Tom and Jerry (cartoon)

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Tom and Jerry, first opening with official series title 1941

Series title: "Tom and Jerry"

Category: Cartoon

Genres: Short, Comedy, Humor, Slapstick

Creators/Directors: 
--- William Hanna
--- Joseph Barbera

Country of origin: USA

Released: February 10, 1940 - USA

No. of shorts (original series): 114 shorts, last released on August 1, 1958

Producers: 
--- Rudolf Ising (1940)
--- Fred Quimby (1940–55)
--- William Hanna (1955–58)
--- Joseph Barbera (1955–58)

Production company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Cartoon Studio

Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Running time: 6-10 min.

Color: Technicolor

Original language: English

Background: The series revolve around a grey and white domestic cat, Tom, and a little brown mouse, Jerry, who spite each other: usually, Tom attempts to catch Jerry, but rarely succeeds, causing only trouble; so the shorts generally end showing the mouse triumphant.

Main characters (in order of appearance):
--- Jerry: named Pee-Wee in the first official announcement (see below), named Jinx in the first short (but not referred to in name on-screen), named Jerry since second short; first appearance in the first short "Puss Gets the Boot", February 10, 1940. Small brown house mouse, one of the two main protagonists of the series along with Tom.
--- Tom: named Jasper in the first official announcement (see below), named Jasper also in the first short, named Tom (full name Thomas) since second short; first appearance in the first short "Puss Gets the Boot", February 10, 1940. Grey and white domestic shorthair Tuxedo cat, one of the two main protagonists of the series along with Jerry.
--- Mammy Two Shoes: first appearance in the first short "Puss Gets the Boot", February 10, 1940. African-American housemaid, Mammy Two Shoes catches Tom acting against her orders. As a minor figure, her face is almost never shown.
--- Spike: occasionally named Killer/Butch/Bulldog in a few shorts; first appearance in the fifth short "Dog Trouble", April 18, 1942. Grey American bulldog, Spike has little affection for Tom; despite so, his relationships with Tom and Jerry varies from time to time.
--- Butch: first appearance in the 12th short "Baby Puss", December 25, 1943. His very first appearance, as Butch's only solo cartoon along Toodles Galore, took place in the MGM short "The Alley Cat" (July 5, 1941). Black alley cat, leader of Tom's friends alley cat bullies who often help him catch Jerry.
--- Toodles Galore: first appearance in the 23th short "Springtime for Thomas", March 30, 1946. Her very first appearance, as Toodles Galore's only solo cartoon along Butch, took place in the MGM short "The Alley Cat" (July 5, 1941). Attractive white female cat, Toodles is Tom's most favored love interest.
--- Tyke: first appearance in the 44th short "Love That Pup", October 1, 1949. In this short Spike was given a puppy son, Tyke precisely, who became a popular supporting character in the series. Spike is a loving father to his son Tyke.

Features: The birth of Tom and Jerry dates back in 1939, at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio, when animator and storyman Joseph Barbera teamed up with animator and director William Hanna to develop some popular recurring characters like the other studios had. Their idea about a cat and a mouse always in conflict with each other was not entirely appreciated by producer Fred Quimby, despite this he let they go ahead and produce one cartoon short. This first short, titled "Puss Gets the Boot", was released to theaters on February 10, 1940, achieving great critical acclaim and earning an Academy Award nomination for Best Short Subject: Cartoons - the first nomination of a total of 13 in the series of 114 shorts directed by Hanna and Barbera until 1958, seven of which won the Oscar.
In 1957 MGM cartoon studio closed, and Hanna and Barbera founded an own production company to produce such popular animated television series including The Flintstones, Yogi Bear, and Scooby-Doo; however, over the years, Tom and Jerry have been relaunched several times by others directors through theatrical shorts, television series, spin-offs, movies and so, until the present day.

Interesting facts: In the original series (1940-1958) Tom and Jerry rarely spoke, and creator William Hanna himself provided most of their vocal effects, including Tom's trademark scream, and Jerry's nervous gulp. Hanna and Barbera made minor adjustments to Tom and Jerry's appearance over the years, so they would "age gracefully".

Property: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

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TOM AND JERRY - FIRST SHORT

First short title: "Puss Gets the Boot"

Released: February 10, 1940 - USA

Directors: 
--- William Hanna
--- Joseph Barbera
--- Rudolf Ising

Plot: See the official announcement below

Music: Scott Bradley

Animation: Don Williams, Michael Lah, Jack Zander, Peter Burness, Rudy Zamora, Ray Abrams, Tony Pabian, Carl Urbano, Robert Allen, George Gordon, Lovell Norman, Al Grandmain.

Running time: 9 min. 8 sec.

Tom and Jerry, opening and first scenes from the first short: "Puss Gets the Boot" (February 10, 1940). Released to theaters, the short achieved great critical acclaim and earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Short Subject: Cartoons in 1941.

Tom e Jerry, official announcement for the first short "Puss Gets the Boot" released on February 10, 1940 (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Shorts Story magazine, January-February 1940). «PUSS GETS THE BOOT... Since Eve evolved from Adam's rib, cats have waged constant war against mice. Now comes a one-mouse revolution brought on by a cat, that ends in victory for the mouse. This story, as told in Rudolf Ising's latest M-G-M Cartoon, "Puss Gets the Boot," relates how this one small mouse, taking advantage of one large cat's shortcoming, subdues the large warrior in a battle of wits and with the aid, of course, of circumstances. Ising's cat feels particulary wicked, this day. Before putting an end to the mouse of his choice, he decides to toy with it. As the mouse pokes his headout of his hole, friend cat grabs him with his tail, flips him in the air, and lets him fall to the floor senseless. The cat then dips his paw into some ink and draws a false hole in the wall for the mouse. As soon as he awakens, the mouse makes a dash for his hole, runs into the solid wall and is knocked unconscious again. This time, when he awakens, he is angry. With great courage he strolls up to the cat and punches him right in the eye. Furious, the cat runs after the mouse, and dashes right into a pillar that supports a beautiful vase. The vase falls to the floor, crashes into a thousand pieces, and the cat, Jasper, by name, is in for it. Immediately the housekeeper chases after Jasper with a broom, beats him, and warns him that if anything else is broken in the house, he will be thrown into the street forever. Now, the mouse, named Pee-Wee, knows how to handle Jasper. If Jasper tries to hurt him again, he'll break something and blame it on the cat. The next time Jasper chases Pee-Wee, the mouse runs to the edge of a table, grabs one of a set of cocktail glasses, and defiantly shouts that he will drop the glass if the cat comes any closer. With each of Jasper's lunges, Pee-Wee threatens to drop the glass. Finally, just to be ornery, Pee-Wee does drop the glass which Jasper catches, before it breaks, by the skin of his theet. Another glass and still another come hurtling down with Jasper catching each one before it hits the floor. Now Jasper gets wise and places soft cushions all over so that even if Pee-Wee does drop the glasses, they won't break. Jasper moves toward Pee-Wee, who threatens to drop another glass. Jasper laughs, the mouse drops the glass and it falls on the pillows and doesn't break. Immediately, Pee-Wee is in Jasper's tail, being tossed up and down like a ball of wool. But Jasper flips Pee-Wee a bit too high. The mouse catches on the ledge of a mantel on which there are many valuable plates. Immediately he starts throwing them to the floor. The cat dashes around madly, catching each dish until his arms are full. Calmly, Pee-Wee comes down from the mantel, and kicks Jasper right into next week. Up in the air goes every dish, and down they come. The housekeeper catches the cat and banishes him from the house forever. Calmly, and with great confidence, Pee-Wee strolls back to his hole, sighing. "Home, Sweet Home."»

Tom and Jerry, original hand drawn concept designs (August 8, 1939) for the first short "Puss Gets the Boot" (February 10, 1940)

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Tom and Jerry, characters names appeared for the first time as the official opening title of the series in the second short: "The Midnight Snack" (July 19, 1941)

Tom e Jerry, official announcement for the second short "The Midnight Snack" released on July 19, 1941 (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Shorts Story magazine, July-August 1941). «MIDNIGHT SNACK - The same cat and mouse who were so well received in their first Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon, "Puss Gets the Boot," are back again, by public demand, in another co-starring vehicle titled "Midnight Snack." Supervised by William Hanna and Joe Barbera, the Technicolor one-reeler opens on Jerry, a little mouse, loaded down with a big slice of cheese, struggling away from the ice-box. He looks about cautiously as he staggers forward, making sure that he isn't being followed by Jasper, the cat. (...)»

Mammy Two Shoes debut ("Puss Gets the Boot", February 10, 1940) and first of her rare appearances in full body ("Saturday Evening Puss", January 14, 1950)

Spike and Tyke in their first appearances (left: Tom and Spike in "Dog Trouble", April 18, 1942 / right: Spike and Tyke in "Love That Pup", October 1, 1949)

Butch and Toodles Galore in their first appearances (left: Butch in "Baby Puss", December 25, 1943 / right: Toddles Galore in "Springtime for Thomas", March 30, 1946). Butch and Toddles Galore, before being integrated as recurring characters into the Tom and Jerry series, were introduced in the MGM only solo short "The Alley Cat" (July 5, 1941) by Hugh Harman.

Tom and Jerry, theatrical poster for "The Yankee Doodle Mouse" (June 26, 1943) - first of 7 Oscars winning shorts in the series for Best Short Subject: Cartoons

Tom and Jerry, first cast in a live-action/animated movie: "Anchors Aweigh" (1945, musical comedy by George Sidney starring Frank Sinatra, Kathryn Grayson, and Gene Kelly). The movie is remembered for the sequence in which Gene Kelly dances along with Jerry.

The creators of Tom and Jerry: William Denby "Bill" Hanna (Melrose, July 14, 1910 - North Hollywood, March 22, 2001), American animator, director, producer, voice actor, and cartoon artist; Joseph Roland "Joe" Barbera (New York City, March 24, 1911 – Los Angeles, December 18, 2006), Italian-American animator, director, producer, storyboard artist, and cartoon artist.

William Hanna and Joseph Barbera pose alongside all the Oscars won by their Tom and Jerry shorts for "Best Short Subject: Cartoons" under their direction (1940 to 1958: 7 Oscars and 6 nominations)

You might also like, by the same authors Hanna and Barbera:
--- The Flintstones

Nestlé

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Nestlé logo 1868 (left) and 1938 (right). Henri Nestlé used his family's crest (Nestlé = little nest in German) as inspiration for the brand; later, lettering and logo were combined to become the unifying distinguishing mark for different Nestlé products.

Henri Nestlé (Frankfurt, Aug. 10, 1814 - Montreux, July 7, 1890), confectioner, inventor of the "Farine Lactée Nestlé" and founder of the Nestlé company

Name: "Farine Lactée Nestlé"

Category: Food

Subcategory: Baby food

Inventor: Henri Nestlé

Invented: 1867 - Vevey, Switzerland

Producer: "Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Company" (founded by Charles Page and George Page in 1866 - Cham, Switzerland), merged in 1905 with "Société Farine Lactée Henri Nestlé" (founded by Henri Nestlé on March 8, 1875 - Vevey, Switzerland, under new ownership) to become "Nestlé and Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Company".

Production start: 1867 - Vevey, Switzerland

Features: Farine Lactée Nestlé was a mixture of cow's milk, wheat flour and sugar, for consumption by infants who could not be breastfed. The German-Swiss pharmacist Henri Nestlé invented this formula to combat the raging infant mortality prevalent at the time, in close cooperation with his friend Jean Balthasar Schnetzler, a Swiss naturalist. His model was Justus von Liebig, a German scientist who at that time developed a soluble food for babies: «Liebig first kindled the flame of truth about human nutrition. He also drew up the requirements for his infant paste. It is an excellent product but far too difficult to prepare, requiring as it does half an hour of complicated cookery. Furthermore, the mother had to obtain the finest quality flour, malt, milk, and potash, which is certainly no small task. (...) My product is prepared entirely on Liebig's principles, only I reach the same goal by other means» (Henri Nestlé, 1868). Ready to use, Farine Lactée Nestlé needed only to be boiled prior to feeding; thus, it soon proved to be a viable substitute for breast milk for infants who were unable to be breastfed.
Nestlé's name appeared in advertisements and on labels in association with the name of the product: "Farine Lactée Nestlé" in French, "Nestlé's (Milk) Food" (USA and Australia), "Nestlé's Bread and Milk Flour" (Britain), "Harina Lacteada Nestlé" (Spain), "Nestlé's Kindermehl" (Germany).

Interesting facts: In 1866 the Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Company was established in Cham, Switzerland, by the American brothers George and Charles Page, to market their "Milkmaid" condensed milk as a safe, long-lasting alternative to fresh milk. In 1867 Henri Nestlé developed his "Farine Lactée", and soon began marketing it as baby food for consumption by infants who cannot be breastfed. In 1905 this two companies, after years of fierce competition during which both selling rival versions of the other's original products (condensed milk and infant cereal), merge to form the Nestlé and Anglo-Swiss Milk Company. Before this, in 1875, Henri Nestlé retired and sold his company to his business associates, but the company retained his name as Société Farine Lactée Henri Nestlé; by the same year, Nestlé's products were sold everywere from Indonesia to Egypt, and from the US to Argentina. When Nestlé and Anglo-Swiss merged in 1905, the company had more than 20 factories, and started using overseas subsidiaries to establish a sales network that included Africa, Asia, Latin America and Australia; over 150 years since its foundation, Nestlé results the largest food company in the world, with a range of products including baby food, medical food, bottled water, breakfast cereals, coffee and tea, confectionery, dairy products, ice cream, frozen food, pet foods, snacks...

Quote (Henri Nestlé, 1878): «My invention is not a new discovery but a correct and rational application of substances long known to be the best for the feeding of children. The chief ingredients are quality milk, bread and sugar».

Property: Nestlé S.A.

Official website: https://www.nestle.com

Nestlé newspaper advertisement (Evening star, Washington, D.C., March 25, 1872). «MOTHERS, SAVE YOUR INFANTS. NESTLE'S LACTEOUS FARINA, THE MOTHER'S MILK SUBSTITUTE. Extensively used and recommended by the most eminent physicians. Sold by Druggist and Fine Grocers. B.W. REED & SONS, Agents for the South, 1214 F street northwest, Washington, D.C. Send for memorial on the Nutrition of Infants, by Henri Nestlé, Chemist. Furnished gratis. m20 12t».

Nestlé newspaper advertisement (Chicago daily tribune, Chicago, Ill., July 13, 1880). «NESTLE'S MILK FOOD. Manufactured solely by Henry Nestlé, Vevey, Switzerland. Contains only milk, wheaten bread-crust, and sugar, and requires only water to prepare it for use. Recommended by all family physicians as a certain preventive of cholera infantum and summer complaints. Pamphlets with full particulars sent to any address. Kept by druggist and grocers. Thomas Lemming & Co., Montreal, Canada».

Nestlé newspaper advertisements (Boletín mercantil de Puerto Rico, San Juan, P.R.; top: January 25, 1882 / bottom: March 4, 1888)

Nestlé factory in Vevey, Switzerland (ca. 1890)

Nestlé milk arrival in Cham, Switzerland (ca. 1890)

Farine Lactée Nestlé, early tins (German packaging, left ca. 1875, right ca. 1890)

Nestlé advertisement (1891): «The Struggle with Cholera Infantum»

Nestlé advertising (1893)

Nestlé advertising (1897, art by Alphonse Mucha)

Nestlé advertisement (Illustrirte Zeitung Leipzig und Berlin, August 11, 1898)

Nestlé advertisement (Paris-Noël, December 1900): «Farine Lactée Nestlé, 30 ans de succès»

Nestlé celebrates 150 years (1866-2016) with a series of events around the world, and inaugurating its "Nest" (June 2, 2016), an interactive Museum in Vevey, the Swiss city where the first factory was built.

Jaguar: 1st model ever

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S.S. Jaguar logo 1935. The first car launched with the Jaguar brand was the "S.S. Jaguar 2.5 litre Saloon", unveiled at the Mayfair Hotel London, September 21, 1935; but the first car ever produced by the same company - S.S. Cars Limited, later Jaguar Cars Limited - was the 1932 "S.S. 1", or "S.S. One", debuted at the London Motor Show in October 15 to 24, 1931.

Name: "S.S. 1"

Category: Cars

Subcategory: Sports car

Designers: William Lyons and William Walmsley

Producer: S.S. Cars Limited (founded by Sir William Lyons on October 26, 1933, as the result of the Swallow Sidecar Company formed with co-founder William Walmsley on September 2, 1922)

Production start: 1932 - Foleshill, Coventry, England - Debut as coupé car at the London Motor Show in October 15 to 24, 1931, Olympia, West Kensington

Discontinued: 1936

First price: 310 GBP

Features: For detailed specifications see the 1931 official brochure in Pdf below

Interesting facts: In 1922, two motorcycle enthusiasts, William Lyons and William Walmsley, founded the Swallow Sidecar Company, a British manufacturer of motorcycle sidecars and automobile bodies in Blackpool, Lancashire (later Coventry, Warwickshire). After some name changes - Swallow Sidecar and Coachbuilding Company, and Swallow Coachbuilding Company, during which the company diversified by bodying existying cars with more fashionable coachworks, William Lyons decided to become a car manufacturer in his own right. So, in October 1931, Lyons revealed his "S.S. 1" coupé at the London Motor Show. The engines and chassis supplied by the Standard Motor Company were fitted with Swallow bodies styled under Lyons supervision. The body was ultra low and the bonnet outrageously long. It had, stated the press, the £1,000 look, yet was priced at a very modest £310, highlighting Lyons' unique ability to offer remarkable value for money. The first two S.S. cars available to the public was the 1932 S.S. 1 with 2-litre or 2.5-litre side-valve, six-cylinder engine and the S.S. 2, a smaller version based on the Standard Nine chassis, with a four-cylinder 1-litre side-valve engine. A much improved S.S. cars followed in 1933, Saloon and Tourer models were introduced, and in the same year William Lyons formed S.S. Cars Limited. Jaguar brand first appeared in September 1935, as a model name on an S.S. 2.5-litre saloon presented at the Mayfair Hotel London. The company's name changed from S.S. Cars Limited to Jaguar Cars Limited in 1945.

Slogan (July 1931): «WAIT! THE "SS" IS COMING»

Property: S.S. Cars Ltd. - Jaguar Cars Ltd. - Jaguar Land Rover Ltd.

Producer website: https://www.jaguar.com

S.S. 1 announcement (The Autocar magazine, July 1931). «WAIT! THE "SS" IS COMING - 2 New Coupés of Surpassing Beauty. - S.S. is the new name of a new car that's going to thrill the hearts of the motoring public and the trade alike. It's something utterly new ... different ... better! Long ... low ... very low ... and very FAST! At the Show, or before, two S.S. Coupés of surpassing beauty will be presented. WAIT ... THE S.S. IS COMING» - The show to which the announcement referred was the London Motor Show, Olympia, West Kensington, where the S.S. 1 debuted together with a smaller version called S.S. 2, October 15 to 24, 1931.

S.S. 1, the first car by S.S. Cars Ltd., later Jaguar Cars Ltd. (1932, restored)

S.S. 1 official brochure in Pdf (1931)

S.S. 1 advertisement (The Autocar magazine, June 10, 1932)

S.S. Jaguar 2.5 litre Saloon, the car that inaugurated the Jaguar brand (1935)

S.S. Jaguar 2.5 litre Saloon, debut at the Mayfair Hotel London (September 21, 1935)

S.S. Jaguar 2.5 litre Saloon advertisement (The Autocar magazine, October 18, 1935)

Sir William Lyons (Blackpool, Sept. 4, 1901 - Warwickshire, Feb. 8, 1985), known as "Mr. Jaguar", entrepreneur, co-founder of the Jaguar company, and designer of the early Jaguar models

Jaguar 75th Anniversary (1935-2010). On September 18, 2010, 75 iconic Jaguars started a two-day trek in Coventry to celebrate 75 years of Jaguar brand history.

Final Fantasy

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Final Fantasy logo 1990
(North America version, Nintendo)

Original name: "Fighting Fantasy"

Name: "Final Fantasy"

Category: Video games

Subcategory: Role-playing

Genre: Fantasy

Final Fantasy logo 1987
(Japan version, Square)

Inventor: Hironobu Sakaguchi

Developer: Square Co., Ltd. - Japan

Released:
--- December 18, 1987 - Japan
--- July 12, 1990 - North America

Publishers:
--- Square Co., Ltd. - Japan
--- Nintendo of America Inc. - NA

Platforms:
--- Family Computer (Famicom)
--- Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)

Producer: Masafumi Miyamoto

Designers: Hironobu Sakaguchi, Hiromichi Tanaka, Akitoshi Kawazu, Koichi Ishii, Kiyoshi Yoshii, Ken Narita, Kazuko Shibuya

Programmer: Nasir Gebelli

Graphics: Yoshitaka Amano

Writers: Hironobu Sakaguchi, Kenji Terada, Akitoshi Kawazu

Number of players: Single-player

Background and characters: «An evil shroud covers the world in darkness. You must restore the powers of earth, wind, fire and water to the Four Orbs. Create your own band of 4 Light Warriors from fighters, thieves, martial artists, and magicians. You'll need all their skills to triumph in this massive role-playing adventure. Your treacherous journey takes you to all parts of a strange new world. Explore dangerous castles and dark caverns where deadly perils, and great rewards await at every turn. Hundreds of ferocious monsters block your path. With patience, skill, and cunning you can defeat them. Come, begin your quest. Enter an enchanted new World. Command your warriors! Prepare to face the Final Fantasy! A world shrouded in the darkness of evil. Your mission – to restore the light». (From the North America version, 1990, back cover).

Music by: Nobuo Uematsu

Features: Final Fantasy, known as Final Fantasy I or FF1 in re-releases, was the first role-playing game in Square's Final Fantasy series, created by Hironobu Sakaguchi. For detailed features and game mode refer to the "Explorer's Handbook" below.

Interesting facts: The creator of the Final Fantasy series Hironobu Sakaguchi proposed the role-playing game (RPG) to his employer Square, but the company approved the launch only after the success of the RPG Dragon Quest by Enix. The team of developers wanted a title that had a simple abbreviation in the Latin alphabet (FF) and a four-syllable abbreviated Japanese pronunciation ("efu efu"); the first name proposed for the video game was "Fighting Fantasy", but it was already taken by a tabletop game, so they decided to call it "Final Fantasy". Final Fantasy was first released in 1987 in Japan by Square, and then Nintendo of America translated the game into English and published it in North America in 1990.

Slogan (North America version, 1990, box): «Enter a whole new realm of challenge and adventure.» (front) - «Dragons and broadswords, mystery and adventure. Final Fantasy has them all!» (back)

Property: Square Co., Ltd. - Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Product website: https://www.finalfantasy.com

Final Fantasy box, front cover (Japan version, Square 1987, by illustrator Yoshitaka Amano)

Final Fantasy box, back cover (Japan version, Square 1987)

Final Fantasy box (Japan version, Square 1987)

Final Fantasy cartridge (Japan version, Square 1987)

Final Fantasy advertising (Japan version, Square 1987)

Final Fantasy screenshots (Japan version, Square 1987)

Final Fantasy intro (Japan version, Square 1987)

Final Fantasy gameplay (Japan version, Square 1987)

Final Fantasy box, front cover (North America version, Nintendo 1990)

Final Fantasy box, back cover (North America version, Nintendo 1990)

Final Fantasy cartridge (North America version, Nintendo 1990)

Final Fantasy "Explorer's Handbook" and maps in Pdf (North America version, Nintendo 1990)

Hironobu Sakaguchi (Nov. 25, 1962), video game developer, creator of the Final Fantasy series

Square Enix celebrate Final Fantasy's 30th Anniversary (1987-2017). With 87 titles, the series was awarded the "most prolific RPG series" by the Guinness World Records in 2017.