Mice Follies: 8 reasons to watch this classic Tom & Jerry short

Mice on ice is twice as nice.

In 1954, Joseph Barbera and William Hanna directed Mice Follies, featuring two of their most beloved characters, the house cat, Tom, and his adversary, the mouse named Jerry.

In addition to the two title mammals, Mice Follies features Nibbles, the tinier, grey mouse by Jerry's side. If that little guy isn't enough to draw you in, here are eight great reasons to watch Mice Follies

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1. Historical Note

 

This cartoon is notable for being the final Tom and Jerry short to feature the red MGM logo. The next toon featuring the nemeses had MGM's Leo the Lion within a blue title card. Still had that same iconic roar, though! 

2. Time Capsule

 

Right down to the title, Mice Follies is a fun look back at mid-century America. In the 1950s, the touring Ice Follies production was very popular. The show, similar in concept to Ice Capades, brought a variety of ice-related performances to rinks and arenas and even the World's Fair. 

3. Backgrounds

 

Robert Gentle is one of the great artists that shepherded this short into existence. His background work brings cohesion to contain the chaos. The detail in the background art grounds the actions in reality, even as things get ridiculous. Pay attention, please, to the beautiful icicles that Gentle drew.

4. Music

 

Scott Bradley's music elevates every part of this cartoon. The drums as Tom slips about on the ice create the perfect soundtrack. Twice during the cartoon, as Jerry and Nibbles skate around, Bradley interpolates Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty Waltz into the score. The melody was also the basis for Disney's "Once Upon a Dream" five years later in Sleeping Beauty.

5. Peak Nibbles

 

Not only is Nibbles here, but also, he is in rare form, folks. Our favorite adorable little guy pulls off every task this time out. In fact, this is the only Tom and Jerry short featuring Nibbles where he doesn't mess up and make Jerry upset. He's such a good little guy! Look at him execute perfectly! Yes, Nibbles!

6. Peak Physical Comedy

 

The sequence wherein Tom can't get his footing on the ice is worth the price of admission alone. Tom is somehow both believably feline and relatable human as he scrambles to stay upright atop the sheet of ice. Paired with Scott Bradley's music, Tom's limbs flailing about are a high point of this—or any—cartoon.

7. The Appliances!

 

People in the '50s loved their appliances. "Convenience" was the word of the decade, and breakthroughs put consumer-grade pricing on new technology in the kitchen and elsewhere. Luxury was but an arm's reach away!

8. Mice on Ice

 

If you really need further persuasion to give Mice Follies a chance, consider this: Where else would you get Olympic-level ice skating from mice (outside of Chicago in February?) The Winter Games are only contested once every four years. Mice on Ice, though, is forever.

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9 Comments

Aleads 17 months ago
I've loved Tom and Jerry since the first time I watched them on our (old box wood furniture piece) Zenith. I have in my collection a plush Tom and Jerry doll. Thank you for keeping them alive and in our dearest hearts.
JHP 17 months ago
you know - I wish I could find jammies with feet:) Even though I'm 60+ but that's the way I used to watch T and J

dont picture that :)

Where is Bullwinkle and Rocky?
Bapa1 JHP 17 months ago
Frostbite Falls.
JHP Bapa1 16 months ago
what a super cartoon series - it made me laugh then and then it would now
Andybandit 17 months ago
I love T&J. I exactly remember this cartoon. It is a fun one to watch.
AnnaRentzVandenhazel 17 months ago
Before I ever saw a Tom & Jerry cartoon (they didn't appear on the local station we could get on our antenna until I was like 12 or 13, mid-70's), someone gave my brother a Tom & Jerry comic book. But the little gray mouse wasn't called "Nibbles", he was called "Tuffy". Obviously Tuffy was the original name, anyone know why it was changed in comic books? Or did they change his name at some point in the T&J series?
now that i think about it, i remember playing one of the tom and jerry cd rom games when i was little and nibbles was called tuffy there too, maybe its a copyright thing?
Tuffy sounds more familiar. Maybe he was in one of the Little Golden Books. We definitely had a Tom & Jerry related to Christmas
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