Tom and Jerry: Chuck Jones Collection

This two-disc set gathers all 34 of the Tom and Jerry theatrical cartoons directed or produced by the venerable Chuck Jones from 1963-67. If these cartoons were Marx Brothers movies, they would be At the Circus and Go West—each has moments of brilliance, but they're a marked comedown from past masterpieces, constituting a last gasp for the theatrical short, as Warner Bros. and MGM were shuttering their animation units and putting classic cartoon characters out to pasture. “Limited animation,” a technique produced for television by Tom and Jerry creators William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, was faster and cheaper to produce (Jones derisively called it “illustrated radio”). While not as fully animated or richly designed as the original Warner Tom and Jerry cartoons, the episodes in this collection are excellent vehicles for Jones' expressive animation. Under his pen, the characters convey more with sidelong glances and a raised eyebrow than many actors can with an entire monologue (in the earliest cartoons in this collection, a glowering Tom anticipates Jones' later characterization of the Grinch). Several of the cartoons recycle stories and situations from Jones' Warner Bros. heyday. In “The Cat Above and the Mouse Below,” opera singer Tom is bedeviled by Jerry, echoing the Bugs Bunny classic “Long-Haired Hare,” while elsewhere, a randy tomcat speaks in the amorous accent of Pepe Le Pew. Two bonus features will make this collection catnip (or cheese) for animation buffs. “Tom and Jerry… and Chuck,” narrated by Queen of Cartoons June Foray (you may remember her as the voice of Rocky the Squirrel), chronicles Jones' MGM stint, while the half-hour portrait “Chuck Jones: Memories of a Childhood,” by Oscar-winning animators John Canemaker and Peggy Stern, contains one of Jones' last interviews. Recommended. (D. Liebenson)