not your typical game of cat and mouse

Tom and Jerry was a successful and long-running series of theatrical short subjects created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Hanna and Barbera ultimately wrote and directed one hundred fourteen Tom and Jerry cartoons at the MGM cartoon studio in Hollywood, California between 1940 and 1957 when the animation unit was closed down. The original series is notable for having won the Academy Awards for Best Short Subject (Cartoons) seven times, tieing it with Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies as the most-awarded theatrical animated series.

The plots of each short usually center on Tom's frustrated attempts to catch Jerry, and the mayhem and destruction that ensues. Since Tom rarely attempts to eat Jerry and because the pair actually seem to get along in some cartoon shorts (at least in the first minute or so), it is unclear why Tom chases Jerry so much. But some reasons given may include normal feline/murine enmity, duty according to his owner, Jerry's attempt at ruining a task that Tom is entrusted with, revenge, Jerry saving other potential prey (such as ducks, canaries, or goldfish from being eaten by Tom, or competition with another cat, among other reasons. Tom rarely succeeds in catching Jerry, mainly because of Jerry's craftiness and cunning abilities, but sometimes because of Tom's own stupidity. The shorts are famous for some of the most violent gags ever devised in theatrical animation.

Blast from the Cute past- Tom and Jerry for real!