The Yankee Doodle Mouse is a Tom and Jerry cartoon directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera.
Summary[]
In honor of the U.S. military during WWII, Tom and Jerry do battle in the basement using household items as either war weapons or vehicles.
Plot[]
As Tom and Jerry stage their typical fight sequences, the patriotic soldier theme of the title is evidenced by such things as a carton of eggs labeled "Hen Grenades"; Jerry dropping light bulbs from an airplane like bombs; and Jerry sending a telegram with the message "Sighted Cat - Sank Same." Musical phrasings from various patriotic war songs are heard throughout.
Trivia[]
This was the first cartoon directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera to receive an Academy Award.
The title refers to the 1942 film "Yankee Doodle Dandy", a biography of George M. Cohan, the composer of "Over There."
Jerry's communiques: 1) "Sighted cat. Sank Same. Signed: Lieutenant Jerry Mouse." 2) Send more Cats. Signed: Lieutenant Jerry Mouse."
There was a scene deleted from the reissue print of the cartoon. TV prints viewed today show the smokescreen gag abruptly ending with Jerry whacking Tom in the head. The original print had the scene resume with Tom chasing Jerry into his mousehole, with Tom's head getting stuck in the hole, followed by Jerry jamming him in with a wrench. He promptly rolls out Tom's tongue, using it to lick stamps and paste it on a book. After this, a second war communique is seen, reading "Enemy gets a few good licks! Signed, Lt. Jerry Mouse"
According to animator Mark Kausler, Irv Spence was responsible for the action, while Kenneth Muse took care of the facial expressions.
Songs: "Over There" (George M. Cohan), "Anchors Aweigh" (Lieutenant Charles A. Zimmerman)
Parts of this cartoon were reused in the Tom and Jerry cartoons "Jerry's Diary" (1949) and "Shutter Bugged Cat" (1967).
One of five Tom and Jerry cartoons in which Tom dies at the end (the others are "Mouse Trouble," "Safety Second," The Duck Doctor and "The Two Mouseketeers").