Springtime for Thomas

Infobox Hollywood cartoon
cartoon_name = Springtime for Thomas
series = Tom and Jerry


caption =
director = William Hanna
Joseph Barbera
story_artist = William Hanna
Joseph Barbera
animator = Ed Barge Michael Lah Kenneth Muse Irven Spence Ray Patterson
voice_actor = Frank Graham
musician = Scott Bradley
producer = Fred Quimby
distributor = Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
release_date = flagicon|US March 30, 1946
color_process = Technicolor
runtime = 7' 37"
movie_language = English
imdb_id = 0038977
preceded_by = "Quiet Please!"
followed_by = "The Milky Waif"

"Springtime for Thomas" is a 1946 one-reel animated cartoon and is the 23rd "Tom and Jerry" short directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera and produced by Fred Quimby. It was nominated for the Annie Award in the Individual Achievements Category: Character Animation.

Plot

It's a beautiful Spring day and Jerry wants to play with Tom, but Tom is too busy, fixated with a female cat sunbathing in the yard outside. Tom stares dreamily at her for hours, until eventually approaching her and falling head over heels in love with her. As Jerry watches, a small devil (looking like Jerry, but smaller, green, and possessing a barbed tail, small horns, and pointed ears that look like Tom's) convinces Jerry to break things up between Tom and his new-found love. Jerry sends a forged letter laced with perfume to Butch, Tom's rival, whom was humming at the time Over The Rainbow. Butch reads the letter aloud: "Dear Butch, I have always admired your physique" (pronounced fizz-ee-queue). "Drop in for tea at 3:00. Swooningly yours, Toodles". The race is on between Butch and Tom for Toodles' affections.

First Butch lies on the sun lounger, next to Toodles. Tom finds a croquet mallet and hits Butch on the head with it. Unusually, this does not cause Butch to lose consciousness. Instead, he grabs Tom and throws him into the swimming pool.

Tom gets out of the pool as Butch is serenading Toodles. Tom grabs the end of the sun-lounger and wheels it over to the pool, and throws Butch into the pool.

Butch now gets out of the pool and hits a croquet ball at Tom. Tom, drinking from a tall glass, gets cracked on the back of the head and falls down. Butch hits Tom through a number of croquet rings and he crashes into the central pole. Tom is then thrown onto a barbecue and turned around on a rotisserie.

Butch is now laid down again. Jerry, and his green evil-conscience, place a pin onto a spring under the lounger. Butch says "You know? I'm expecting Cupids' arrow, any minute." And he is then caught in the rump by the pin, which sticks out of the lounger... just as Tom walks over. Tom picks it up - and Butch assumes that Tom had caught him with the pin. He chases Tom, who hits Butch by turning a statue as Butch is running towards Tom.

Butch then chases Tom off a diving board; after landing in the water, Tom quickly drinks all the water, causing Butch to crash to the bottom of the pool.

Tom then runs to a swing, places a flower pot on it, and hurls the swing at Butch. Butch gets hit, but then throws the swing back, catching Tom on the seat. Tom swings back, helplessly, and Butch hits him with his guitar, baseball-style. Tom flies over the fence and out of the garden.

Jerry runs up to Tom, and the two shake hands as they agree that Tom is finished with Toodles. Tom then gives chase to Jerry, with each wearing happy expressions on their faces. However, this chase ends prematurely, as Jerry finds a female play-mate and falls in love with her. He pushes Tom out of the way and snuggles up to his new-found girlfriend.

Notes

Articleissues|section=y
tone=February 2008
*This is one of the very few pre-1948 "Tom and Jerry" cartoons to still have its original end title card. Many of the other "Tom and Jerry" cartoons up until the early 1950s (with the very notable exception of "Puss Gets the Boot" and "The Night Before Christmas") were given new end (and opening credit) titles upon being reissued.
*This is the first episode to star The Green Devil
*First appearance of Toodles.
*Butch also hums in his trash can Over The Rainbow in 1951's Casanova Cat