80-07"MAMMOTH MANHUNT"
While a scary shadow lumbers outside, Tom and Jerry watch a TV news
interview with J. Grab Freely, a man who captured a live wooly mammoth thawed
out of the frozen arctic wastelands of Alaska. The mammoth, according to
Freely, is now at The J. Grab Freely Science Show (admission for $5), and a
very scary picture of the mammoth is shown to the TV audience. Just then, a
breaking news bulletin reports that the mammoth has escaped from its cage and
is in large in the city, with the police force and the ASPCA on full alert!
T&J learn it was last seen in the vicinity of Elm and Walnut
streets---their location! Then they hear a loud bang on the door; thinking
it's the scary mammoth, they ready themselves with weapons, but when they open
the door, they find the "scary" mammoth is just a mere infant, crying to go
back home to Alaska. T&J agree to help him, and from a shipping news
report, they learn the steamship Alaska Star leaves Pier 6 for Alaska
that very night, and they agree to take him there. But the three must scheme
to continuously stay ahead of J. Grab Freely and the police, both of whom are
determined to recapture the mammoth and return him to the exhibit! Freely
leaves a trail of peanuts for the mammoth to follow, step on a ramp and be
sprung in a trap....but instead of following the trail, he manages to suck the
entire trail into his snout! They finally reach Pier 6 and deliver the mammoth
to the Alaska Star ...just as J. Paul Freely and the policeman catch
up with them! Freely tries to grab onto the mooring rope to stop the ship from
sailing off, but to no avail. T&J waves goodbye to the mammoth, as the
Alaska Star carries him happily homeward.
TRIVIA & NOTES:
- Influenced by the 1953 MGM T&J cartoon Jerry And
Jumbo and 1950's Jerry And
The Lion.
- The voice of the cop is provided by none other than the late Joe. E.
Ross, best remembered for his role as Officer Gunther "Ooh-Ooh!" Toody on
Car 54 Where Are You! (NBC, 1961-63), a capacity in which he also
served as the voice of Botch on Help! It's The Hair Bear Bunch!
(CBS, 1971-73) and Sgt. Flint on Hong Kong Phooey (ABC, 1974-76).
This episode reunites Ross with his co-star from Help! It's The Hair
Bear Bunch!, John Stephenson, the voice of Eustace P. Peevly on that
show and of J. Grab Freely in this episode.
- Tom talks, saying "ah ha!" in this episode.
80-08"THE WACKY WORLD OF SPORTS"
The constant variety of sport. The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. The human (animal?)
drama of athletic competition. This is "The Wacky World Of Sports!" As finalists, Tom and
Jerry compete against each other for the gold medal in The Decathlon, a series
of nine track and field events: tennis, the pole-vault, kung-fu, the 100-yd. dash, the 200-meter freestyle race (swimming),
weightlifting, the broad jump, golf, and the discus throw. Using sneaky tricks and underhanded pranks, Tom
fouls up all of Jerry's efforts, but manages to ruin his own attempts as well.
In the long jump, he attaches a huge spring to the bottom of his shoes, but
the trick backfires when the powerful coil bounces him right out of the
stadium. He attaches a jet engine to a discus in order to throw it the
farthest, but he neglects to put a guidance device on it. The discus returns
like a boomerang, chasing Tom around the stadium and leaving the championship
unresolved.
TRIVIA & NOTES:
- The first of the sports-themed New Tom &
Jerries, which pictured Tom as a dirty-tricks competitor always willing
to stop at nothing to trounce Jerry in any form of sports competition. (For
many diehard classic T&J fans, this seems to be the '70s series' only
saving grace!) Three further sports-themed New T&J cartoons continued in
this vein: #80-11, "The Super Bowler" #80-13, "The
Tennis Menace," and #80-25, "The Super Cyclists."
- The background of the stadium where "The Wacky World Of Sports" takes place is a re-drawn repaint of the football stadium seen in Episode #79-1 of The Great Grape Ape, "The All-American Ape."
- This was most likely inspired by the 1950 MGM Tex Avery cartoon The Chump Champ, which featured Droopy.
- Most of the animation for the scene in which Tom tries to pole vault
is used in the opening sequence.
- The animation in the barbell lifting scene is also used in the opening
sequence. The trimming of the towel that Tom wipes his hands on,
however, is a different shade of blue.
- The tennis and golf sequences can be linked to the classic MGM Tom & Jerry shorts Tennis Chumps (1949) and Tee For Two (1945).
T&J compete in another tennis match in Episode #80-13, "The Tennis Menace," which is a remake of Tennis Chumps. T&J
previously played badminton in a pivotal scene from Episode #80-06, "Beach Bully."
- The title "The Wacky World Of Sports" is a direct takeoff on
ABC's Wide World Of Sports, at the time a Saturday Afternoon
ritual on The Alphabet Network.
- This was originally the "Wacky Olympics."
- Tom talks at the end of this episode. He cries "Help!"
- The scene of Jerry about to face off with Tom in the Karate match in this episode was also used for the original New Tom & Jerry/Grape Ape Show main titles (prior to being interrupted by Grape Ape's stomping feet!).
80-10"ROBIN HO HO"
As Robin Ho Ho teaches his merry men to laugh, Littlejohn arrives to report
"interlopers": Tom and Jerry, who want to join up and become merry men (merry
cat and merry mouse??). First, Rob sees how they do laughing; T&J fall all
over themselves guffawing and are initiated into The Merry Men Training
Academy. They succeed in accomplishing two further tests: shooting bull's-eyes
with a longbow and capturing a fire-breathing dragon, but they find that the
third and last task, going to The Sheriff Of Nottingham's castle and
retrieving a red plume from The Sheriff's helmet, proves to be the most
challenging of them all, as they are hindered every step of the way by a
loudmouth crow and The Sheriff's two wolfhounds! Tom & Jerry nevertheless
tackle the odds and succeed in their mission. The skeptical Robin Ho Ho asks
T&J to prove that the plume is really from The Sheriff Of Nottingham, and
he is immediately set upon by The Sheriff's wolfhounds!
TRIVIA & NOTES:
- Inspired by the classic T&J short Robin
Hoodwinked (MGM, 1958).
- Frank Welker voices The Sheriff Of Nottingham and his crow. His is undoubtedly one of the busiest larynges in the
business, having performed numerous voiceovers for Hanna-Barbera and beyond, starting with Freddy Jones on
Scooby-Doo,
Where Are You! (CBS, 1969-72/1974-76).
- Tom & Jerry tangle with another crow in Episode #80-33, "Double Trouble Crow."
- The scene in which the crow guards The Sheriff while he's sleeping
recalls a similar plotline in 1958's Royal Cat Nap.
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