Tom and Chérie
Tags: comic

Plot synopsis:
Mousketeer Captain Jerry has been gazing at a portrait of a gorgeous French mouse called Lilli, then writes Lilli a love letter and calls his assistant Tuffy, and tells him to deliver it. Tuffy goes out and, after briefly mocking Jerry, looks at the letter and goes a deep shade of red after looking at it. But, when Tuffy is about to go out and deliver the letter, Tom appears saying "En garde!" ("On guard!") and swipes his sword at him, scaring him back in. He pokes his sword through the door. Tuffy tries to tell Jerry about the cat (in very fast French!), but Jerry shows the little mouse his book, reminding him that "Un mousketeer est brave" ("a mouseketeer is brave"). Tuffy then looks in the mirror and asks himself if he is a man or a mouse. But after going out and encountering Tom again, he decides he is a mouse. Later, Tom is hiding in wait for Tuffy. Tuffy tries to disguise himself with a knight's helmet. He says hello to Tom, but Tom is not fooled. He immediately jumps in front of Tuffy and fights him. Jerry hears the commotion from outside. Tom then lifts off the helmet and it falls right on top of his head, knocking him down a nearby cellar window. Tuffy is still swiping his sword until Jerry pokes him on the back.
Tuffy tries to call for the cat but to no avail. He tries to persuade Jerry that Tom was here, but Jerry brings him back to his mousehole and punishes Tuffy by getting him to write 'Un mouseketeer est brave' approximately 100 times on a blackboard. Then Tuffy goes to the door and holds his hat out. It gets chopped into pieces by Tom. Tuffy then nervously peeks out, but Jerry pokes him on the back with his sword, sending Tuffy rocketing past Tom to Lilli's house. He knocks on the windowsill. Lilli comes to the window and sees the love letter. She giggles while reading it, then disappears and returns with another letter with perfume on it. Tuffy then goes to deliver it to Jerry. But to see if Tom is around, he puts his hat on his sword and waves it. Tom waves his hat and then appears and fights Tuffy again.
Then Tuffy hides in a vent and pokes Tom in the bottom, saying "Touche, pussycat!" The fight continues. Tuffy runs inside Jerry's quarters and gives the letter to Jerry. He kisses it, writes another love letter, gives it to Tuffy and then the little mouse delivers it, encountering Tom every time. And by every fight Tuffy has with Tom, he gets more tattered and torn by the minute. Eventually, Jerry receives a letter from Lilli telling him that their love is finished. Heartbroken, Jerry tears up her letter and throws away her portrait. But all is not lost, as Jerry simply replaces her portrait with that of another beautiful, rich French mouse (Marie) and begins his correspondence with this one.
A battered and exasperated Tuffy is forced to deliver this letter. Tom jumps out once again, yells "En garde!" and is ready for another duel. However, the little mouse just ignores him and walks past. Tom then challenges him three more times but Tuffy keeps ignoring him. After the final attempt, Tuffy looks up at him, says with contempt, "En garde, En garde, En garde! Foo!". He now goes on with his assignment to deliver the letter, leaving Tom behind still holding his sword and puzzled.

Review: Colors Highlight This "Cute" Mouseketeer Story.
The first thing that hit me with this cartoon is the brilliance of the colors, especially the purples and pinks.
This is an extremely good-looking cartoon with bold colors and terrific artwork.
Check out the floors and the walls for the shadows, light and details as well.As for the story, we are back in the "Mouseketeer" days with Jerry and his little pal Nibbles writing love letters and reading the Mouseketeers Code, respectively.Jerry has is subordinate mail the love letter but Nibbles can't go far because "the Cardinal's cat, a big pussycat, is outside with a big sword.....and I am too young to die," he reports.
"Besides, I'm chicken."At least the guy is honest, but Jerry has to remind him about the "Code" and the bravery that is part of it.The funny stuff begins 20 seconds later with sight gags like Tuffy wearing a knight's head of armor (you have to see it) and various other ploys the young student uses to try to combat his bigger adversary.
It's a "cute" cartoon more than funny, but certainly entertaining all the way.
This is presented in CinemaScope (about 2:35:1) widescreen, which was kind of cool to see, as is part of the Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection Volume Two DVD..
Fun for everyone except Nibbles..
This is one of a series of shorts where Tom and Nibbles are "the king's Mouseketeers" with Tom as their main foil (sorry).
While this is not the best of them, I personally love this one, because I have a soft spot in my heart for Nibbles (the little mouse who gets all the hazardous duty here and none of the benefits) in this one.
The ending is quite appropriate here.
I don't blame Nibbles one bit, either.
Well worth watching.
Recommended..
Just a few more Nibbles cartoons to go.
Mouseketeer captain Jerry repeatedly orders his young protégé Nibbles to deliver love letters to his girlfriend Lilli.
Waiting outside for Nibbles is the cardinal's cat Tom, who is always on the lookout for a sword-fight and continually makes Nibbles task a lot harder.How much you enjoy Tom and Chérie will depend on how much you like young mouseketeer Nibbles, for he is very much the central character in this episode.
I can't abide Jerry's cutesy sidekick, so was already against this one, but I also found the repetitive gags sorely lacking and the animation not up to scratch (the backgrounds, in particular, look slapdash).The ending is the only part I enjoyed, Lilli finishing with Jerry, only for the mouse to shift his affections to another female named Marie.
What a player!
Naturally, Nibbles finally loses his temper, refuses to fight Tom, and stomps off into the distance.
Good riddance!
(unfortunately, the little mouse would return for at least a couple more adventures)..
Great Tom and Jerry cartoon, but Nibbles is the true star here.
Tom and Cherie is not the best of the "Mousketeers" cartoons, but it is very entertaining.
This time, Jerry is more of a side character, and Tom is still his dastardly self.
This time the true star of the show is Nibbles, who starts off running away from Tom and in the end stands up to him(I never thought he had that in him to be honest, so I was shocked, but in a pleasant way).
The story is somewhat predictable and Tom's "En Gardes" can get repetitive, but for instance the animation here is absolutely wonderful with lovely colours and all the characters are drawn well.
The music is a delight as well, sweet, lively and fun, while the visual gags range from amusing to hilarious.
Overall, just a delightful cartoon, recommended!
9/10 Bethany Cox. Time for a change....
For once, Jerry is not the spot of affection in his cartoons.
Instead, we almost feel a bit of anger towards the mouse.
In one of Hanna-Barbara's "Mouseketeer" cartoons, Jerry plays a captain Mouseketeer who keeps sending his young protege (Nibbles, to be exact) out with love letters to his beloved Lilli.
Of course, every time Nibbles leaves the hole, he's confronted by Tom who wants to fight.
This keeps up for a while, with Nibbles coming back more and more worse for wear.
Finally, he delivers a letter to Jerry that says Lilli is leaving him.
Jerry is heartbroken...
for about two seconds, and pulls out a picture of his NEW girl-mouse.
Nibbles is sent on another mission, but this time, he's had enough.
Engaurde?
Engaurde?
PHEW!" he spits at Tom as he walks down the lane to deliver the letter.This is one of Hanna-Barbara's better Tom & Jerry cartoons, especially since it took a break from the basic "Tom chases Jerry, Jerry fights back" style we all grew to love.
An absolute favorite of mine, no doubt about it.