Polka-Dot Puss (1949)

The weather is particularly bad so Tom isn't pleased when Mammy Two Shoes says it is time for him to go outside for the night. He is a bit slow so she chides him saying that she will catch a cold standing by the open door... this gives him an idea; he pretends to have a cold so is allowed to sleep inside by the fire. As soon as Mammy has gone he starts chasing Jerry but ends up with a mouse trap on his nose! He takes this as a cue to give up and go to sleep. While he naps Jerry paints red dots all over Tom's face; then wakes him and shows him a newspaper headline warning of a measles epidemic before holding up a mirror. Jerry then attempts to 'cure' him with the help of 'Doctor Quack's Medicine Book' the cures involve freezing him, cooking him then giving him a cold shower; the last treatment washes away the spots leaving Tom in no doubt that he was made a fool of. It is time to sort out Jerry... but now Jerry is covered in spots; He really does have the measles!This amusing short shows Jerry at his most sadistic as he 'treats' Tom's condition; you can't help but feel sorry for the poor cat as he is first frozen solid then cooked till he is too hot to touch... even if one does laugh at the same time. Having Jerry torment Tom while pretending to help him was a nice change to their usual fighting as it meant poor Tom just sat there and took it. The ending proved to be a fun little twist that served them both right!

Tom is about to be put outside for the night by Mammy, but one look at the cold, rainy weather outside has the quick-thinking cat faking a cold, after which he is allowed to remain inside. Tom settles down for the night in front of the fire, but cheeky Jerry decides to play a few mean pranks on his enemy, starting by painting spots on Tom's face to convince him he has measles, and then subjecting the poor moggy to a series of nasty remedies, including popping him in the freezer to bring down a temperature, and then cooking him in the oven to cure the resulting chills!Tom eventually finds out that he has been tricked by the mischievous mouse, but before he can get revenge, Jerry breaks out in spots: he really has a case of the measles, and it's not long before Tom does too! A fairly routine adventure for the cartoon duo, Polka Dot Puss offers the usual predictable sadistic mayhem and visual gags, including a classic example of the 'jackass' joke (where a character realises he has been duped, and transforms into an ass!). But even though this one doesn't feature the guys at their absolute best, it still passes the time nicely enough, and if you're under the weather, it might just be the tonic you need to perk you up! 6.5 out of 10, rounded up to 7 for IMDb.

The first minute or so is not as interesting as the rest of the cartoon, and the cartoon is perhaps too short. However, Polka-Dot Puss is very entertaining and light-hearted. The animation is beautiful and smooth, the music is energetic and the story is clever. Plus the sight gags are really inventive and unusual, starting with Tom's faking of his illness in order to stay in the house to the surprise ending which is another good example of neither character winning. Both Tom and Jerry are great and play against each other well.Overall, Polka-Dot Puss is very entertaining, without being the best of the lot. 8/10 Bethany Cox

This short begins with Tom using Jerry as a yo-yo for his own pleasure before Mammy-Two-Shoes (dubbed to appease the PC Brigade in the version I saw) orders him out of the house for the night, despite the fact that it's pouring with rain. Why does she insist on torturing him like this again? Anyway, Tom pretends to be ill so he can stay indoors, by the fire. But Jerry is having none of it.He convinces Tom that he has measles by paining dots on his face and proceeds to 'cure' him using a wide range of gruesome anecdotes, which make up the visual humor of the cartoon. In the end, they both pay for their untruths.An amusing cartoon.