It's Greek to Me-ow!

2021-06-29T18:11:46Z

37.39.205.19: /* Cast */

{{Infobox film
|name=It's Greek to Me-ow!
|image=Itsgreektomeow.JPG
|image_size=240px
|caption=The title card for ''It's Greek to Me-ow!''.
|director=[[Gene Deitch]] '''Animation supervisor:''' Václav Bedřich (uncredited)
|story=[[Eli Bauer]]
|starring=[[Allen Swift]]
|animator=Jindra Barta Antonín Bures Mirek Kacena Milan Klikar Vera Kudrnová Vera Maresová Olga Sisková Zdenka Skrípková Zdenek Smetana (all uncredited) '''Checking:''' Ludmila Kopecná (uncredited)
|background_artist='''Background paint:''' Bohumil Siska (uncredited) '''Assistant:''' Miluse Hluchanicová (uncredited)
|music=[[Stěpan Koniček (composer)|Steven Konichek]]
|producer=[[William L. Snyder]]
|studio=[[Rembrandt Films]]
|distributor=[[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]]
|released=December 7, 1961
|color_process=[[Metrocolor]]
|country= [[United States]] [[Czechoslovakia]]
|runtime=7:00
|language=[[English language|English]]
}}

'''''It's Greek to Me-ow!''''' (stylized as '''''IT'S GRΣΣK TΦ MΣ-OW!''''') is a ''[[Tom and Jerry]]'' animated short film, released on December 7, [[1961 in film|1961]]. It was the third of the thirteen cartoons in the series to be directed by [[Gene Deitch]] and produced by [[William L. Snyder]] in [[Czechoslovakia]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lenburg |first1=Jeff |title=The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons |date=1999 |publisher=Checkmark Books |isbn=0-8160-3831-7 |pages=150–151}}</ref>

This is one of the few ''Tom and Jerry'' shorts to credit the sound effects producer, in this case being [[Tod Dockstader]]. The short's name is a pun on the phrase ''[[Greek to me|"It's Greek to me"]]''

December 1961 was the year before [[Walt Disney]] released the Technicolor Christmas musical film, ''[[Babes in Toyland (1961 film)|Babes in Toyland]]''.

==Plot==
This cartoon opens with a [[narrator]] (Allen Swift) introducing the [[Ancient Greece|Ancient Greek]] [[Acropolis of Athens|Acropolis]], describing its [[wealth]] and beautiful [[architecture]]. However, the narrator reveals that on the other end of the Acropolis, people lived in poor conditions and housing. Tom is depicted as one of these inhabitants, an [[Feral cat|alley cat]] and a beggar, while Jerry is a rich mouse living in a luxurious hole. While scavenging for food, Tom sees Jerry coming out from his hole to take out the trash. Peeking inside, he sees Jerry's well-furnished home and reaches in to grab him; when he over-stretches his arm around the marble pillars, it snaps back and smacks him in the face.

Next, Tom tries to enter the Acropolis and chase Jerry, only to be thrown out because there is a sign that says "No Cats Allowed." After failing to hit Jerry with a catapult, he successfully sneaks in when a statue's head falls onto his own, but has to keep hiding from the guards, accidentally knocking the arms off the [[Venus de Milo]] sculpture in the process (thus giving it its current appearance). Jerry gets the better of him several more times, tricks him into jumping on a [[chariot]], and unhooks the horses, leaving Tom to careen down the front steps. Jerry returns to his home and takes out the trash again, and the funny ending features Tom running out of the Acropolis screaming as the narrator explains that the Greeks had a word for it: "HELP!"

==Cast==
[[Allen Swift]] as Tom Cat, Jerry Mouse, and the bullc@$% narrator

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
*{{bcdb title|3110}}
*{{IMDb title|55025}}

{{The Gene Deitch Tom and Jerry shorts}}

[[Category:1961 animated films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Gene Deitch]]
[[Category:Films set in ancient Greece]]
[[Category:Films set in Athens]]
[[Category:Tom and Jerry short films]]
[[Category:1960s American animated films]]
[[Category:American films]]
[[Category:1961 comedy films]]
[[Category:American animated short films]]
[[Category:1961 films]]
[[Category:1961 short films]]
[[Category:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer short films]]
[[Category:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer animated short films]]
[[Category:Rembrandt Films short films]]
[[Category:Animated films without speech]]
{{Tom&Jerry-animation-film-stub}}

Wikipedia - User contributions [en]

It's Greek to Me-ow!