Jerry and the Lion

Jerry and the Lion
Tom and Jerry series
Directed by	William Hanna Joseph Barbera
Produced by	Fred Quimby
Story by	William Hanna Joseph Barbera
Voices by	Frank Graham Paul Frees
Music by	Scott Bradley
Animation by	Irven Spence Ed Barge Kenneth Muse Ray Patterson
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date(s)	April 8, 1950, 1957 (re-release)
Color process	Technicolor
Running time	7' 13"
Language	English
Preceded by	Texas Tom
Followed by	Safety Second

Jerry and the Lion is a 1950 one-reel animated cartoon and is the 50th Tom and Jerry short. It was produced in Technicolor and released to theatres on April 8, 1950 by Metro-Goldwyn Mayer. The cartoon was animated by Irven Spence, Ed Barge, Kenneth Muse, and Ray Patterson. It was directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, and produced by Fred Quimby. Scott Bradley arranged the music, Robert Gentle did the backgrounds, and Frank Graham provided the voice of the lion that befriends Jerry in the cartoon (though he was not credited).

Plot

Tom is relaxing and listening to the radio. Then he hears a crash from the kitchen. Jerry is stealing food from the fridge to his mousehole. Tom tries to stop Jerry and when he does Jerry squeezes a tomato in his face. Jerry then runs toward his mousehole but Tom stops him by closing a door. Tom forgets that there is a mousehole door for Jerry and he runs through it. Tom looks into the mouse hole and Jerry squeezes another tomato in Tom's face.

Tom then returns to his chair and his radio. Then a news bulletin comes on announcing that a ferocious lion has just escaped from the circus and warning everyone to bar their windows and doors.

File:JerryandtheLion2.jpg

Jerry and the Lion get to know each other.

Tom then frantically closes all the windows, puts a couch in front of the door, grabs a magnifying glass and a detective suit from above the fire place and he defends himself. Jerry then comes out of hiding in a teapot and he screams when he sees a pair of eyes hiding in the shadows. He tries to run away but the runaway lion pounces and grabs him. He tells Jerry not to give him away explaining that he hates the circus and asks Jerry to help him get home. Then the lion declares he's hungry while pointing at his open mouth.

Jerry and the lion then sneak over the kitchen. Jerry sneaks a large ham for the lion and Tom spots him. Tom stops Jerry with his magnifying glass and takes the ham away from him. Tom then catches Jerry by his tail and Tom holds the ham behind him. The lion, who is hiding behind a curtain, eats the ham in one bite. Tom then goes to take a bite into the ham but sees there's nothing there. Then he hears crunching noises from behind the curtain. Tom then gets scared and points the magnifying glass at the curtain. Jerry then raises the gun and it goes off, detonating the ceiling. Jerry then starts acting if he had been shot and he hits the ground. Tom is horrified, believing he accidentally shot Jerry and runs off. Jerry and the lion run away in the other direction. Tom returns with a first aid kit but Jerry is nowhere to be found. Tom then looks for the lion, but finds Jerry in another room and the lion is perched on top of the lamp. Tom points the magnifying glass in Jerry's face and Jerry starts to throw punches. Tom grabs Jerry and sticks out his chin as if to say, "Go ahead. Hit me with your best shot". Jerry looks up at the lion, who smacks Tom in the chin with his paw, sending him flying halfway across the room. Tom crashes into the chimney and has bricks land on his head. Jerry and the lion then run and hide into an umbrella holder. Tom grabs the umbrella, opens it, and the lion falls on top of Tom. They run off and they both hide in a closet. Tom then closes the door on the closet, gives an evil laugh, and locks the door from the outside. Then a lot of fighting sounds are heard and Tom is flattened against the door and sent across the room again.

Jerry then comes out and gives Tom a mean look. Intimidated, Tom crashes through the wall, and runs away. Jerry and the lion (who was presumably the one who actually defeat Tom) then shake hands.

Jerry is then in assistance with the lion stowaway on to the S.S. Africa. The boat before long blows it's horn and casts off on to Africa with the lion bidding Jerry goodbye with a tear falling from his eye. The S.S. Africa sails further away to the ocean to expedition to Africa, leaving Jerry waving goodbye with a handkerchief, alongside with an instrumental theme of Auld Lang Syne, with him tear-shedding with sniffles for a brief moment to see the lion he befriended take his departure, but also with an elated receptivity that he helped.

Voice cast

• Frank Graham as the man on the radio (uncredited)
• Paul Frees as The Lion (uncredited)