''Johann Mouse'' is a 1953 American one-reel animated cartoon and the 75th ''

Tom and Jerry ''Tom and Jerry'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated media franchise and series of comedy short films created in 1940 by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Best known for its 161 theatrical short films by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the series ...

'' cartoon, released in theaters on March 21, 1953 by

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

. The short is directed by

William Hanna William Denby Hanna (July 14, 1910 – March 22, 2001) was an American animator, voice actor, and musician who is best known for co-creating ''Tom and Jerry'' and providing the vocal effects for the series' title characters. Alongside Joseph B ...

and

Joseph Barbera Joseph Roland Barbera ( ; ; March 24, 1911 – December 18, 2006) was an American animator and cartoonist, best known as the co-founder of the animation studio Hanna-Barbera. Born to Italian Americans, Italian immigrants in New York City, Bar ...

, composed by Scott Bradley, and animated by Kenneth Muse, Ray Patterson, Ed Barge, and Irven Spence. It won the 1952 Academy Award for Best Short Subject: Cartoons, the seventh and last Oscar given to a ''Tom and Jerry'' short.

Plot

In 19th century

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, Tom Cat and Johann Mouse played by

Jerry Mouse Gerald Jinx Mouse, known simply as Jerry, is an American character and one of the two titular characters in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's series of ''Tom and Jerry'' theatrical animated short films and other animated ...

live in the house of composer Johann Strauss. Whenever Strauss plays the piano, Johann comes out of his hole to dance to the music, and Tom will repeatedly try to catch him to no avail. One day, Strauss goes away on a journey, much to Tom's dismay. Tom realizes that the key to catching Johann would be through music, so he begins teaching himself how to play the piano using Strauss' written tutorial, "How to Play the Waltz in Six Easy Lessons." As Tom plays the piano, he is able to lure out and capture Johann, but his playing is immediately praised by the house servants, and so he lets go of Johann and happily continues his performance. Tom's piano playing and Johann's dancing spread by word-of-mouth across Vienna, eventually reaching the

Emperor of Austria The emperor of Austria (, ) was the ruler of the Austrian Empire and later the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The hereditary imperial title and office was proclaimed in 1804 by Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, a member of the House of Habsburg-Lorr ...

Franz Joseph I Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...

. Tom and Johann are then commanded to perform at the

palace A palace is a large residence, often serving as a royal residence or the home for a head of state or another high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whi ...

before the emperor. Tom and Johann perform with vigor and delight at the palace, but Tom eventually succumbs to his instincts and tries to chase after Johann, only to fail once again and making the audience clap once again.

Production

As with every short of ''

'' during its first two decades, ''Johann Mouse'' is directed by

and

, with its score composed by Scott Bradley. The piano arrangements for the short was created and played by Jakob Gimpel, a Polish-born concert pianist. Within the ''Tom and Jerry'' series, ''Johann Mouse'' is unique for having a record album directly adapted from the short itself, released in May 1953 and with Bret Morrison substituting Hans Conried as narrator.

Reception

Ben Simon of Animated Views praised ''Johann Mouse'' for its "extraordinarily exquisite watercolor production values", and noted that Hans Conried was "having fun as the narrator". Writer and historian Michael Samerdyke considered the short to be "simply adorable", and observed that continues "''Tom and Jerry''s romance with classic music." Samerdyke also wrote that the short has "a lovely, bittersweet feel. The storybook narration and the darling action is all sweet, but beneath it all lies the awareness that the world of Strauss waltzes and their elegance is over."

later considered ''Johann Mouse'', alongside '' The Cat Concerto'', to be his favorite ''Tom and Jerry'' cartoon.

Home media

*"''Tom & Jerry'' Cartoon Festival Featuring Academy Award Winner ''Johann Mouse''" (1985) *"''Tom & Jerry''s 50th Birthday Classics III" (1990) *"''Tom and Jerry''s Greatest Chases, Vol. 1" (2000) *" ''Tom and Jerry'' Spotlight Collection" (2004) *" Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Academy Awards Animation Collection: 15 Winners" (2008) *" Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Academy Awards Animation Collection: 15 Winners - 26 Nominees" (2008) *" ''Tom & Jerry'': Deluxe Anniversary Collection" (2010)

References

External links

*
Johann Mouse
' at the TCM Movie Database * {{AcademyAwardBestAnimatedShortFilm 1941–1960 1953 films 1953 animated short films 1950s American animated films 1950s fantasy films 1953 musical comedy films American musical comedy films Animated films about music and musicians Best Animated Short Academy Award winners Cultural depictions of Johann Strauss I Cultural depictions of Johann Strauss II Films scored by Scott Bradley Films set in the 19th century Films set in Vienna American musical fantasy films Short films directed by Joseph Barbera Short films directed by William Hanna Tom and Jerry short films Films produced by Fred Quimby Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio short films 1950s English-language films English-language comedy short films English-language action comedy films English-language musical films English-language fantasy films American musical short films