnic, but even with like Pup on a Picnic the story not being as strong as everything else(the gags are not quite as original here either) Barbecue Brawl is every bit as entertaining. The gags are still funny, the bits with the salad, Jerry initially stopping Tom from falling into the water and then lets go, Tom trying to catch Jerry in Spike's hat and the of course the ants are the ones where I laughed the hardest at. The "Get out of my salad" line is also priceless. On top of that the animation is luscious, and the music as ever characterful. All four characters(Tom, Jerry, Spike and Tyke) are true to their personalities and play off each other very well, and even the ants at the end shine. Overall, as you'd expect from Tom and Jerry Barbecue Brawl is fun and entertaining. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Cat and Mouse disrupt outdoor pinic yet other creatures carry the food away!

[blanbrn · 8/10 · 17 December 2020]

This "Tom and Jerry" short from 1956 "Barbecue Brawl" is one that's fun and interesting as it features the father and son dog characters of Spike and Tyke who decide to outdoor picnic only things on the grill cool when Tom and Jerry conduct one of their chases and spoil the food! Some scenes were clever like Jerry being tossed in the salad and the smoke burning Spike's eyes from the charcoal. However the food is packed off in the end by some unexpected uninvited marching pest critters! Overall well done tasty treat episode.

With its tossed salad jokes and ants-at-a-picnic theme . . .

[pixrox1 · 6/10 · 22 October 2022]

. . . BARBECUE BRAWL manages to be tawdry and tired at the same time. Film fans wondering why the Groaning Fat Cat fired Hannah Barbara towards the close of the 1950's need look no further than BARBECUE BRAWL. During the early 1940's, the Tom & Jerry series may have been highly derivative--just remember how corporate spies stole the negative for RHAPSODY RABBIT from Bugs Bunny, dashed off an insipid bogus rip-off called CAT CONCERTO, and then rigged the screening process to snatch the coveted gelded statuette away from Bugs, the true piano prodigy--but at least they required their animators to actually draw stuff, with titles such as THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS or MOUSE AT WAR, as opposed to the lazy style of doodling characterizing BARBECUE BRAWL and most of the other Tom and Jerry's from this decade. In her early days, Ms. Barbara occasionally enjoyed a glimmer of an original idea, as was the case with CAT FISHING and THE FLYING CAT. However, her style soon devolved to a plethora of bland fourth-rate pale imitations of Classic Animation, which eventually was trashed like yesterday's garbage.

Gotta love those ants.

[BA_Harrison · 6/10 · 3 May 2017]

Barbecue Brawl opens as Spike and Tyke prepare for a barbecue, but their al fresco dining is interrupted by Tom, who is busy chasing Jerry around the backyard with no regard for others. What follows is unremarkable stuff for the most part—mildly amusing but nothing more—but I'm willing to cut this one a little slack for two reasons. Firstly, the animation is a bit better than the last couple of episodes, with more appealing backgrounds; and secondly, Barbecue Brawl sees the return of the marching ants that first appeared in Pup On A Picnic—I love those guys!

So, no classic, but still worth watching, especially if you like the ants.