"Heavenly Puss" or "Satan's Waitin'"?

[zavkram]

Which of these two cartoons do you prefer, and why?

Heavenly Puss (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxXbDJ9ovf4)(MGM, 1949)

Satan's Waitin' (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXDaBeSQ-Iw)(Warner Bros., 1954)

(Incidentally, there were at least four different versions of Heavenly Puss posted on YouTube. The one I selected had the best sound, overall. There was another version which was visually-superior, with better color-correction, but unfortunately it also appeared to be time-compressed by about 19 seconds; with the result that the soundtrack sounds sharp in pitch.)

My vote goes to Heavenly Puss; because, for me, it is more dramatically satisfying. There is an underlying tension that is palpable in this cartoon; especially in the climactic scene where Tom is desperately trying to get Jerry to sign the "certificate of forgiveness" as the "Heavenly Express" begins to pull away from the station. Tom is a very sympathetic character here and it's easy to feel sorry for him. The music score in this cartoon is, I believe, one of Scott Bradley's finest. In fact, this was one of several Bradley scores that I had taped "live" off the TV with my old "Radio Schlock" cassette recorder when I was a kid... I used to listen to these alone, separated from the visuals and marvel at their sheer invention. The Hanna-Barbera unit at MGM and the Tom and Jerry cartoons were at their peak during the late 1940's (in terms of creativity and production values) and the principal animators had by this time been more-or-less standardized (with a few exceptions) in the grouping of Ken Muse, Ed Barge, Ray Patterson and Irven Spence.

The only two flaws in the story are that 1) Tom is doomed to eternal damnation for having tormented Jerry while on Earth and 2) the cartoon also ignores the time-honored convention that cats actually have nine lives; unless one simply just assumes that Tom had already used up his previous eight lives in his past pursuits of Jerry. Mike Barrier, in his book, Hollywood Cartoons, has pointed out that if the act of chasing (then presumably killing and eating) mice was indeed a cardinal sin then no cat would ever make it into Heaven.

I will admit that Satan's Waitin' has some good gags (like when Sylvester gets flattened by a steamroller); although I feel the final gag with the two safecrackers is just a little bit on the corny side. Director Friz Freleng appears to be going more for belly-laughs here, rather than suspense or sympathy. To its credit, the story at least observes the convention that cats have nine lives; at the same time, however, the concept that a cat must go to Hell for simply following its natural instincts (i.e., targeting and pursuing its prey) is a little hard to swallow...

OK, that's my two cents... let's hear from others. What's your vote? Unfortunately I don't have the means to make one of those nifty poll screens where you can actually cast a vote; so you'll just have to make your choice(s) here in this thread... sorry!

[Brandon Panther]

The only two flaws in the story are that 1) Tom is doomed to eternal damnation for having tormented Jerry while on Earth and 2) the cartoon also ignores the time-honored convention that cats actually have nine lives; unless one simply just assumes that Tom had already used up his previous eight lives in his past pursuits of Jerry. Mike Barrier, in his book, Hollywood Cartoons, has pointed out that if the act of chasing (then presumably killing and eating) mice was indeed a cardinal sin then no cat would ever make it into Heaven.

But most of the incidents that occur in Heavenly Puss are just a nightmare that Tom is having, so any plot holes in the cartoon are forgiveable.

Either way, I like both cartoons. I might give the edge to Heavenly Puss.

[Speedy Boris]

at the same time, however, the concept that a cat must go to Hell for simply following its natural instincts (i.e., targeting and pursuing its prey) is a little hard to swallow... I didn't see it that way. Sylvester was going to quit chasing Tweety until the devil kept goading him into going after him some more. It was more the temptation planted by the devil than just going by pure instinct. Which is actually a pretty mature theme for a simple cat & mouse cartoon.

Anyway, I love Satan's Waitin', and think it's one of Friz's finest cartoons. However, I haven't seen Heavenly Puss in a long time so for now I can't decide which I like better.

[Mr. Semaj]

I'll have to go with Heavenly Puss, as it's another one of my favorite Tom & Jerry cartoons. As already said, there was more at stake regarding Tom's revelation, even if it was a bad dream.

With Satin's Waitin', I always found it odd that it was labeled as a Tweety short, since this is hardly about Tweety at all. The storytelling was pretty uneven, since it was all about Sylvester facing eternal damnation from being pushed into chasing Tweety, and still being doomed even when he spent his final life trying to redeem himself. The implication was that once Sylvester lost his first life, there was absolutely no chance of redemption.

[Ken Layton]

Heavenly Puss for sure. That look on Tom's face when the dog says, "Let me have him. Send him down!" is priceless.

[oceansoul]

I think the answer is quite obvious. Heavenly Puss was one of the biggest emotional masterpieces ever made, I've always marvelled its intense and dark suspense. Satan's Waitin' is just another Tweety short, with average gags and predictable ending. No emotions, intense, suspense, just a run-of-the-mill story.

[oceansoul]

I'll have to go with Heavenly Puss, as it's another one of my favorite Tom & Jerry cartoons. As already said, there was more at stake regarding Tom's revelation, even if it was a bad dream.

With Satin's Waitin', I always found it odd that it was labeled as a Tweety short, since this is hardly about Tweety at all. The storytelling was pretty uneven, since it was all about Sylvester facing eternal damnation from being pushed into chasing Tweety, and still being doomed even when he spent his final life trying to redeem himself. The implication was that once Sylvester lost his first life, there was absolutely no chance of redemption.

There were a very few shorts by Tweety that actually focused on him (her?). See at Birds Anonymous or The Last Hungry Cat. The star has always been Sylvester. As someone pointed out in an IMDB review, Sylvester was slumming in these cartoons and wasted his talent to Tweety, who basically added zero laughs and emotions to the films under his name.

[cartoonfan4ever]

I'll pick Heavenly Puss. I enjoyed the storyline more, with Tom seeing his fate and having to ask Jerry for forgiveness. And the short has great suspense. I think the whole reason Tom was doomed to Hell was because he enjoyed going after and torturing the mouse instead of just simply hunting him for food. Tom liked the thrill of being the bully. (And yes, there were times where Jerry was being a snot and got what he deserved.)

[Mr. Semaj]

There were a very few shorts by Tweety that actually focused on him (her?). See at Birds Anonymous or The Last Hungry Cat. The star has always been Sylvester. As someone pointed out in an IMDB review, Sylvester was slumming in these cartoons and wasted his talent to Tweety, who basically added zero laughs and emotions to the films under his name.

Agreed. Be he the fall guy or instigator, Sylvester's best shorts were those where he doesn't co-star with Tweety.

[Dirty Skunk]

Easy choice. Heavenly Puss has the drama, the suspense, the darker humour.

[Noisejunkie]

My vote goes for "Heavenly Puss" all the way. While I like "Satan's Waitin,'" I think "Heavenly Puss" gets the edge because it's got a more emotional story and it's a lot more involving as opposed to the more gag-oriented Tweety and Sylvester cartoon.

[Thad]

I get the feeling if you watched 'HEAVENLY PUSS' without the Bradley track, it'd lose just about all of its punch.

[Speedy Boris]

Having rewatched Heavenly Puss, I have to choose Satan's Waitin'. That one actually had the guts to kill Sylvester, while Puss went with the old "it was only a dream!" ending, which was pretty cliched by this point. Plus Satan's Waitin' was funnier.

[oceansoul]

I get the feeling if you watched 'HEAVENLY PUSS' without the Bradley track, it'd lose just about all of its punch.

No. The animation itself is brilliant as well (like Tom's facial expression when sees his fate in the hell) and so the story. The great soundtrack helped a lot, but that could be said about all drama/suspense cartoons and films.

[Der Captain]

Which of these two cartoons do you prefer, and why?

The only two flaws in the story are that 1) Tom is doomed to eternal damnation for having tormented Jerry while on Earth and 2) the cartoon also ignores the time-honored convention that cats actually have nine lives; unless one simply just assumes that Tom had already used up his previous eight lives in his past pursuits of Jerry. Mike Barrier, in his book, Hollywood Cartoons, has pointed out that if the act of chasing (then presumably killing and eating) mice was indeed a cardinal sin then no cat would ever make it into Heaven.



We know that cats do not have nine lives, so when was it written in stone that all cartoon cats must follow that line?

I like Barrier's book but he was way off base on "Heavenly Puss". Barrier finds the setup of this cartoon fraudulent, but for some reason completely approves of pretty much the same situation in "Pluto's Judgement Day" (should all dogs be damned?). The viciousness with which Tom pursued his prey was clearly what got him in bad with the folks upstairs, and the dream may be the result of his concience bothering him. This is good possibility, since, as animal characters go, Tom is more fully humanized than Pluto.

[Der Captain]

Oh, and I forgot to mention, I choose "Heavenly Puss" of the two. It's the more ambitious - and in this case aiming big paid off. A lot depends, of course, on how willing you are to let sentiment enter the picture.

"Satan's Waitin'" is an unusual Tweety and Sylvester cartoon and yet somehow at the same time it feels like more of the same. The T&S series was often funny, but it never really grew, never progressed. There was never ever a bond between these two characters as there was between Tom and Jerry. The T&S series is heartless by choice, which is fine, but I feel like it amounts to less in the long run.

[J. J. Hunsecker]

I give the nod to Heavenly Puss. I especially like the part where Tom tries to get Jerry to sign the note of forgiveness, and Tom's panic when the pen doesn't work. (And it's funny panic, too!)

[zavkram]

OK, at present it looks like Heavenly Puss is in the lead with 10 votes; as opposed to Satan's Waitin', which has just 2 votes. The account includes one member who said that they like both cartoons equally. At least one person was still undecided.

Oh well, at any rate Heavenly Puss currently looks to be the more popular of the two cartoons... Of course time will tell.

Jon, I obviously do not have the ability to close this thread... so I'll leave it to your discretion to close it out or lock it whenever you see fit (i.e., when enough people have had a chance to vote). :)