# Tom and Jerry ..is unfair... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 20, 2010, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-and-jerry-is-unfair/564805 "2010-12-20T05:57:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Lare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@Lare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lare)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2010, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-and-jerry-is-unfair/564805/21 "2010-12-20T17:31:07Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHujwj6RBSM](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHujwj6RBSM) I found this disturbing on many, many levels. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2010, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-and-jerry-is-unfair/564805/22 "2010-12-20T17:38:48Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > Yea,I thought about mentioning the Family Guy bit. That’s funny because of the context - Brian saying “that’s worse than that cartoon I saw yesterday”. It wouldn’t have been funny in an actual Warner Brother’s cartoon. [Oh, sure it would!](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What's_Opera,_Doc%3F) I mean, he doesn’t eat him, but still… ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2010, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-and-jerry-is-unfair/564805/23 "2010-12-20T17:50:02Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > And the Roadrunner beats the Coyote. The Roadrunner doesn’t actually beat the Coyote. He does nothing to foil Wile E.'s plots and contraptions. Except occasionally surprising him into the path of a truck or falling off a cliff with a well-timed “Beep Beep.” The Coyote is done in by a combination of his own ineptitude and the failure or misuse of Acme products ---
**Author:** ![Lare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@Lare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lare)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2010, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-and-jerry-is-unfair/564805/24 "2010-12-20T17:51:24Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > … The Coyote is done in by a combination of his own ineptitude and the failure or misuse of Acme products Off hand I don’t recall an instance of an Acme product failing. Not that I doubt you, but can you remind me of one or two? ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2010, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-and-jerry-is-unfair/564805/25 "2010-12-20T17:53:43Z")
> [@StusBlues](#): > > [Oh, sure it would!](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What's_Opera,_Doc%3F) > > I mean, he doesn’t eat him, but still… That’s not in the hunter prey context though. Also, rather than cold bloodedly breaking Bugs’ neck and dragging him away, Elmer regrets what he’s done. Also, Bugs wakes up and talks to the audience at the end, indicating that they’re simply actors in a play and no one has actually been harmed. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2010, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-and-jerry-is-unfair/564805/26 "2010-12-20T17:58:40Z")
If Tom had won and ate Jerry, it’d have been a very short cartoon series. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2010, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-and-jerry-is-unfair/564805/27 "2010-12-20T18:00:46Z")
Family Guy also had the coyote catch the roadrunner. [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAyNh6MCHws) ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2010, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-and-jerry-is-unfair/564805/28 "2010-12-20T18:16:26Z")
> [@Lare](#): > > Off hand I don’t recall an instance of an Acme product failing. Not that I doubt you, but can you remind me of one or two? Well, maybe not failures in that they were defective. Actually, they usually worked as described. It was more of a failure on the Coyote’s part to anticipate the effects of the products, for example, being crushed by a dehydrated boulder after he added water to it. Or feeding the Roadrunner some earthquake pills then taking some himself after they have no effect on the Roadrunner, just before reading the fine print stating that the pills are not effective on roadrunners. And, of course, it could be debated that this would fall under misuse of the product. ---
**Author:** ![Lare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@Lare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lare)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2010, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-and-jerry-is-unfair/564805/29 "2010-12-20T18:21:26Z")
That’s good because I’d hate to see the good folks at the Acme Company (I SO want to work there) slipping on their quality control. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2010, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-and-jerry-is-unfair/564805/30 "2010-12-20T18:26:16Z")
> [@Double\_Foolscap](#): > > I was going to say that it’s about the triumph of the underdog (heh), but I can’t hink of any cartoons where cats come off better, apart from Top Cat where the species isn’t really an issue. > > In the cats VS dogs shorts, the cats seemed to be able to get the better of the dogs until the last thirty seconds, where they would inevitably slip up. The only one I can think of off the top of my head is the one where the cat gets a voice-throwing kit. He leads the dog on all manner of wild goose chases, but his laughter gives him away by the end. > > So yeah, Hollywood hates cats, I guess. [What about THIS kitty?](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pccO1RBJZL8) ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2010, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-and-jerry-is-unfair/564805/31 "2010-12-20T18:26:51Z")
> [@Double\_Foolscap](#): > > I was going to say that it’s about the triumph of the underdog (heh), but I can’t hink of any cartoons where cats come off better, apart from Top Cat where the species isn’t really an issue. > > In the cats VS dogs shorts, the cats seemed to be able to get the better of the dogs until the last thirty seconds, where they would inevitably slip up. The only one I can think of off the top of my head is the one where the cat gets a voice-throwing kit. He leads the dog on all manner of wild goose chases, but his laughter gives him away by the end. > > So yeah, Hollywood hates cats, I guess. [“Feed the Kitty”](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044609/) maybe? Unless that doesn’t count because the cat is a kitten. If you want real fairness and equality, try _Spy vs Spy_. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2010, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-and-jerry-is-unfair/564805/32 "2010-12-20T18:46:30Z")
Ooh, good simulpost, **Thudlow Boink**! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2010, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-and-jerry-is-unfair/564805/33 "2010-12-20T18:52:38Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Most T&J episodes were pretty bad – lame slapstick humor hampered by the fact there was no verbal wit. I have heard some of the earlier episodes were clever, but I haven’t seen one that impressed me yet. Compare it to what Tex Avery was doing in the same studio at the same time: one classic after another. Tom & Jerry was kind of like Popeye – an animated cartoon that went through various phases differing wildly in quality. The original Hanna-Barbera series (1940-1957) won the Academy Award for Animated Short Film seven times (tying it with Disney’s Silly Symphonies). After that, another series was produced by Gene Dietch in Prague which is generally considered lousy (those aren’t often seen nowadays). Then Chuck Jones took over for awhile and produced some very good shorts (like the Road Runner cartoons, “slapstick humor hampered by the fact that there was no verbal wit”)… later on it went back to Hanna-Barbera, who churned out some truly lame product in which T&J were often actually portrayed as friends. ---
**Author:** ![enomaj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/59ef9b/32.png) [@enomaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enomaj)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2010, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-and-jerry-is-unfair/564805/34 "2010-12-20T18:56:16Z")
> [@Lare](#): > > That’s good because I’d hate to see the good folks at the Acme Company (I SO want to work there) slipping on their quality control. Actually ACME’s products failed quite regularly. Contraptions such as the catapult that wouldn’t launch until Wile E. Coyote climbed onto the boulder and stomped until the catapult launched him between a rock and a hard place were common. Wile E. Coyote also fell victim to the first law of explosives\* often. \*There are no duds! ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2010, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-and-jerry-is-unfair/564805/35 "2010-12-20T19:05:22Z")
Well, Claude gets the last bark, once. And there was that time the cat and the mouse won out over the dog, in one of the most psychologically disturbing Warner toons ever, [_Chow Hound_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTTusPJyR-A) “This time, we _didn’t_ forget the gravy…” ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2010, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-and-jerry-is-unfair/564805/36 "2010-12-20T19:48:44Z")
I always felt a litlle sorry for the carnivore (but not Elmer) Brian ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2010, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-and-jerry-is-unfair/564805/37 "2010-12-20T20:10:09Z")
Remember the ones where the mice really _were_ evil, and Sylvester had to rescue Porky? [Claws for Alarm](http://www.mojvideo.com/video-sylvester-claws-for-alarm/55e71ff29da4c7c9624e) and [Scaredy Cat](http://www.220.ro/desene-animate/Looney-Tunes-Scaredy-Cat/v9455iAvXk/) ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2010, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-and-jerry-is-unfair/564805/38 "2010-12-20T21:09:38Z")
Worst dynamic I can recall is Herman and Katnip. Katnip gets to do his evil laugh once per episode, but the rest of the time Herman dominates him utterly. Plus the technical quality sucked. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2010, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-and-jerry-is-unfair/564805/39 "2010-12-20T21:18:01Z")
[Krazy Kat](http://tytempletonart.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/krazy-kat.jpg) turned it all upside down. Note the heart from the cat as the mouse hits her/him/it in the head with the brick. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-and-jerry-is-unfair/564805.md?page=1)