| Johann Mouse | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | |
| Story by |
|
| Produced by | Fred Quimby |
| Narrated by | Hans Conried[1] |
| Music by | Scott Bradley Johann Strauss Piano arrangement: Jakob Gimpel[1] |
| Animation by | |
| Layouts by | Richard Bickenbach |
| Backgrounds by | Robert Gentle |
| Color process | Technicolor |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Release date |
|
Running time | 7:57 |
| Language | English |
Johann Mouse is a 1953 American one-reel animated cartoon and the 75thTom and Jerry cartoon, released in theaters as early as February 17, 1953 byMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer.[2] The short is directed byWilliam Hanna andJoseph Barbera, composed byScott Bradley, and animated byKenneth Muse,Ray Patterson,Ed Barge, andIrven Spence. It won the 1952Academy Award for Best Short Subject: Cartoons, the seventh and last Oscar given to aTom and Jerry short.[3]
In 19th centuryVienna,Tom Cat and Johann Mouse played byJerry Mouse live in the house of composerJohann Strauss. Whenever Strauss plays the piano, Johann comes out of his hole to dance to the music, and Tom will repeatedly try to catch him to no avail. One day, Strauss goes away on a journey, much to Tom's dismay. Tom realizes that the key to catching Johann would be through music, so he begins teaching himself how to play the piano using Strauss' written tutorial, "How to Play the Waltz in Six Easy Lessons." As Tom plays the piano, he is able to lure out and capture Johann, but his playing is immediately praised by the house servants, and so he lets go of Johann and happily continues his performance.
Tom's piano playing and Johann's dancing spread by word-of-mouth across Vienna, eventually reaching theEmperor of AustriaFranz Joseph I. Tom and Johann are then commanded to perform at thepalace before the emperor. Tom and Johann perform with vigor and delight at the palace, but Tom eventually succumbs to his instincts and tries to chase after Johann, only to fail once again and making the audience clap once again.
As with every short ofTom and Jerry during its first two decades,Johann Mouse is directed byWilliam Hanna andJoseph Barbera, with its score composed byScott Bradley. The piano arrangements for the short was created and played byJakob Gimpel, a Polish-born concert pianist.[1] Within theTom and Jerry series,Johann Mouse is unique for having a record album directly adapted from the short itself, released in May 1953[5] and withBret Morrison substitutingHans Conried as narrator.[6]
Ben Simon of Animated Views praisedJohann Mouse for its "extraordinarily exquisite watercolor production values", and noted thatHans Conried was "having fun as the narrator".[7] Writer and historian Michael Samerdyke considered the short to be "simply adorable", and observed that continues "Tom and Jerry's romance with classic music." Samerdyke also wrote that the short has "a lovely, bittersweet feel. The storybook narration and the darling action is all sweet, but beneath it all lies the awareness that the world of Strauss waltzes and their elegance is over."[3]
Joseph Barbera later consideredJohann Mouse, alongsideThe Cat Concerto, to be his favoriteTom and Jerry cartoon.[8]
Video Released Oct. 1990...