ReFrederator Blog

Things are going swimmingly here in ReFrederator’s Underwater Week. Today’s stars are Tom and Jerry — not the cat and mouse ‘Tom and Jerry’, but the Mutt and Jeffish, humanoid, rubbery limbed duo sporting the same names. The title card reads “The Rocketeers,” which would suggest a trip to the stratosphere, but our heroes were the cartoon world’s premier under-acheivers , so its not surprising their intended lunar expedition would end up twenty fathoms deep.

It’s also not surprising, that after some decidedly weird sight gags, everything settles into a jaunty song and dance number. That was T&J’s standard routine during their animated career, and this 1932 installment is right on formula. Ya gotta love the way these guys could break into harmony, no matter how stressful the immediate situation would seem to be (like having to hold one’s breath indefinitely.) Seen here are some pretty wild looking sea fauna, including plenty of flapper-mermaids. But if you’re still unimpressed, look at Tom (the tall one) and count how many different shapes and sizes his nose has, scene to scene (short and round, then skinny and stick-like — even, briefly, heart shaped).

As always, ReFrederater goes against the tide, a cartoon a day!

Dave Kirwan