Really Surprised!

How wonderful it is to see this fine actress carry a film and carry it so beautifully.

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

The Yankee Doodle Mouse (1943) *** (out of 4)Award-winning short has Tom and Jerry paying respect to America who was deep into WWII. This short has the two in the basement doing a rather violent battle involving eggs, bombs and various other objects. THE YANKEE DOODLE MOUSE isn't a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination but there are some very good moments scattered throughout the film and there's no question that it's certainly the most violent film in the series up to this point. Tom certainly takes a beating in various ways including several bombs meant for Jerry not working out correctly. The film has a very good and quick pacing to it, which certainly helps and there are some good laughs along the way as well.

There is no doubt in my mind this was one of the better early Tom and Jerry cartoons. Even with its decidedly curious and somewhat ironic title. The Yankee Doodle Mouse is extremely good all the same, with a great story and a very patriotic ending. The animation is fantastic, the visual effects are dazzling especially with the US flag and the music score here is one of my favourite soundtracks on a Tom and Jerry cartoon. Even more impressive were the sound effects, they were really authentic, and the sight gags are brilliantly timed and all of them work superbly. Overall, even with the curious title, but it is for me one of the better early Tom and Jerry cartoons. 9/10 Bethany Cox

This is a Tom & Jerry "war" cartoon with Jerry in the war mode pulverizing hapless Tom. Right from the beginning when he's tossing "hen-grenades" (eggs) to the end, he's using all kinds of objects as warfare. There are bunch of clever references to war slogans but modified, such as "That Friendly Rat May Tell The Cat" as one of the old warnings to use to give folks about being careful who you talk to, etc. Jerry, complete a bottle-cap for a helmet, also dive-bombs the poor cat, riding paper airplanes with firecrackers, until he's finally shot down but he parachutes with a bra and lands safely. He even uses smoke screens by dragging a bag of flour along the ground. - whatever he can think up to win the "war." It's all clever and very funny. This is non-stop action with a patriotic ending. I have no argument about this winning an Academy Award for best animated short.

Jerry the mouse and tom the cat are at war with each other, Jerry using such items as egg 'hen' grenades, light bulb bombs, and various other Weapons of Mass Distraction. Tom is pretty much the Nazi to Jerry's American soldier in this one. It won the Oscar for best short cartoon in 1944 and rightfully so as this is one of the funnier Tom and Jerry cartoons that I've seen and worth having in ANYone's collection. This hilarious award winning cartoon can be found on disc one of the Spotlight collection DVD of "Tom & Jerry" Which is a great buy however way you slice it.My Grade: A