If only for his chance to make The Dot and the Line (and bring home an Oscar for it) and The Grinch TV special, Jones’ 1960s experience at MGM was not a waste. this was the best place at this time for him to land. Having just been dismissed by Warner Bros. The 1960s T&J initiative was certainly a lucky break for Chuck Jones, who disdained limited TV animation and championed full character animation aimed towards the adult sensibilities. Too bad they didn’t think ahead just ten years earlier when they dismissed Bill Hanna and Joseph Barbera. MGM certainly had big plans for Tom & Jerry during this period. ![]() I’m amazed MGM released these theatrically in the theaters at all! ( Click on each page to enlarge): ![]() It says that popularity for cartoons had waned in the 1950s and that “major studios closed down their animation departments” – neglecting to mention that MGM was actually the only studio to do so! It also explains, if you read between the lines, that MGM reopened their animation department due to the ongoing popularity of the theatrical cartoons in Europe, but also suggests the Jones Tom & Jerry shorts were targeted toward Saturday morning TV in the US. It says Tom & Jerry were born in 1935 – not true. I’m posting pages from it below – but what a mess of misinformation it is. ![]() My friend Ned Comstock from the USC Media Research Library sent me the production notes from a 1965 television press kit for the CBS Tom & Jerry Show.
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