The Night Before Christmas (titled Not Even a Mouse in development) is a 1941 Tom and Jerry short set at Christmas, and notably the first Christmas cartoon starring the iconic cat-and-mouse duo. It was nominated for the 1941 Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film, but lost to the Pluto cartoon Lend a Paw.
Synopsis[]
In a large house on Christmas Eve, nothing is stirring, not even a mouse...or so it seems at first. Jerry emerges from his hole avoiding a Christmas-themed mousetrap (already baited with a piece of cheese wrapped in a red ribbon) placed by his hole. He quickly heads for the Christmas presents, jumping merrily around the tree, licking candy canes, and jumping onto a plush toy lion that squeaks. He continues jumping on it, but bounces too hard and lands on what he thinks is another soft toy. He jumps up and down on the grey fur, little realizing that what he is jumping on is, in fact, Tom who has woken up. Tom snarls, but just before he can eat Jerry, the quick-thinking mouse grabs a nearby "Do Not Open 'Til Xmas" sticker and places it on Tom's mouth.
Jerry hides among the myriad of toys (even firing a trick cannon's cork at Tom) and hides inside a Christmas tree light, causing him to glow. Tom, obviously not fooled by this charade, grabs him and is promptly electrocuted. He hides among some toy soldiers, but Tom spots him, and just as he is about to crush him with his paw, he runs off. Tom chases him, but is stopped by the barrier of a miniature level crossing. A toy train with many cars passes by. Jerry is sitting on top of the caboose, waving cheekily at Tom and pulling faces. However, the train enters a model of a tunnel, and Jerry hits his head on it, knocking him onto the track. He quickly runs through the tunnel, pursued by Tom, who knocks it over. He hides inside a boxing glove and boxes a puzzled Tom in the face before running off behind the Christmas tree. Tom, now arming himself with a boxing glove of his own, follows him and spots him jumping into a jack-in-the-box. Opening it up, Tom is punched by the boxing glove stuck on Jack's head and is knocked out. Jerry jumps out and holds it up in victory like a professional boxing referee would.
Tom chases Jerry once again, but he holds out a piece of mistletoe in from of him and persuades Tom to kiss him. Tom is reluctant at first, but obliges. Tom gets flattered a little bit and while his back is turned, Jerry kicks him in the rear. Jerry darts out through the mail slot. As Tom opens its lid to see where he has gone, he hurls a snowball at his face. Tom angrily barricades the slot so that he can't get back inside.
While Jerry trudges up and down in the heavy snow in a helpless attempt to warm himself, Tom fluffs up his cushion and prepares to sleep. He is unable to settle himself; heavenly choirs sing carols, pricking his conscience with the message of Christmas peace and goodwill. He first props open the slot to allow Jerry back inside and, when he does not reappear, Tom ventures anxiously outside to find him, frozen. Fearing for his life, he brings him indoors and warms him up by the fire. Slowly, he regains consciousness, but is wary of Tom. Tom hands him a candy cane, his Christmas present. A delighted Jerry licks it, but then quickly reacts to prevent Tom drinking from his bowl of milk. He dips his cane into it, and a loud snap is heard. Jerry uses the cane to fish a mousetrap that he had earlier planted in the bowl. Tom appreciates Jerry's warning and he runs back to his hole. He uses his cane to hook the cheese off the mousetrap. Instead of snapping like one usually does, the spring slowly comes down, ringing the tune of "Jingle Bells" as Jerry smiles in admiration to the "musical mousetrap".
Music[]
All songs were uncredited.
Title(s) | Performed by |
---|---|
|
The Debutantes and The King's Men |
"Jingle Bells" | Studio Orchestra |
Availability[]
The short made its home video debut on the Tom & Jerry's 50th Birthday Classics III VHS, released by MGM/UA Home Video on November 3, 1992. It was later featured on the VHS release Tom & Jerry's The Night Before Christmas, which also included three other Christmas MGM cartoon shorts - The Captain's Christmas, Toyland Broadcast, and One Ham's Family. Around the same time, it was also included on MGM/UA Home Video's The Art of Tom and Jerry: Volume 1 Laserdisc set.
After Turner Entertainment was purchased by Time Warner, and Warner Home Video took over the video distribution rights to the Tom and Jerry cartoons, the short made its DVD debut on the Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection: Volume 2 DVD set, released on October 25, 2005. Warner later included it on the Tom and Jerry Golden Collection: Volume 1 Blu-ray and DVD sets, released on October 25, 2011. The short was also most recently included as a bonus feature on the 2020 Special Edition Blu-ray release of Tom and Jerry: A Nutcracker Tale.
Between its inclusion on Warner's two Tom and Jerry collections, The Night Before Christmas was also included on the second disc of the Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Academy Awards Animation Collection: 15 Winners, 26 Nominees DVD set, released on February 12, 2008. The disc containing the short was later reissued individually as Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Academy Award-Nominated Animation: Cinema Favorites on August 6, 2013.
See also[]
- "Snowbrawl"
- "Ho Ho Horrors"
- Tom and Jerry: A Nutcracker Tale
- Tom and Jerry: Santa's Little Helpers
- Tom and Jerry: Snowman's Land
External links[]
- Tom and Jerry Wiki: The Night Before Christmas
- The Night Before Christmas at the Internet Movie Database
- The Night Before Christmas at the Big Cartoon DataBase
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