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1947 Animated Short Oscar Analysis

1947 was a terrific year for Tom and Jerry as the duo had some amazing movies released during this period. Unfortunately, other series weren’t as great with Looney Tunes being particularly thin this time around. The Academy’s slate was problematic in that it only featured one Tom and Jerry short and three rather forgettable flicks that are at least diverse in the studios and characters being represented. The eventual winner was great, but overall the slate itself left a lot to be desired.

My Ranking of the Nominees:

5. Tubby the Tuba

Tubby the Tuba is a short directed by George Pal, a man who had a great run in the forties being nominated for many years consecutively in this category. As is expected from his movie, this one is also gorgeous in its stop-motion animation and also wonderful in its score. The issue here lies in the plot. It is not only overly simplistic and uninspired, but the film also has a dour, far from fun tone that lacked a humorous touch. Thus, it’s the weakest nominee from this year’s slate.

4. Pluto’s Blue Note

Pluto’s Blue Note fared only slightly better than the above entry. The ending of this short is fantastic as it’s unexpectedly mischievous and very memorable. Pluto is also endearing as always and the animation is quite polished. However, most of the short plays out in an overly familiar, forgettable fashion as it’s lacking in more memorable gags and situations. When it comes to Disney shorts, this one is only solid as there were many much better shorts that never got nominated by the Academy.

3. Chip an’ Dale

This is the first ever film that named these two now famous cartoon characters. Unfortunately, they aren’t the stars of this short. Donald is. And that was a problem for a movie that was supposed to be about the chipmunks. But at least Donald was hilarious as usual and the finale was superbly executed across the board. The middle act left a lot to be desired, but otherwise the short is well animated, endearing and rather amusing in its solid gags. It’s overall better than the above two entries, thus earning it a third place on this list.

2. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Mouse

Jerry drinks a potion that Tom made in order to kill him, but the mouse grows stronger and bigger as a result. This is the only nominated short this year from the Tom and Jerry series, which is a shame as the duo had an amazing year in 1947. There are many iconic moments here, ranging from Tom’s grinning face to his yelps to the terrific fridge scene. It’s a great parody short that makes a strong use of its premise through phenomenal humor and the typically brutal action for this series.

1. Tweetie Pie

Tweety is freezing outside and the cat’s mistress takes the bird in the house. Sylvester then attempts to capture the bird and fails repeatedly. The first short ever to star both of these iconic creations, Tweetie Pie is all-around terrific. Not only is the score superbly incorporated into the action on screen, but the gags are uniformly great and both Tweety and Sylvester are highly memorable here. The broomstick scenes are particularly great in a film that has quite a lot of memorable moments. It undoubtedly deserved its Oscar this year.

Films That Should Have Been Nominated:

A Mouse in the House – Tom and Butch get an order from Mammy to catch a mouse or they’ll be kicked out of the house. They fight and try to catch him, but fail miserably and Mammy kicks them out of the house along with Jerry himself. That ending was unexpected and delightful and this cartoon is so incredible that it’s a shame that it was snubbed by the Academy.

Cat Fishin’ – Tom goes fishing, somehow avoids Spike and uses Jerry as a fish bait. But of course Jerry gets the best of him eventually and Spike chases the cat. This is another strong Tom and Jerry short in a year full of them. It makes excellent use of its underwater setting through many well constructed gags.

Salt Water Tabby – Tom is on the beach and trying to impress an attractive female cat, but of course Jerry is also there to spoil his chances and ruin the cat’s day. The beach setting is so well used here while the female cat is also quite memorable. Jerry is very aggressive here and the whole short plays out in a delightfully devilish manner.

The Invisible Mouse – Jerry goes into an invisible ink bottle after which he becomes invisible and of course he then goes out to torment the big cat. Although this short doesn’t fully utilize its premise to its greatest potential, the second half is wildly entertaining and featuring a couple of unforgettable moments.

Mickey’s Delayed Date – I cannot just choose all Tom and Jerry shorts for the honorable mentions, can I? The last one goes to the Mickey Mouse series. Unlike the nominated short from this year, Pluto is here used sparingly, which was a great choice. The whole short is beautifully animated and gorgeously romantic with Mickey and Minnie’s date as the focus.