If you are tired of hyperactive, fast-paced modern cartoons that rely on screen-flashing colors, Tom and Jerry is a breath of fresh air. The stories are visual. They rely on action and reaction, not dialogue. It is a universal language of comedy that even toddlers understand, yet it retains enough wit to keep adults laughing.

This includes the very first short, Puss Gets the Boot (1940), where Tom was originally named "Jasper" and Mammy Two-Shoes provided the human voice. You get classics like The Night Before Christmas (1941), The Bodyguard (1944), and The Cat Concerto (1947). The animation here is fluid, detailed, and lush.

When William Hanna and Joseph Barbera created the first short, Puss Gets the Boot (1940), nobody predicted they were launching a seven-time Academy Award-winning series. The original 114 episodes from this era are untouchable.

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