Tom & Jerry – Greatest Chases, Vol. 4 (Warner DVD)

 

Picture: C+     Sound: C+     Extras: D     Animated Shorts: B-

 

 

Though I would prefer larger, comprehensive, chronological sets, the single-DVD Tom & Jerry - Greatest Chases series have been more interesting than expected.  Now on their fourth volume, we covered the previous two at these links:

 

Vol. 2

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/8678/Tom+&+Jerry+%E2%80%93+The+Ch

 

Vol. 3

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/9106/Tom+&+Jerry+%E2%80%93+Greatest

 

 

Now we get a new Vol. 4 set that has 14 shorts including eleven in the 1.33 X 1 frame and three of the 2.35 X 1 CinemaScope shorts (anamorphically enhanced here).  The emphasis this time is on many of the shorts with the stereotypical “mammy” character who is either a maid or the actual owner of Tom the Cat.

 

The shorts this time are:

 

1)     The Mouse Comes To Dinner

2)     Springtime For Thomas

3)     Trap Happy

4)     Polka-Dot Puss

5)     Saturday Evening Puss

6)     Little Quacker

7)     Cruise Cat

8)     The Missing Mouse

9)     Jerry & Jumbo

10)  Just Ducky

11)  Little School Mouse

12)  Tom & Chérie*

13)  Muscle Beach Tom*

14)  Down Beat Bear*

 

 

As before, the 1.33 X 1 image on the older films looks good for the prints supplied, rarely looking soft and with better than average color, with most of these shorts being in lavish three-strip Technicolor.  However, the softness and flaws are a little more numerous than the previous set, if not by much.  The anamorphically enhanced 2.35 X 1 shorts (in which the back of the DVD case almost implies they are only letterboxed) are marked * above and also look good.  The Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono on again is decent sounding, but the scope shorts seem like they are in simple stereo.  Previews for other DVDs are the only extras, so this is once again another basic release.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo