tarot40
01-09-2009, 06:05 AM
This is offbeat and odd cartoon remains an underrated delightful gem in the 'Tom and Jerry' canon. Just wondered whether other forum members have found this as an enjoyable viewing experience as I have.
The role reversal premise of Tom getting amnesia from a blow on the head mistakingly administered by a flustered Mammy Two Shoes is strikingly original and mines a very rich well of perfectly fulfilled comic potential over the course of the cartoon's many vivid sequences.
There are so many memorable moments in this cartoon - the actual depiction of Tom's transformed facial features to a more mouselike appearance, complete with large ears and buck teeth, is funny but strangely unnerving and creepy as well - Tom's subsequent behaviour in the cartoon approaches that of a deranged clown - a real agent of anarchy.
Of course much of the enjoyment from this story derives from seeing Jerry's frustrated attempts at trying to re-establish the status quo by reversing his former opponent's personality disorder. It's a wonderful novelty to see, for once, Jerry's meticulous plans backfiring and, as a consequence, the various wonderfully choreographed slapstick set pieces build into a comedy of frustration and exasperation for both Jerry and the viewer - a long sequence of 'near misses'. It's a clever irony that for a series which revels in physical onslaughts being meted out to Tom , 'Nit Witty Kitty' is actually a rare example of Tom avoiding most of the calculated attacks aimed at him - any slapstick onslaught suffered by him is of a random nature rather than the outcome of precision planning.
Another fun element to 'Nit Witty Kitty' is the large role that the ever hapless Mammy Two Shoes plays in the nightmarish proceedings. It is one of her finest appearances in the 'Tom and Jerry' canon. Indeed it is Mammy's characteristic clumsy bungling of events at the start of the cartoon which initiates events by mistakingly hitting Tom rather than Jerry, causing his subsequent mental disorder. There is a guilty pleasure to be had seeing Tom turning the tables on his mistress by terrorising her throughout the cartoon. Perhaps the finest scene of all occurs when Tom chases this damsel in distress, the storyboard pulling back to reveal the outlandish scenario of Mammy fleeing on a pair of stilts which Tom maliciously pulls away from her. The conclusion to this gag is brilliantly executed by the animators as Mammy's fall is punctuated by the offscreen sound effects of a hug crash, followed by silence as her slippers glide past Tom who is still holding the stilts.
Indeed in a clever cyclical twist, Mammy also plays a pivotal role in the unexpected 'twist ending' to 'Nit Witty Kitty'. The writers just cant allow the status quo to be re-established and Jerry to be victorious. The viewer shares Jerry's horror as he helplessly watches Mammy creeping up on a sleeping 'normal' Tom,in one hand a medical encyclopedia turned to the amnesia page , baseball bat wielded in the other, ready to administer what she imagines to be 'curing medicine' to her tormentor. In an ironical twist, Mammy ends the cartoon by repeating the same error she made at the start of the cartoon. To Jerry's disgust the whole, horrendous cycle starts again.
All in all, a very offbeat and original addition to the series - both creepy and funny with wonderfully choreographed and well-paced slapstick setpieces and a clever role reversal which affects the usual dynamics between Tom and Jerry - 'Nit Witty Kitty' just grows in my estimation every time I see it.
The role reversal premise of Tom getting amnesia from a blow on the head mistakingly administered by a flustered Mammy Two Shoes is strikingly original and mines a very rich well of perfectly fulfilled comic potential over the course of the cartoon's many vivid sequences.
There are so many memorable moments in this cartoon - the actual depiction of Tom's transformed facial features to a more mouselike appearance, complete with large ears and buck teeth, is funny but strangely unnerving and creepy as well - Tom's subsequent behaviour in the cartoon approaches that of a deranged clown - a real agent of anarchy.
Of course much of the enjoyment from this story derives from seeing Jerry's frustrated attempts at trying to re-establish the status quo by reversing his former opponent's personality disorder. It's a wonderful novelty to see, for once, Jerry's meticulous plans backfiring and, as a consequence, the various wonderfully choreographed slapstick set pieces build into a comedy of frustration and exasperation for both Jerry and the viewer - a long sequence of 'near misses'. It's a clever irony that for a series which revels in physical onslaughts being meted out to Tom , 'Nit Witty Kitty' is actually a rare example of Tom avoiding most of the calculated attacks aimed at him - any slapstick onslaught suffered by him is of a random nature rather than the outcome of precision planning.
Another fun element to 'Nit Witty Kitty' is the large role that the ever hapless Mammy Two Shoes plays in the nightmarish proceedings. It is one of her finest appearances in the 'Tom and Jerry' canon. Indeed it is Mammy's characteristic clumsy bungling of events at the start of the cartoon which initiates events by mistakingly hitting Tom rather than Jerry, causing his subsequent mental disorder. There is a guilty pleasure to be had seeing Tom turning the tables on his mistress by terrorising her throughout the cartoon. Perhaps the finest scene of all occurs when Tom chases this damsel in distress, the storyboard pulling back to reveal the outlandish scenario of Mammy fleeing on a pair of stilts which Tom maliciously pulls away from her. The conclusion to this gag is brilliantly executed by the animators as Mammy's fall is punctuated by the offscreen sound effects of a hug crash, followed by silence as her slippers glide past Tom who is still holding the stilts.
Indeed in a clever cyclical twist, Mammy also plays a pivotal role in the unexpected 'twist ending' to 'Nit Witty Kitty'. The writers just cant allow the status quo to be re-established and Jerry to be victorious. The viewer shares Jerry's horror as he helplessly watches Mammy creeping up on a sleeping 'normal' Tom,in one hand a medical encyclopedia turned to the amnesia page , baseball bat wielded in the other, ready to administer what she imagines to be 'curing medicine' to her tormentor. In an ironical twist, Mammy ends the cartoon by repeating the same error she made at the start of the cartoon. To Jerry's disgust the whole, horrendous cycle starts again.
All in all, a very offbeat and original addition to the series - both creepy and funny with wonderfully choreographed and well-paced slapstick setpieces and a clever role reversal which affects the usual dynamics between Tom and Jerry - 'Nit Witty Kitty' just grows in my estimation every time I see it.