The Little Orphan
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| The Little Orphan | |
| Tom and Jerry series | |
 The title card of The Little Orphan. |
|
| Directed by | William Hanna Joseph Barbera |
|---|---|
| Story by | William Hanna Joseph Barbera |
| Animation by | Irven Spence Kenneth Muse Ed Barge Ray Patterson |
| Music by | Scott Bradley |
| Produced by | Fred Quimby |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
| Release date | April 30, 1949 |
| Format | Technicolor, 7 min |
| Language | English |
| IMDb page | |
The Little Orphan was a one-reel theatrical short animated cartoon featuring Tom and Jerry, and was released in theatres on 30 April 1949 by Metro-Goldwyn Mayer. It was produced by Fred Quimby and directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, with music by Scott Bradley. The cartoon was animated by Irven Spence, Kenneth Muse, Ed Barge and Ray Patterson.
"The Little Orphan" won the 1948 Academy Award for Best Short Subject: Cartoons, this being the fifth Oscar (of seven) given to the cat and mouse team. Though the cartoon was released in 1949, it won its Oscar the previous year. This may have been because it was given a short run at a cinema in 1948 to qualify it for that year's Academy Award.
The Little Orphan sees Jerry having to take care of Nibbles over the Thanksgiving holiday. However, Nibbles is, as the note pinned to his scarf says, "always hungry." Jerry attempts to feed the little mouse with his own food, but his cupboards are empty. Quietly, he leads Nibbles out of the mousehole, and tiptoes into the living room, where Tom is sleeping besides a bowl of cream. Jerry allows Nibbles to drink the cream from the bowl, before spotting a feast on the table in the adjacent room. Nibbles proceeds to eat certain foods from the table, while Jerry dresses himself and Nibbles as pilgrims, but the trouble begins when Nibbles swallows an orange whole. Jerry hits Nibbles with a knife to remove the orange. It shoots straight out of Nibbles' mouth and right into the sleeping Tom, waking him up.
After Tom's rude awakening, he spies on the two mice, and, wearing a feather duster as an Indian headdress, catches Nibbles. War begins. Jerry pops a champagne cork into Tom's face. Tom returns, grabbing Jerry. Nibbles takes a fork, and, propelled by a plate of jelly, launches the fork into Tom's rear end. Tom picks up the offending fork and hurls it towards Nibbles, catching him by the diaper. As Tom catches Nibbles, Jerry runs up a nearby candlestick and whacks Tom in the face with a spoon.
Tom launches flaming pussy willows, melting Jerry and Nibbles' hiding places. As they flee, Jerry runs into a knife thrown by Tom, and is knocked out cold. Tom grabs Jerry once again. Nibbles catapults a pie into Tom's face, knocking the cat off the table. In a scene that is often cut from television, Nibbles catapults a candle into Tom's tail, burning the cat, such that he appears in blackface. Finally, Nibbles unleashes a champagne bottle, which hits Tom and shoots him into a cabinet. Tom surrenders, waving the white flag.
In the final scene, Tom, Jerry and Nibbles say grace at the table. Nibbles finishes his prayers and proceeds to devour the entire turkey before Tom and Jerry are able to pick up their cutlery, leaving the little orphan with a large belly that he pats in delight.
The cartoon was re-made in Cinemascope in 1956, using thicker lines and more stylised backgrounds, as Feedin' The Kiddie.
Recent TV and DVD showings of this cartoon cut out the blackface gag, due to modern racial sensibilities.
