Professor Tom Review

Professor Tom is a 1948 animated short which is the 37th of Tom and Jerry shorts. It is one of the weaker films of 1948.

Tom tries to teach his little cousin named Topsy how to catch a mouse. Then Jerry arrives and the two befriend, much to the disbelief of the big cat. This short has such an interesting premise, but the one that isn’t used that well unfortunately. The film is never as exciting or as engaging as it should have been and the action is pretty forgettable.

However, the introduction of Topsy is very well realized. He is such a fun character and the relationship between him and Jerry is so endearing. Tom is funny here with his yelps, but the rest of the humor isn’t as strong with the first half being funnier than the second one. The ending in particular is superb. Although the use of music is repetitive, it was still good and the finale in particular is quite memorable. But this is still one of the weakest shorts from the duo, especially of that time.

Professor Tom isn’t as memorable or as entertaining as it should have been, but it still has a great use of Topsy as a fine new character and the finale is fun.