Buddies Thicker Than Water
| Buddies Thicker Than Water | |
|---|---|
| Tom and Jerry series | |
 | |
| Directed by | Gene Deitch |
| Produced by | William L. Snyder |
| Story by | Larz Bourne |
| Voices by |
Gene Deitch (uncredited) Kutula Zbyňková (uncredited) |
| Music by | Stěpan Koniček |
| Animation by | Václav Bedřich (uncredited) |
| Studio | Rembrandt Films |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
| Release date(s) | November 1, 1962 |
| Color process | Metrocolor |
| Running time | 9:00 |
| Country |
Czechoslovakia United States |
| Language | English |
| Preceded by | Sorry Safari |
| Followed by | Carmen Get It! |
Buddies Thicker Than Water is a Tom and Jerry animated short film, released on November 1, 1962. It was the twelfth cartoon in the series to be directed by Gene Deitch and produced by William L. Snyder in Czechoslovakia. The short's title is a pun on the phrase "Blood is thicker than water".
Plot
On a snowy night in New York City, Jerry is comfortably asleep inside a penthouse. Tom, meanwhile, is freezing in the alley below, after being evicted by his owner. He writes a note asking for help, slips it into a bottle, and throws it up to the penthouse window. Jerry, awakened by the noise, goes out to the balcony and finds the note. Alarmed, he rushes outside and he rescues a frozen Tom. He then brings him inside, and after thawing him out, serves him a hot meal.
Tom and Jerry lounge about the penthouse, listening to music and drinking everything in the owner's liquor cabinet. However, Tom's owner returns and startles the inebriated pair. Jerry dives into his hole as the woman grabs Tom and prepares to throw him out again. Tom grabs Jerry and shows him to his owner, causing her to panic. Tom assures the owner he'll get rid of the mouse, and goes outside to throw Jerry off the balcony into the alley. Inside, Tom is stroked and pampered by his owner; outside, Jerry is angered by the cat's betrayal and wants revenge.
Upon entering the house, Jerry sneaks past Tom and goes over to the woman's make-up table, where he applies face powder on his body to resemble a ghost. Putting on a record of spooky music, Jerry chases the terrified Tom outside, but some of the powder washes off as Jerry advances through the snow. Tom is furious and angrily unsheathes his claws, but as he charges towards Jerry, he accidentally melts the snow and falls back down to the alley below. Tom desperately sends Jerry another note, but Jerry responds by throwing a pair of ice skates and an ice hockey stick down to him, then happily returns to his hole and goes to sleep.
Reception
Although the Deitch shorts were poorly-received by both critics and fans alike, this particular short is considered one of the best of the thirteen cartoons, due to its plotline and characterizations that harken back to the Hanna-Barbera era.
External links
- Buddies Thicker Than Water at The Big Cartoon DataBase
- Buddies Thicker Than Water at the Internet Movie Database
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