Sleepy-Time Tom (1951)

Sleepy-Time Tom Review

Sleepy-Time Tom is a 1951 animated short that is the 58th Tom and Jerry cartoon. It is a wonderfully old-fashioned, superb entry.

Tom is sleepy, but Mammy orders him to watch over the mouse and she warns him that she will kick him out of the house if she catches him sleeping. And of course, Jerry is then doing his best in order to make the cat fall asleep. I loved how traditional this entry was as it really went back to its roots. The premise is really fantastic to the point of me wondering why they haven’t done this before. It is an immensely entertaining and satisfying cartoon.

The only problem here is that the various sufferings of Tom can get too frustrating and the film is a bit too brutal, but those scenes are still so well executed with some of them being very inventive. The way Tom fooled Mammy was so good. I loved the beginning and ending as well and I loved every plot point here. This is one of the rare Tom and Jerry shorts that is always well realized, from beginning to end, with no dissatisfying results. I loved Mammy here as well and it is such a shame that they don’t use her more often. And they should have made more traditional storylines like this one as the series is best at those.

Sleepy-Time Tom is wonderfully old-fashioned in its premise with terrific results. It is funny, it is inventive and it is satisfying from start to finish.

My Rating – 4.3