Mouse Trouble

Mouse Trouble
Tom and Jerry series
The re-release poster of this cartoon.
Directed by	William Hanna Joseph Barbera
Produced by	Fred Quimby (unc. on original issue)
Story by	William Hanna Joseph Barbera
Voices by	Harry E. Lang and William Hanna Sara Berner (both uncredited)
Music by	Scott Bradley
Animation by	Ray Patterson Irven Spence Kenneth Muse (original credited as Ken Muse) Pete Burness Assistant animation: Barney Posner (uncredited)
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date(s)	November 23, 1944 (original release) (Thanksgiving Day) December 12, 1951 (re-release)
Color process	Technicolor
Running time	7:08
Language	none (text in English)
Preceded by	Puttin' on the Dog
Followed by	The Mouse Comes to Dinner

Mouse Trouble is a 1944 American one-reel animated cartoon and is the 17th Tom and Jerry short produced by Fred Quimby and directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, with music by Scott Bradley (the music is actually based on the popular jazz song "All God's Children Got Rhythm"). The cartoon was animated by Ray Patterson, Irven Spence, Ken Muse and Pete Burness. The cartoon won the 1944 Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film, the second consecutive award bestowed upon the series. It was released in theatres on November 23, 1944 by Metro-Goldwyn Mayer and reissued on December 12, 1951.

A mailman delivers a box in the mailbox. Tom opens the box and finds a book on how to catch mice and for the rest of the cartoon, he takes its advice to attempt to catch the mouse (Jerry).

The first thing the book suggests is to locate the mouse. Tom "locates" the mouse, but when he tries to grab Jerry, the mouse steps off the book and slams Tom's nose in it.

Tom sets out a simple mouse trap and tests it by snapping it by touching it with a feather. Jerry, however, succeeds in freeing the cheese from it without setting off the trap. Shocked at the trap's failure, Tom tests it, and the trap snaps as soon as he touches it, causing him to scream in pain. Tom then sets a snare trap around a piece of cheese and gets ready to pull the string but Jerry sneakily replaces the cheese with a bowl of cream. When Tom peeks back at the trap, he sees the cream and drinks it, completely distracted by it as Jerry activates the trap, sending the cat out to the tree himself.

Tom's next attempt at catching Jerry is to guffaw while reading the book. A curious Jerry ventures out of his hole and Tom eventually captures Jerry by shutting him into the book. But when Tom grabs him, Jerry pulls the same trick on him with his fists. Tom inspects them only to get punched in the eye and leaving Jerry to escape. (This trick was pulled again in Safety Second.) After reading in the book that "A Cornered Mouse NEVER FIGHTS", Tom pounces onto Jerry, but Jerry fights back and beats Tom offscreen. Afterwards, Tom, now bruised and battered, drones "Don't you believe it!" - a cultural reference to the distinctive jingle on the 1940s radio show Don't You Believe it! (Voiced by Harry E. Lang.) (This was repeated at the conclusion of the episode The Missing Mouse).