His Mouse Friday

His Mouse Friday is a 1951 one-reel animated cartoon and is the 59th Tom and Jerry cartoon directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera and produced by Fred Quimby for Metro Goldwyn Mayer. It was animated by Kenneth Muse, Irven Spence, Ray Patterson and Ed Barge and released in theatres on July 7, 1951. The title is a pun combining references to the film His Girl Friday and the character of Friday from the novel Robinson Crusoe.

Plot
Tom is first seen being ship-wrecked and lost at sea in a parody of Robinson Crusoe. He only has his old shoes to eat in order to survive. Tom though soon spots a distant tropical island and is catapulted there by a wave. After Tom finds it tough to eat a coconut and a tortoise he finds Jerry and decides to eat the mouse instead. Tom has Jerry on a frying pan but the rodent escapes and Tom chases him into a native village. Jerry creeps Tom out by playing tom toms and Tom gets scared.

Using soot from a cooking pot Jerry disguises himself as a black native complete with a deep voice and talks gibberish to Tom. He presumably tells Tom he has to be cooked to death and orders him to "hop the pot" and gives him vegetables to cut but to "hold the onions". Tom scared and accepting his fate cooperates. He soon feels the heat after Jerry lights a fire. Tom though notices Jerry's loincloth has come loose exposing his brown fur. Discovering he has been played for a sap the cat taunts Jerry. Jerry using a bone tied to his head flies away and Tom gives chase. However, the cat ends up stopping at the feet of a group of real cannibals with one of them (who looks like Butch) licking his lips and fancing barbequed cat. The cannibals then chase after Tom. Jerry at first seems to have won but is then caught by a younger (and thicker-lipped) cannibal who fancies barbecued mouse and chases after the mouse and the cartoon irises out.

Voice cast

 * Paul Frees as Jerry and The Cannibals

Censorship, bans and availability
1. His Mouse Friday has rarely been broadcast in recent years due to African-American stereotyping. However, it has been released on video in two different censored forms- one by MGM/UA and another by Warner Home Video:
 * MGM/UA Home Video's version (i.e. The Art of Tom and Jerry Laserdisc set and the Tom and Jerry On Parade VHS tape), mutes out all of the cannibals' dialogue, including Jerry's native gibberish. This version is the one that airs on Cartoon Network and Boomerang on the rare times this cartoon appears, albeit having the same graphic colors as the UK Classic Collection DVD version, as opposed to the faded colors (pictured on the page) from VHS.
 * Warner Home Video's version (i.e. the European PAL collection and the final Spotlight Collection in 2007) leaves the soundtrack intact, but crops out the small native (by zooming into where Jerry is) at the end. This is the only short shown censored on the Spotlight Collection DVD series, aside from Mouse Cleaning and Casanova Cat not included in the DVD series.

2. The short was planned to be presented uncut and restored in the upcoming second volume of Tom and Jerry Golden Collection DVD and Blu-ray set, but it has been delayed indefinitely.