Tom and Jerry Bonus Introduction by Whoopi Goldberg

Watch Tom and Jerry Bonus Introduction by Whoopi Goldberg - The Little Magic on Dailymotion

Transcript

00:00 Hey, I'm Whoopi Goldberg and welcome to the Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection.

00:05 I've been a fan of Tom and Jerry since I was a little kid, because they're the quintessential

00:09 cartoon comedy team in that slapstick tradition of great silent comics.

00:14 The Oscar-nominated short Puss Gets the Boot first set the stage for their ongoing literal

00:18 cat and mouse game that usually ended with that clever mouse Jerry getting the best of

00:23 poor old Tom Cat.

00:25 Now the Tom and Jerry episodes included in this collection, and the outrageous brand of humor shown here,

00:31 comes to us from a time when racial and ethnic differences were caricatured in the name of entertainment.

00:37 Now while humor may have been the intent of such caricatures, they also had the effect

00:41 of revealing society's unfair and hurtful representations of people of color, women,

00:46 and ethnic groups.

00:48 Now some of the cartoons here reflect prejudices that were common in American society, especially

00:53 when it came to racial and ethnic groups.

00:55 Now these prejudices were wrong then, and they are certainly wrong today.

01:00 With Puss Gets the Boot, we're introduced to one of those caricatures, Mammy Two-Shoes.

01:05 Now Mammy Two-Shoes had a key reoccurring role in a number of Tom and Jerry shorts,

01:10 and was an important component that made the interplay in those cartoons work so well.

01:16 Her performance was voiced by black actress Lillian Randolph, who had played a variety

01:23 of roles on television, radio, and films like It's a Wonderful Life.

01:27 Now Mammy is significant to the template of Tom and Jerry, because she brings the human

01:31 touch to the cartoon world, an entry point for the viewer.

01:36 The fact that she is so definite a character, even though we really never see her face,

01:41 is due to the acting and posing that Joe Barbera excelled at, the skills of the animators,

01:46 and the excellent voice talent of Lillian Randolph.

01:49 "Well come on Tom, it's time you were put out for the night."

01:53 Removing Mammy Two-Shoes from this collection would be the same as pretending that she never

01:58 existed.

01:59 The same is true for the other images and jokes that we wouldn't normally include in

02:03 a mainstream cartoon today.

02:05 So Ms. Two-Shoes, along with other elements that reveal the prejudices of the time, are

02:10 presented here to accurately reflect a part of our history that cannot and should not

02:15 be ignored.

02:17 With this release, Warner Bros. presents the original Tom and Jerry cartoons and the original

02:22 Mammy Two-Shoes, all as created by Hanna-Barbera.

02:26 These cartoons are some of the best animation of the golden era.

02:31 Quite simply, Tom and Jerry remain one of film history's most beloved comedy duos.

02:37 It's hard enough when you're live action, so for an animated cat and mouse to be as

02:41 famous as Martin and Lewis or Abner and Costello is proof that these cartoons are timeless and

02:48 will probably be entertaining new generations of fans for years to come.

02:53 Sit back and enjoy.

02:55 (sneezes)

02:57 [BLANK_AUDIO]