80-14
"CASTLE WIZ"
Responding to an ad in the newspaper, Tom & Jerry arrive at Castle Scarealotti, where they must spend the night in an attempt to
win the $20 prize money. Count Scarealotti, a wizard, makes things hauntingly hectic for
Tom & Jerry by conjuring up a ghost, which hinders T&J throughout
the night, chasing them through a suit of armor, a dresser drawer, an upside
down room, and in and out of a painting. T&J eventually entrap the ghost
in a piano and torture it with Jerry tap-dancing on the keys, producing
discordant notes. Morning arrives, the ghost gives up and vanishes, and
Scarealotti presents T&J with the $20 for helping him test out his haunted
house tourist attraction! Tom & Jerry then strike back with a
little ectoplasmic surprise of their own.
TRIVIA & NOTES:
- This was most likely inspired by similar creepy capers in 1942's Fraidy Cat.
- The scene of Jerry in this cartoon dancing up and down the
piano's keys can be seen in this show's opening titles. The syndication opening sequence also boasts
a
scene of Tom & Jerry being chased by a ghost.
- The ghost changes color in "Castle Wiz." He makes his first appearance in green, but shows up throughout the remainder
of the cartoon in lavender. The color of the ghost which chases T&J in the syndicated main titles is bone-white.
- Some chase sequences use portions of the underscore of Scooby-Doo,
Where Are You! (CBS, 1969-72/1974-76). Interestingly, Scooby voice Don Messick voices the ghost
here in "Castle Wiz," and the ghost materializing from the cover of the chair T&J use to hide under (the same one the cat and mouse use
to exact revenge at The Count) resembles The Phantom Shadow, the prime antagonist of the January 10, 1970 episode of Scooby-Doo,
Where Are You!, "A Night Of Fright Is No Delight."
- Trivia Footnote: Speaking of Scoob, ABC and Hanna-Barbera, capitalizing on this very Tom & Jerry/Grape Ape Show, would a year later once again combine forces to
resurrect a classic H-B character (like Tom & Jerry), Scooby-Doo, and team him with another
new creation, Dynomutt, Dog Wonder (created by the late
Joe Ruby and Ken Spears), to form the highly-publicized Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour
.
Finale music from the underscore of Cattanooga Cats (ABC, 1969-71) is heard at the end.
80-16
"GRIM AND BEAR IT"
Tom & Jerry attempt to become full fledged forest rangers, but first
must keep a sharp lookout for a mischievous bear cub and be extra
careful not to incur the wrath of his mom, Old Bruinhilda. But, try though
they do, even as T&J rescue the cub from being stung by bees and pounced
upon by a panther, and even stop him from swinging from some hay
that a moose is eating, Old Bruinhilda is always there to snatch back her cub and scare the novice rangers
off (moms will be moms!). The bears and T&J intrude upon the motor home of
a camping couple, George and his wife, and cause such a furor, that the couple are forced to drive
home, unwittingly bringing the uninvited guests with them. The wife phones the
police as Bruinhilda (cub under her arm) chases T&J around the house.
TRIVIA & NOTES:
- This recycles underscore first used in Loopy DeLoop theatricals and most other H-B cartoons made before 1966 (the scene where the mother bear chases the trailer with her cub in it).
- The head ranger speaks in a manner (courtesy of Frank Welker) which
imitates the late Don Adams of Get Smart (NBC/CBS, 1965-70) fame.
- Bruinhilda was originally named Snaggle-Tooth.
- "Grim And Bear It" coincidentally aired on the 56th birthday of Jean VanderPyl, who voiced George's wife in the episode.
- The name of the wife (Jean VanderPyl) is never fully established; she's only referred to continuously in the form of the term "dear" by her hubby George (John Stephenson).
- Number of times George intones "Yeeees, deeear...": 13.
- The only things George says other than "Yeeees, deeear..." are "A small piece, dear," and "I said, 'a small piece,' dear".
- The one-liner, "I mean, mean! See what I mean?", is repeated in Episode #80-21, "Termites Plus Two."
80-19
"THE FLYING SORCERESS"
LOST EPISODE
When Free Fall Frieda, the witch, spots Tom and Jerry in her crystal ball,
she decides to hire them as trainees to help operate her new 1401 wide-bodied flying cauldron.
She sends her broomstick out to capture them and bring them to her. She takes
Tom and Jerry out flying in her cauldron, and to help farmers with "crop
dusting," she lowers Tom on a rope with a feather duster in his hand. In spite
of Frieda's good intentions, her airborne antics terrify Tom and Jerry. Becoming Witchcraft
Airlines, she then picks up a passenger directly from the airport and transports him to
the Nation's Capital. Tom & Jerry later tag along directly behind Frieda on a broom and
a hairbrush, respectively. When they find themselves heading on a collision course with
a big airliner, they use this chance to escape. While Frieda flies on, jabbering away to Tom and
Jerry, the cat and mouse team are soaring off in the opposite direction,
waving from the airplane's window.
TRIVIA & NOTES:
- Not to be confused with the 1956 MGM
T&J cartoon of the same name!
- Tom riding on a broom towards the end reflects a similar segue from the original Flying Sorceress.
- Tom & Jerry encounters a witch here, whereas they tangled with ghosts and a vampire
earlier on in "Castle Wiz"! These obviously aired during the Halloween season of 1975.
- Free Fall Frieda follows in the footsteps of Dame Gladys Flopover in her Tri-Winged Crumpet,
Baroness Von Contact in her Glockenspiel II, and Young Maya Kabuki in her Short-Circuit Transistor.
- This isn't the only ocasion in which Tom and Jerry are associated with aviation. In Episode #80-31, "Give 'Em The Air",
T&J face off in the wild blue yonder in an air race against Fritz Von Spritz, The Purple Baron, and they also pilot a plane as stunt doubles in #80-29, "Two Stars Are Born."
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