Tom and Jerry: The Mansion Cat

Tom and Jerry: The Mansion Cat is an animated seven minute TV short produced by Hanna-Barbera in association with Turner Entertainment and first aired on April 8, 2001 on Boomerang starring, Tom and Jerry. It was dedicated to Joseph Barbera's long-time partner, William Hanna, who died on March 22, 2001, just before the cartoon's debut.

It is notable for being the first and only Tom & Jerry short made especially for Boomerang. Even though it does attempt to recapture the format of the original cartoon theatricals, fans have criticized this outing for dumbing down the Tom and Jerry series to simply robotic violence and fighting, whereas the famous classic shorts always had a story as a trigger for the duo's rivalry, and generally characterized them in a much much more nuanced way.

Joseph Barbera provided the voice of Tom's owner for this production. The buckle on his shoes are a clue to his being there because they are his initials. This was one of the last cartoons produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions before its absorption into Warner Bros. Animation later in 2001. Thirteen months after it premiered on Boomerang, the seven-minute short re-premiered on Kids' WB! on May 25, 2002 at 9:30 a.m. followed by the premiere of The Powerpuff Girls.

Tom and Jerry's character designs in this made-for TV short are based on their designs of the 1975 series, although during that period of time their late-1940s & early-1950s designs are more commonly used. The short has not yet been released on any home media.

Plot
The episode begins with a circle showing Jerry running, but as the circle grows, it is shown that Jerry is going nowhere; Tom has captured his tail. However, when the owner calls his name, he lets Jerry's tail go, freeing Jerry back into his cage. The owner (voiced by Joseph Barbera) of Tom and a large house tells Tom he is going away for a while, the house is in perfect shape, and that he does not want Tom blaming "the mouse" (actually Jerry) for any destruction this time. Of course, this means Tom will spend most of the picture chasing Jerry around the house, causing extensive damage.

First, Tom throws the habit-rail out of the mansion, sits on the sofa, eats a lot of food stolen from the refrigerator, watches TV (Note: Muscle Beach Tom was shown on TV). Then, traditional chase and damage happen. Among the sequences: Jerry shoves Tom into a VCR, then shelves the resulting cassette-sized cat; Tom traps Jerry in a coffeemaker; Jerry traps Tom in a refrigerator, and he comes out again in ice cubes; Jerry sucks Tom and half the living room into a vacuum cleaner; Tom chases Jerry through the yard and into the house on a riding lawn mower. At the end, he crashes the mower into his owner's returning car, who tells Tom he "make[s] a better hood ornament than a house cat".