Tom and Jerry's Greatest Chases

Review by James Anthony

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The power and timelessness of cartoons has never been more obvious than when listening to Beastie 1 and Beastie 2 absolutely cacking themselves over this DVD.

Now B1 is five and B2 is three and the cartoons were made well before their father was born, in fact the children's grandparents were very young when the shows were made in the 1940s.

Still, gales of laughter and demands for: "More Cat and Mouse" from B2, show that these 14 chosen classic Tom and Jerry cartoons stand the test of time.

Funny thing is, that the very old style animations looked dated to me - being used to the later versions of the duo - but those young eyes watching for the first time have no preconception of old-fashioned and just enjoy the romps for what they are - animated slapstick.

The transfer is not bad, considering the age of the original cartoons, and it is only full-screen. Sound wise, you get some pretty nifty old tracks like Is You Is, or Is You Ain't My Baby, Over There and Yankee Doodle Dandy as part of the show, but the sound doesn't seem as if it has had a lot of work on it.

So, fellow parents, put aside your prejudices and at least hire this one to see if the young ones will enjoy Tom's Tantalus-like failure to ever successfully get the better of Jerry.

I reckon they will!

Conclusion: Movie 75%, Extras 60%

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