Here are 10 little known facts about the Tom & Jerry cartoons.
1. Tom & Jerry and Their Creators
Tom & Jerry was made by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, they’ve not only created the infamous animation series, but also formed the studio that gave us Yogi Bear, Top Cat, Scooby-Doo, The Smurfs, The Flintstones and many others!
2. Tom & Jerry and The Spike & Tyke Spin-Off
Tom & Jerry was made in the 1950’s, the Spike & Tyke cartoons featured the adventures of the well-known bulldog and his son. However, it ran for only two episodes, because the studio closed.
3. Tom & Jerry and The Live Action Movies
The one who Framed Roger Rabbit is infamous for including a number of cartoon characters and Tom & Jerry were supposed to star in the movie. But, due to legal issues this didn’t happen.
4. The Tom & Jerry and The Copycats
Tom & Jerry had a number of knock-off series. One of the most famous ones were the so-called Herman and Katnip, but as you’d expect the show didn’t really make much in the industry.
5. Tom & Jerry and the Surprising Friendship
Did you know that in 1975 Tom and Jerry actually went on to become best friends? Tom and Jerry both have traveled the world together and competed in various sports, solved mysteries and did many more things, but then soon they back to being rivals again.
6. Tom & Jerry and the Prequel
In the year 1990’s Tom & Jerry was relaunched, the new Tom and Jerry series acted as a sort of a “prequel” series and focused on the duo’s early years.
7. Tom & Jerry and Jasper and Jinx
Do you know how did they get their names Tom & Jerry? The duo had rather different names before. Their first appearance which was in 1940, Tom was called Jasper and while Jerry was nameless in the cartoon itself, he was referred as Jinx by the animators.
8. Tom & Jerry and Czechoslovakia
You must be thinking that Tom & Jerry is as American cartoon? The interesting fact you should know that for a brief period in the 1960’s the animated series were actually made in Czechoslovakia. There were 13 Czech episodes which had a very different tone than the original with harder-edged violence and strange atmosphere.
9. Tom & Jerry and The Naming Competition
You will be surprised to know that in order to name the characters, there was a studio-wide competition to come up with permanent names for the cat and mouse. Humble animator John Carr came up with the names of Tom and Jerry, which won him the competition and $50.
10. Tom & Jerry and the Silence
It is believed by many people that Tom and Jerry are silent characters, but they are not. Throughout the series they’ve mumbled and uttered a lot of lines which we never paid attention to. The most memorable ones comes from Tom, who after being involved in a nuclear explosion caused by a mouse, soot-blackened, leaned into the shot and said “Don’t you believe it.”
