Some unknown facts about the Tom and Jerry show

If your childhood’s sweet memories include the most loved Tom and Jerry show, then you should read on to know many interesting facts about the legendary cat mouse chase!

  1. It all started in 1940: The Tom and Jerry series was created by Joseph Barbera and William Hanna and the first episode, ‘Puss gets the boot’ was aired on February 10th, 1940. This was the longest episode, after which a total of 164 episodes were made till 2014!
  2. Jasper and Jinx was the original name for the show: In the first episode of the animated series, Jasper, a tomcat was seen driving great pleasure in tormenting Jinx, the mouse. Later, after the success of the episode, the creators ran a contest among employees to come up with a unique name for the show. John Carr, an animator, suggested the name Tom and Jerry and won $50 for that!
  3. It was discontinued right after the first show: MGM animation studio felt the concept of cat and mouse for a cartoon show too common and not original at all. Soon after the first show was released in theatres, Barbera and Hanna started working on other concepts. It was one year after the animation short gained some popularity that the show was brought back.
  4. The show won 13 Oscar nominations: Tom and Jerry’s show has won 7 Oscar awards out of the 13 times it got nominated. Yankee Doodle Mouse episode won the first Oscar in 1943, and the last was won by the episode, Yohan Moue in 1953. The show was so popular that NASA, American space agency named two satellites chasing each other like Tom and Jerry!
  5. Tom moved like a cat initially: During the initial few episodes, Tom looked like a real cat. He used to walk like a cat on all four feet. By the end of 1940s, Tom’s appearance became more practical, and the thick and unkempt fur went missing. On the other hand, Jerry’s appearance remained constant for the entire duration of the show!
  6. ‘Mammy Two Shoes’ face was just seen once: Tom’s owner, Mammy Two Shoes was called so as her face was never shown at all. All we could see were legs and feet approaching. It was in January 14th 1950 when the episode, ‘Saturday Evening Puss’ showed her face once, for a very brief moment.
Tom and Jerry would have been 80-year-old now had the show been still running. The sweet memories of the original Tom and Jerry Show will continue to linger forever!