Puss Gets the Boot (1940)

Directed by: Joseph Barbera, William Hanna

Cat Out of the Bag Alert! This review contains some spoilers for this film!

Synopsis: Jasper the cat delights in chasing Jinx the mouse but is warned by the housekeeper that if he breaks one more thing he’ll get the boot, opening the door for Jinx to exact revenge.

Cartoon Cat: This is technically the very first appearance of Tom and Jerry on film, although their names are different in this short. The cat, Jasper, is having too much fun playing with Jinx (who is never called by name). In fact this is a pretty true depiction of a cat playing with its prey. There are plenty of opportunities for Jasper to eat Jinx, but he chooses to release him to chase again.

Puss Gets the Boot - cartoon cat Jasper Tom playing with mouse Jinx Jerry

Jasper even uses some ink to paint a mousehole and listens as Jinx repeatedly runs into the wall.

Puss Gets the Boot - cartoon cat Jasper Tom dipping claw into ink well

Puss Gets the Boot - cartoon cat Jasper Tom listening at wall

Things come to a crashing halt when Jasper knocks over a column with a potted plant, breaking both. The housekeeper (an outdated stereotypical woman commonly known as Mammy Two-Shoes, likely because all we ever see is her feet) is furious and tells Jasper that if he breaks one more thing he’ll be tossed out of the house.

Puss Gets the Boot - cartoon cat Jasper Tom after knocking over column and potted plant

Puss Gets the Boot - cartoon cat Jasper Tom held down by broom

This sets off a series of events in which Jinx uses various breakable household items to keep Jasper away from him. The mouse threatens to drop a martini glass if Jasper doesn’t back off.

Puss Gets the Boot - cartoon cat Jasper Tom holding onto vase

Puss Gets the Boot - cartoon cat Jasper Tom attacking mouse Jinx Jerry who holds martini glass over shelf

Eventually Jinx starts to throw items off shelves and mantels anyway, just to get back at Jasper.

Puss Gets the Boot - cartoon cat Jasper Tom grabbing onto martini glass

Puss Gets the Boot - cartoon cat Jasper Tom holding tray of glasses with flowers on head

Jasper counters this by laying pillows on the floor beneath the shelf.

Puss Gets the Boot - cartoon cat Jasper Tom and mouse Jinx Jerry looking down from shelf

But Jasper realizes there are plates high up that he can knock down, leading to Jasper precariously holding onto a ridiculously high stack of china.

Puss Gets the Boot - cartoon cat Jasper Tom holding plate

Puss Gets the Boot - cartoon cat Jasper Tom being dragged outside

In the end the dishes break and Jasper is dragged outside, much to Jinx’ delight.

If the cat’s behavior seems particularly realistic in this short film some credit would have to go to co-writer Gus Arriola, who also penned the popular comic strip Gordo. His drawings of the strip’s resident cat, Poosy Gato, and his humorous look at cat behavior was beloved even by Charles Schulz, who praised Arriola’s work in the forward to the compilation book Gordo’s Cat.