jack_ketch: #100 – Dokonjo Gaeru: (sarcastic) comment from
85. Tom and Jerry
omg but liek dat's not ANIME!!!!
Of course, from a Japanese POV it clearly is. What it isn't (on the whole), however, is a made for TV animation. And in my pedantic worldview THAT is why it stands out on the list. However it's understandable, even though the majority of Tom and Jerry shorts were made for the cinema, it's probably fair to say that the majority of people who've seen them today, saw them on television.
Of course whether they saw them in their original form is another thing entirely.
It was in the news last month that Boomerang are to edit smoking from Tom and Jerry cartoons. And some of the cartoons on the DVD collections feature redubbed voices for the Mammy Two-Shoes character (in some cases, bizarrely alongside untouched cartoons). I highly recommend this entry over on Mark Evanier's blog that sheds some light on why these edits happen.
My own feelings on the whole subject of old cartoons with objectionable content is somewhat ambiguous. I feel the old “Stay Tooned” show Tony Robinson used to have on the BBC in the wake of Rolf leaving for ITV had the best approach, it would screen the cartoons uncut, but give you an idea of the cultural context and not shy from acknowledging what was often clearly racial humour in the cartoons. It's a happy medium from being cut-happy or being anti-censorship, but never addressing that there is offensive material there.
Unsurprisingly, being by Time Warner owned commodity, there is little Tom And Jerry footage on Youtube. There is however a clip of the recent news article from ITN:
I’ve always thought Tom Cruise was hot ever since I first saw _Endless Love_ in February 1982! As for whether or not he ever gets back with Nicole, I bet he’s going to be more likely this polygamist and he’ll be married to Katie Holmes, Nicole Kidman and me all at the same time!