Feedin' the Kiddie

Feedin' the Kiddie
Feedin' the Kiddie
	File:Feedingthekiddietitle.jpg The title card of Feedin' the Kiddie.
Directed by	William Hanna ; Joseph Barbera
Produced by	Fred Quimby
Animation by	Irven Spence; Kenneth Muse; Ed Barge; Ray Patterson
Color process	Technicolor, CinemaScope, Perspecta Stereo
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Running time	7 minutes 40 seconds

Feedin' the Kiddie is a 1956 Tom and Jerry cartoon, released in 1957. The short was produced and directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. It is a CinemaScope remake of 1948's Academy Award winning cartoon, The Little Orphan. In other words, it is essentially the same cartoon, but shot in Widescreen, with stylised backgrounds and thicker inklines around the characters. Additionally, a few elements of the original cartoon are missing, notably a few seconds trimmed from the beginning of the cartoon where Jerry raids his cupboards for food, and also, Mammy Two Shoes' brief cameo is missing.

Plot

Jerry has been asked to take care of Tuffy over the Thanksgiving holiday. However, Tuffy is, as the note pinned to his scarf says, "always hungry." Jerry attempts to feed the little mouse with his own food, but his cupboards are empty. Quietly, he leads Tuffy out of the mousehole, and tiptoes into the living room, where Tom is sleeping besides a bowl of cream. Jerry allows Tuffy to drink the cream from the bowl, before spotting a feast on the table in the adjacent room. Tuffy proceeds to eat certain foods from the table, while Jerry dresses himself and Tuffy as pilgrims, but the trouble begins when Tuffy swallows an orange whole. Jerry hits Tuffy with a knife to remove the orange. It shoots straight out of Tuffy's mouth and right into the sleeping Tom, waking him up.

File:Feedingthekiddie2.jpg

Tom catches Jerry in Feedin' the Kiddie, moments before a pie is hurled into his face.

After Tom's rude awakening, he spies on the two mice, and, wearing a feather duster as an Indian headdress, catches Tuffy. War begins. Jerry pops a champagne cork into Tom's face. Tom returns, grabbing Jerry. Tuffy takes a fork, and, propelled by a plate of jelly, launches the fork into Tom's rear end. Tom picks up the offending fork and hurls it towards Tuffy, catching him by the diaper. As Tom catches Tuffy, Jerry runs up a nearby candlestick and whacks Tom in the face with a spoon.

File:Feedingthekiddie3.jpg

Tuffy gobbles up the whole turkey before Tom and Jerry get a chance in Feedin' the Kiddie.

Tom launches flaming pussy willows, melting Jerry and Tuffy' hiding places. As they flee, Jerry runs into a knife thrown by Tom, and is knocked out cold. Tom grabs Jerry once again. Tuffy catapults a pie into Tom's face, knocking the cat off the table. In a scene that is often cut from television, Tuffy catapults a candle into Tom's tail, burning the cat, such that he appears in blackface. Finally, Tuffy unleashes a champagne bottle like a missile, which hits Tom and shoots him into a cabinet. Tom surrenders, waving the white flag.

In the final scene, Tom, Jerry and Tuffy say grace at the table. Tuffy finishes his prayers and proceeds to devour the entire turkey before Tom and Jerry are able to pick up their cutlery, leaving the little orphan with a large belly that he pats in delight.

Trivia

In the original version, Mammy Two Shoes is seen bringing a turkey to the table. This part is now omitted.
In this cartoon Nibbles is renamed Tuffy.
This is a re-animated version of 1949's The Little Orphan.
Last short animated by Ed Barge before he went into retirement.
The last of the Tom and Jerry CinemaScope recreations.
The note Jerry receives in the beginning has two different versions.
- In The Little Orphan, the note is:
  - "This is Nibbles, the little orphan you agreed to have as your guest for dinner on Thanksgiving Day.
    Thank you,
    Bide A Wee Mouse Home
    P.S. He's always hungry."
- In this episode, it's:
  - "Dear Jerry:
    Thanks for inviting your little nephew Tuffy to have Thanksgiving dinner with you.
    Cousin George
    P.S. He loves to eat"