Johann Mouse

Infobox Hollywood cartoon
cartoon_name = Johann Mouse
series = Tom and Jerry


caption = The title card from "Johann Mouse".
director = William Hanna
Joseph Barbera
story_artist = William Hanna
Joseph Barbera
animator = Kenneth Muse Ray Patterson Ed Barge Irven Spence
background_artist = Robert Gentle
voice_actor = Hans Conried as Narrator(unc.)
musician = Scott Bradley and Jakob Gimpel
producer = Fred Quimby
distributor = Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
release_date = March 21, 1953
color_process = Technicolor
runtime = 7 minutes 57 seconds
movie_language = English
imdb_id = 0045937
preceded_by = "Jerry and Jumbo"
followed_by = "That's My Pup!"

"Johann Mouse" is the 75th one reel animated "Tom and Jerry" short, created in 1953 directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera and produced by Fred Quimby with music by Scott Bradley and narration by Hans Conried. The cartoon was animated by Kenneth Muse, Ray Patterson, Ed Barge and Irven Spence, with backgrounds by Robert Gentle. Placing the popular cat and mouse characters in Vienna, the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the cartoon is inspired by the work of Viennese composer Johann Strauss II. "Johann Mouse" won the 1952 , giving the cat and mouse duo their seventh and final Oscar win. It was released on March 21, 1953 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

Plot

"This is the story of a waltzing mouse. His name was Johann and he lived in Vienna (Austria) in the home of Johann Strauss." narrates Hans Conried.

In the walls of the house of Johann Strauss lived Johann Mouse, portrayed by Jerry. Little Johann loved Strauss' piano waltzes, and whenever the musician would play, the mouse would find himself hypnotized by the music and begin to dance. And whenever the mouse would dance, Strauss' housecat, portrayed by Tom, would try to catch him but always fail.

"Each day, as the famous musician played, little Johann couldn't resist waltzing to the beautiful music. And each day, watching and waiting, was the cat."We see Tom glancing menacingly as Jerry dances in the distance."Every day, he would try to catch him. But he would fail." Tom chases after Jerry, but Jerry runs into his hole, while Tom slams against the wall.

"However, this didn't discourage the cat, for he knew that each day when the master played...the mouse would waltz, and the cat would try again."Once again, Tom slams into the wall.

"And again..."The same happens...

"...And again..."Tom slides down a stair bannister and smashes through the window above Jerry's hole.

"One day, the master went away on a journey. This left the cat in a serious predicament. He knew that if there were no music, the mouse wouldn't waltz."Tom panics as Strauss disappears on horse and carriage. He picks up a manual on top of the piano: "How To Play The Waltz In Six Easy Lessons by Johann Strauss.""Why couldn't he, the cat, learn to play?"Tom charges upstairs into the attic and teaches himself how to play, following the guidebook, and after six lessons, he is an accomplished pianist.

Tom takes to the piano downstairs and the mouse is hypnotised into waltzing. Tom attempts to squash Johann with a poker, and as he stops playing to hit Johann, the mouse awakens from his spell and scrambles back towards the hole - until Tom resumes playing. Johann turns around, hypnotised once again.

"Poor little Johann. He was under the spell of the beautiful music. But luckily for him, the servants wondered who was playing."The heads of some servants pop through the door, observing the talented duo, and as Tom grabs Johann, he is greeted with applause from the servants. The cat puts the mouse down and returns to the piano, with Johann dancing again. The news quickly spreads around Vienna.

"Amazing! A cat that could play, and a mouse that could dance. The maid told the butcher boy. The butcher boy told the crowd in the square. Then, one of the palace guards overheard. A cat that could play and a mouse that could waltz. Good heavens! The emperor couldn't believe his ears. And so, they were commanded to perform at the palace at once."

In a lavish ballroom, lined with many upper-class ladies and gentlemen, sits an enormous white grand piano. As the doors open, Tom and Jerry, both in suits and cravats, enter the ballroom.Tom begins playing, and Jerry/Johann begins waltzing, occasionally using Tom's fingers as a dancing partner.

"Wonderful! Sensational! And they were very happy, as long as the cat played, and the mouse danced. But when the cat stopped playing..."Tom grows a devious expression on his face and chases after the rodent once again, but the mouse luckily escapes to his hole, leaving Tom smacking his face into the wall as before."...it was the same old story."The mouse leaves his hole and dances, bowing to rapturous applause. An angry Tom turns the page to reveal the end of the cartoon.

Trivia

*This is the first cartoon in which Tom hasn't a light-grey stripe separating his eyes.
*The Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary is briefly seen when the palace guard informs him of Tom's musical abilities; his cartoon depiction is remarkably accurate.