''The Two Mouseketeers'' is a 1952 American one-reel

animated cartoon Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animati ...

and is the 65th ''

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 ...

'' short, produced in

Technicolor Technicolor is a family of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes. The first version, Process 1, was introduced in 1916, and improved versions followed over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black-and ...

and released to theatres on March 15, 1952 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 ...

. It was produced by Fred Quimby and 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 ...

. The short is a spoof of

Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (born Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas , was a French novelist and playwright. His works have been translated into many languages and he is one of the mos ...

' 1844 novel ''

The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' () is a French historical adventure novel written and published in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is the first of the author's three d'Artagnan Romances. As with some of his other works, he wrote it in col ...

'' and its film adaptations, featuring the mice Jerry and his best friend, Nibbles as the "Mouseketeers" trying to raid the French king's banquet table, which is protected by Tom as a guard. Three years after the cartoon's release, the term "Mousketeer" was also used to refer to the child cast members of the television show, ''

The Mickey Mouse Club ''The Mickey Mouse Club'' is an American variety television show that aired intermittently from 1955 to 1996 and briefly returned to social media in 2017. Created by Walt Disney and produced by Walt Disney Productions, the program was first te ...

''. The cartoon was animated by Ed Barge, Kenneth Muse and Irven Spence. Musical supervision was done by Scott Bradley, using a version of the theme music by

Nelson Eddy Nelson Ackerman Eddy (June 29, 1901 – March 6, 1967) was an American actor and baritone singer who appeared in 19 musical films during the 1930s and 1940s, as well as in opera and on the concert stage, radio, television, and in nightclubs ...

and the Sportsmen Quartet named "Soldier of Fortune", from the film '' The Girl of the Golden West''. The character of Nibbles speaks French in this short and was voiced by six-year-old

Francoise Brun-Cottan Francoise Brun-Cottan (born 1944) is a French-American actress. She provided the voice of Nibbles in the ''Tom and Jerry'' shorts in the 1950s era. Brun-Cottan voices Nibbles in shorts like '' The Two Mouseketeers'', and ''Tuffy'' in ''Tom an ...

. ''The Two Mouseketeers'' won the series' sixth

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

for Best Animated Short Film. Such was the cartoon's success, that Hanna and Barbera created a total of four adventures in the ''Mouseketeers'' series; the second, 1954's '' Touché, Pussy Cat!'' received an Oscar nomination. The third, '' Tom and Chérie'', followed in 1955, and '' Royal Cat Nap'' in 1958. The premise was also featured in comic books from

Dell Comics Dell Comics was the comic book publishing arm of Dell Publishing, which got its start in pulp magazines. It published comics from 1929 to 1973. At its peak, it was the most prominent and successful American company in the medium.Evanier, Mark"Wh ...

Plot

In 17th century

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Mouseketeers ''The Mickey Mouse Club'' is an American variety show, variety television show that aired intermittently from 1955 to 1996 and briefly returned to social media in 2017. Created by Walt Disney and produced by The Walt Disney Company, Walt Disney ...

Jerry and Nibbles decide to help themselves to a lavish royal banquet. Tom, in the service of Captaine Rochefort, has been ordered to guard the spread from the King's Mouseketeers with his life, under threat of execution by

guillotine A guillotine ( ) is an apparatus designed for effectively carrying out executions by Decapitation, beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secur ...

if he fails. Jerry and Nibbles enter the castle and infiltrate the banquet hall. While helping themselves to the food, they unwittingly catch Tom's attention by accidentally showering him with champagne. After hiding from Tom by disguising themselves as parts of the table decorations, Jerry decides to retreat, but Nibbles begins making a ham sandwich while singing "

Alouette Alouette or alouettes may refer to: Music and literature * Alouette (song), "Alouette" (song), a French-language children's song * Alouette, a List of The King of Braves GaoGaiGar protagonists#Alouette, character in ''The King of Braves GaoGaiGar' ...

" to himself. Tom sneaks up on Nibbles and captures him by putting his rapier through Nibbles's

tabard A tabard is a type of short coat that was commonly worn by men during the late Middle Ages and early modern period in Europe. Generally worn outdoors, the coat was either sleeveless or had short sleeves or shoulder pieces. In its more developed ...

. Jerry stabs Tom in the rear end to rescue Nibbles and throws a custard in Tom's face for good measure. A swordfight ensues, ending with Tom catching Jerry. Nibbles tips a

halberd A halberd (also called halbard, halbert or Swiss voulge), is a two-handed polearm that was in prominent use from the 13th to 16th centuries. The halberd consists of an axe blade topped with a spike mounted on a long shaft. It may have a hook or ...

toward Tom, which shaves the tabard and all the fur off the cat's backside. Nibbles runs away, but is sent flying by Tom into a full wine glass. Jerry saves him by hurling a tomato at Tom, followed by multiple vegetables and meat chunks. After impaling them all on his rapier, Tom heats and eats them like a

shish kebab Shish kebab or shish kebap is a popular meal of skewered and grilled cubes of meat. It can be found in Mediterranean cuisine. It is one of the many types of kebab, a range of meat dishes originating in the Middle East. In North American Engl ...

. Nibbles, now drunk, climbs out of the glass and pokes Tom in the rear end, but as he runs away, Tom catches him. Jerry hits Tom on the head with a mace before having another swordfight with him. While this goes on, Nibbles brings along a cannon and stuffs it with everything on the banquet table. Just as Tom catches Jerry, Nibbles lights the cannon, which violently blasts Tom with its load. In the aftermath, Jerry and Nibbles are seen walking triumphantly down the street with some of the stolen banquet food until they see a guillotine in the distance. Accompanied by a drum roll, the blade rises up and comes down, suggesting that Tom has been executed. Both mice gulp, and Nibbles sighs: "''Pauvre, pauvre pussycat''" ("Poor, poor pussycat"). Then he shrugs, saying: "''C'est la guerre!''" ("This is war!"), and the two Mouseketeers continue their victory march.

Production

* Directed by

and

* Animation by Ed Barge, Kenneth Muse, and Irven Spence * Layouts by Dick Bickenbach * Music by Scott Bradley * Produced by Fred Quimby

Voice cast (uncredited)

as Tom, Jerry and Captaine Rochefort *

as Toodles (or Nibbles)

Availability

DVD * ''Tom and Jerry's Greatest Chases'', Vol. 3 * '' Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection'' Vol. 1, Disc Two * '' Tom and Jerry: The Deluxe Anniversary Collection'' Disc One * Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Academy Awards Animation Collection: 15 Winners (restored)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Two Mousketeers, The 1952 animated short films 1950s American animated films 1952 comedy films Best Animated Short Academy Award winners Animated films based on The Three Musketeers Short films directed by Joseph Barbera Short films directed by William Hanna Tom and Jerry short films Films scored by Scott Bradley Animated films set in Paris 1950s English-language films 1950s French-language films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer short films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer animated short films Films produced by Fred Quimby Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio short films 1950s multilingual films American multilingual films American comedy short films American animated short films French-language American films English-language comedy short films English-language action comedy films