The Mouse from H.U.N.G.E.R.

Infobox Hollywood cartoon
cartoon_name = The Mouse from H.U.N.G.E.R.
series = Tom and Jerry

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caption = Title card of "The Mouse from H.U.N.G.E.R."
director = Abe Levitow
story_artist = Bob Ogle
animator = Philip Roman Ben Washam Ken Harris Don Towsley Tom Ray Dick Thompson
voice_actor = Mel Blanc (as Tom and Cigar Indian)
musician = Dean Elliott
producer = Chuck Jones and Les Goldman
studio =
distributor = Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
release_date = 1967
color_process = Metrocolor
runtime = 6 minutes 47 seconds
preceded_by = Cannery Rodent
followed_by = Surf-Bored Cat
movie_language = English
imdb_id = 0061997

The Mouse from H.U.N.G.E.R. is a 1967 Tom and Jerry cartoon directed by Abe Levitow and produced by Chuck Jones. The title is a pun on the 1964 spy show "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." (also made by MGM).

Plot

Jerry drives through the street of a city (the buildings in the opening shot suggest that the city may be London, although a later scene shows him driving on the right side of the road) and enters his secret headquarters through a cigar store Indian. Jerry parachutes out of his cigar and into a cash register, where he presses a button on the way down that allows him to enter. Jerry shoulders his way through two doors, but the third is coin-op and states to deposit money in 5 different languages. Jerry searches for a coin in his pockets, but spots coins laying around and uses one. In a small theatre inside the headquarters, he is given his mission: infiltrate the mansion of "Tom THRUSH" and steal the refrigerator full of cheese. Jerry then loads up with weapons, ending in a bulletproof vest. Jerry ties up his vest and then is shot by all of his weapons. Jerry, with a ruined vest, shrugs. The title cards are shown.

In his mansion, Tom sees Jerry approaching and sets several traps for Jerry: spike, drawbridge, explosive, etc. Jerry immediately disables these traps by honking on his horn. Tom then releases a female mouse robot mined with an explosive bomb and decks it out on a pink pagoda. Jerry brakes, falls in love, approaches the robot and kisses her. The robot then explodes in his face. Jerry, however, is unfazed: only his face is blackened, and he continues toward the mansion. Tom, in response, enters the safeguarded room which holds the refrigerator (which is revealed to be several times taller than Tom and proportionately wide) by entering in a combination to reach a key, which in turn unlocks a hole in the door, which Tom reaches through to remove the hook-lock and disguises the refrigerator as a television. He then sets several traps, including a blade that will slice Jerry if he breaks the electric eye. Tom tests it with a grapefruit and it is sliced into 8 pieces. He then sets mines in the room and tests one out by dropping a whisker on it. The mine explodes and creates a hole in the floor. Tom maniacally laughs and presses numerous buttons to set various additional traps. Tom treads carefully through the room and walks into his safe bunker.

Jerry then enters the mansion, and Tom waits to hear the explosion leading to Jerry's demise. However, Jerry is now standing just outside the front door and standing next to a tape recorder which is playing the sounds of him walking through the mansion. Tom, not hearing the explosions he was expecting, rushes into the room, where all the booby traps he set now attack him, thus, Tom falls into his own trap. Concerned, Tom then runs into the room with the refrigerator and releases it from its disguise. After this happens, Tom starts acting silly then his body sinks to the floor like a deflating balloon and Jerry is able to calmly walk through the room and retrieve the refrigerator loaded with cheese.

Jerry straps the refrigerator to his tiny car and Tom is crawling out the front door of his mansion. His hand lands on the "Play" button of Jerry's tape player, and the song "Taps" starts to play. Tom grabs a flower and lays it on his chest. The scene then cuts to Jerry driving off into the distance with the refrigerator strapped to his tiny car.

Notes

The cartoon contains several direct references to various spy series of the time:
* Tom's full name in this cartoon is Tom Thrush. T.H.R.U.S.H. was the name of the evil organization in "The Man from U.N.C.L.E."
* At one point Jerry's name is revealed to be Jerry-akin, a reference to Illya Kuryakin, one of the main characters in "The Man from U.N.C.L.E."
* Jerry's license plate is 00¹/₇, a play on James Bond's codename.
* Jerry's entrance to headquarters is similar to Agent 86/Maxwell Smart's entrance in Get Smart.