Tom and Jerry’s 85th anniversary – The first appearance of the famous cartoon duo and Oscar nominations

When ‘Puss gets the boot” was released in theaters on Feb. 10, 1940, neither the animators William Hanna and Joseph Barbera nor the MGM producers could have imagined the huge success that the cat-and-mouse pair would achieve.

In 1939, when Bill and Joe created those characters, they didn’t have any ideas for stories. After some drawings and sketches developed by Joseph, the duo eventually came up with the story of a mouse and a cat. It sounded very unoriginal, a tired cliché, but Joseph Barbera liked the idea of chase involving these animals. So, after some reluctance, they finished ‘Puss gets the boot’, and MGM execs ended up loving Jasper and Jinx, later renamed Tom and Jerry. The cartoon hit theaters in 1940. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Short Subject. The film lost to ‘The Milky Way’, another MGM cartoon.

Tom and Jerry rarely speak. Inspired by Chaplin, Barbera believed they didn't need to in order to be funny

Despite the first movie not winning the Oscar, the “Tom and Jerry” short film series would go on to win the Academy Award for Best Short Subject seven times. Including other categories, it has won more Oscars than any other theatrical animated series. Between 1940 and 1957, Hanna and Barbera wrote and directed one hundred and fourteen Tom and Jerry cartoons at MGM.

Tom's appearance changed over time, while Jerry's stayed almost the same

Needless to say, ‘Tom and Jerry’ spanned decades, becoming a worldwide hit, especially during the television era. The violence was softened, but the never-ending theme of an unlucky cat persuing a smart mouse remained entertaining and appealing to new generations. In 2009, IGN included the cartoon as the 66th best in its Top 100 Animated TV Shows.