Solid Serenade

Plot synopsis:
Near a house is a doghouse labeled "Killer" with a dog (Spike) in it. Tom pokes his head over the wall and spots a female cat (Toodles Galore) in the window. Tom brings along his string instrument (possibly a double bass or cello), then wakes up Spike and neutralizes him by whacking him in the head with a mallet and tying him up. Tom uses his instrument as a pogo stick to hop over to the window, stopping halfway to taunt Spike along the way.
Tom plays "Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby"; the sound waves from the instrument shake Jerry's mousehole, bouncing Jerry off the bed, then under the table, and Jerry's head is hit by a vase that falls off the table when the mouse comes out the other side. Having had enough, the mouse gets his revenge by going into the kitchen and hurling a pie with an iron stuffed inside; the cat is angered, but continues with a few more bars. Seconds later, he is hit in the face again – this time with a pie covered in whipped cream. Spotting Jerry, Tom chases him through the house.
Both animals dive off an ironing board; with Jerry ahead of Tom, Jerry drains the kitchen sink he landed in, leaving Tom to crash into the crockery. Tom follows Jerry through the open window, but Jerry pulls the window stop out of the window. The window falls on Tom's neck, and Tom shrieks in pain. Jerry then runs out and unties Spike, and the dog lets out a loud bull roar(similar like the roar in Puttin' on the Dog), which starts a new chase. Spike swaps his small teeth for "heavy-duty" ones, blows off some pent-up steam, and goes after Tom.
Tom ducks as Spike's teeth come at him, which instead get lodged in a tree trunk. Tom then barely avoids getting his tail bitten and hides behind a wall, holding a brick up ready to attack. Spike sees the brick and investigates, but gets knocked on the head with it. With his ally eliminated, Jerry revives Spike by hitting him with a wooden plank. After slamming Spike, Spike leaps high in the air screaming in pain just as Jerry hands off the board to Tom, framing the cat.
Knowing he is in trouble, Tom tricks Spike into believing the board is a bone by playing "fetch". Spike obliges and fetches but realises he's been tricked. Tom and Spike then begin a back and forth chase with Toodles Galore watching on. Tom stops periodically to kiss the cat. Catching on to this habit, Spike substitutes himself on the third pass, and gets wooed in a Charles Boyer voice (his lines recycled from The Zoot Cat). Tom stops his speech abruptly when he sees the female cat and, realizing his mistake, drops Spike onto the floor. Tom hides from Spike's rampage until Jerry walks around the corner; he chases Jerry to Spike's house, which Jerry immediately hides in. Tom then sneaks into the doghouse with a murderous Dracula laugh while closing the door, indicating that something most foul is going to occur. A second later, the door opens and Spike pokes his head out, helps Jerry out of his house and laughs even more evilly as he withdraws inside to. The entire dog house thrashes about as Spike beats up Tom, who at one point quickly writes his will before being wrenched back in and beaten to within an inch of his life. At the end, Toodles Galore watches Spike strum Tom, who had replaced the strings on his instrument, while Jerry plays a quick riff on Tom's whiskers.

Tags: comic

Review:
Hep-Cat Tom Gets It On, Musically.
Tom gets to do some picking early on as he torments and then ties up "Killer" the watchdog.
Tom wants to serenade some cat-beauty in the window and needs the dog out of the way.
Tom then shows us his musical talent - and it's hilarious - as he sings Cab Calloway-swing-style and plays the bass with the toes!
That number - "Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby?" is a lot of fun to see and hear.Jerry, sleeping contently in his sardine can, is woken by the music, hates it and baits Tom into chasing him at his place nearby.
That's the second half of this story and there is more funny and clever material, especially when Jerry frees "Killer " and sicks him on the poor cat.We also get to hear Tom's French imitation of Charles Boyer, which is really a hoot.This is one excellent cartoon - really good stuff..
My absolute favorite Tom and Jerry.
Just to hear Tom slapping that bass and singing, "Is You Is, or Is You Ain't, My Baby?" makes this one priceless!
All the action flows from that serenade.
Jerry either needs his sleep or is making an editorial comment on Tom's musical talents when he frees the bulldog.
There is also a very important object lesson here: be very careful when closing your eyes in a romantic interlude!
There was general merriment and joy overflowed the main environs and flooded surrounding areas!
Highly recommended..
Is you is or is you ain't?.
Spike the dog (here called Killer, in later cartoons he'd be called Butch) is tied up by Tom the cat so he can serenade the lady he has his eye on with the song "Is you is or is you ain't my baby".
He wakes up Jerry the mouse, who tortures him for his act of love by throwing stuff at him.
This prompts Tom to grow aggravated and the game of cat and mouse is on.
Jerry unties Butch (Killer) to let the dog get into the action.
This is a great Tom and Jerry cartoon and Tom's singing is classic stuff.
This hilarious cartoon short can be found on disc one of the Spotlight collection DVD of "Tom & Jerry" My Grade: A.
What if I sing to you?.
Tom sneaks into a well protected garden to serenade a gorgeous female kitty.
But first he has to tie up Spike (here called 'Killer').
His chosen song is actually 'Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby?', which is actually very cool song.Too bad Jerry doesn't share the same sentiments.
Tom's crooning is keeping him awake in his letterbox/bedroom and he just wants him to shut the hell up.Jerry actually only gets to torment Tom a couple of times in this cartoon.
Most of the pain is dished out by Spike.
And it is very, very funny, with great visual jokes and humor..
Once again, a Tom and Jerry cartoon that is truly excellent!.
My brother, sisters and I have loved Tom and Jerry since a very young age.
Solid Serenade is one of my favourite cartoons of their, not my absolute favourite though.
It is I agree quite violent especially the ending but it is certainly not the most violent, nor a cartoon that is so violent it's unwatchable.
Plus the visual gags are funny and inventive.
Also helping enormously are the lovely animation and the superb music, the song that Tom sings is really beautiful and romantic.
The vocals weren't half bad either.
The characters are fine as well, Spike(or Killer as he is known here) isn't given as much to do but he can be quite savage here, while Tom is both charming and dastardly and Jerry sweet and clever.
Plus the female cat is a stunner!
Overall, if you love Tom and Jerry this is a must see!
10/10 Bethany Cox. A return to form for T & J..
After quite a few less than impressive adventures (Trap Happy, The Milky Waif, Springtime for Thomas, Quiet Please!, and Flirty Birdy), it's great to see the cat and mouse duo back on form in Solid Serenade, which sees Tom attempting to woo a tasty white female cat by performing a rendition of "Is You Is, or Is You Ain't, My Baby?".Unfortunately, the cat's romantic musical gesture isn't appreciated by Jerry, who is desperately struggling to catch some z's.
In order to get some peace (and a little revenge, of course), the mouse sets about trying to ruin Tom's chances with the sexy feline.
The result is a hilarious succession of brilliant slapstick moments and violent visual gags, with some particularly memorable moments: Jerry bouncing around his home as Tom slaps his bass; Tom 'playing' the lips of a bulldog named Killer (who looks suspiciously like Spike); Killer swapping his standard huge gnashers for a even larger set of fangs; and Tom receiving a sash window on his neck (ouch!).Throw in some terrific comic facial expressions (including Tom's priceless look of sudden realisation), and you have an unmissable episode that is full of fun from start to finish..
It's Tom & Jerry from 1946---and that's reason enough to see this one..
The title of this Tom & Jerry short refers to Tom--who does something VERY uncharacteristic--you hear him sing.
He serenades a cute lady cat with his rendition of "Is You Is or Is You Ain't".
While he was careful to tie up Butch when the cartoon begins, he didn't anticipate the troubles he'd have with Jerry--who is MORE than willing to destroy Tom's good time--and untie Butch.
Most of the film consist of Tom trying to stop Butch from killing him.If you are familiar with the Tom & Jerry cartoons of this era, then it's no surprise that artistically it's among the best cartoon shorts you can find...period.
While Tom & Jerry are quite predictable, these cartoons during their glory years of the 1940s cannot be matched even by Disney or Looney Tunes when it comes to the art.
I always am amazed by the gorgeous backgrounds and colors--and this one is no exception.
Overall, this is yet another marvelous Tom & Jerry cartoon.
Not among the very best--but awfully good..
Who'd have thought Tom could sing so well?!.
This short opens with Tom heading over to serenade Toodles.
After hitting Spike over the head with a mallet and tying him up Tom sings 'Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby' while playing the double bass.
She enjoys the music but Jerry doesn't; he is trying to sleep but the noise is bouncing him around his room.
Eventually he can stand it no longer and ends Tom's performance with a pie (containing an iron) to the face!
Not happy at the intrusion Tom chases after him only to see Jerry undoing the ropes that he'd used to tie up Spike...
a quick about turn and Tom is fleeing for his life.
We get the usual to and fro as Tom and Spike fight with the expected interference from Jerry.
Even with all the fighting Tom doesn't forget he is there to woo Toodles...
pity he accidentally kisses Spike!This is a really good entry into the 'Tom and Jerry' series; I was expecting Jerry to disrupt Tom's performance but thankfully he waited till it was just about over as I was really enjoying it; using a well known song reminded me of some early 'Betty Boop' shorts.
Once the action starts it is the sort of violence one expects; gratuitous and funny; the best joke isn't violent at all though; it is when Tom goes to kiss Toodles with his eyes closed but ends up kissing Spike and saying how much he loves her (him)...
then realises his mistake!
The animation is really good; typical of the period and much better than some of the later efforts; I loved the little details such as Jerry's sardine tin bed and table with matches for legs..
A bit of a different T&J clip, but still entertaining.
"Solid Serenade" is a little cartoon movie from 1946, so this one is already over 70 years old.
It is by Hanna Barbera and as such of course another Tom & Jerry cartoon and it runs the usual slightly over 7 minutes for these.
With the "unusual" in my title I mean that this one includes a bigger deal of music than they usually do as Tom is serenading his (potential girlfriend) for almost the entirety of the first half of the film.
But afterward the usual chase scenes follow.
Spike behind Tom. Tom behind Jerry.
I think the music here is good and so are comedy as well as animation.
You can see this is from the Golden Age of Animation.
And even if this is one of the more known T&J films that did not manage to score an Oscar nomination, it is still a fairly good watch, almost a must see for cartoon lovers.
Go check it out.