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Perhaps some folks don't know the world's most popular cartoon started as far back as 1940. Yes, very true! The first productions of Tom and Jerry, two of the most honoured cartoon characters in motion pictures, were created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. [img]http://3.bp..com/-_72LQcnXkds/T3a6IILu8JI/AAAAAAAAAqA/NbBDAOxIhB8/s320/Tom+and+jerry+cartoon.jpg[/img]

Their plot centered on a never-ending battle, in other words, a chase between a house cat and a brown mouse. The Hanna- Barbera duo had written and directed 114 Tom and Jerry cartoons from 1940 to 1957, at the MGM cartoon studio in Hollywood.

The pair won a total of 7 Oscar awards for Best Animated Short Subject, more than any other character-based theatrical animated series. The series has also been named as the ‘Greatest Television Shows of All Time’ by TIME, in 2000. Tom and Jerry was also placed at the 66th position, in the ‘Top 100 Animated TV Shows’ by IGN, in January 2009. Read on to know interesting and amazing information on the history, origin and background of Tom and Jerry.

Below are pictures of the Tom and Jerry characters from 1940 till date

1. Hanna-Barbera era (1940–1958): The very first few episodes of the animated series portrayed Tom as a feisty wild cat than a house cat as he could be seen with two wild teeth and sharp pointy claws. Tom, from the first few episodes was out to eat Jerry, thus presenting the cartoon as 'too' violent for kids.




However, Tom's physical appearance evolved significantly over the years. During the early 1940s, Tom had an excess of detail—shaggy fur, numerous facial wrinkles, and multiple eyebrow markings, all of which were streamlined into a more workable form by the end of the 1940s. In addition, he also looked like a more realistic cat early on; evolving from his quadrupedal beginnings Tom to become increasingly and almost exclusively bipedal. By contrast, Jerry's design remained essentially the same for the duration of the series. Below is a screenshot of Tom whose appearance had changed compared to the early episodes.


Tom and Jerry remained popular throughout their original theatrical run, even when the budgets began to tighten in the 1950s and the pace of the shorts slowed slightly. However, after television became popular in the 1950s, box office revenues decreased for theatrical films, and short subjects. At first, MGM combated this by going to all-CinemaScope production on the series. After MGM realized that their re-releases of the older cartoons brought in just as much money as the new cartoons did, the studio executives decided, much to the surprise of the staff, to close the animation studio. The MGM cartoon studio was shut down in 1957, and the final of the 114 Hanna-Barbera Tom and Jerry shorts, Tot Watchers, was released on August 1, 1958. Hanna and Barbera established their own television animation studio, Hanna-Barbera Productions, in 1957, which went on to produce TV shows, such as The Flintstones, The Yogi Bear Show and The Smurfs.


2. Gene Deitch era (1961–1962): A lot of people perhaps never knew about this era. This era of is quite boring to watch, even till date. Fans that typically rooted for Tom criticized Deitch's cartoons for never having Tom become a threat to Jerry, mainly due to the constant intervention of his replacement owner – a corpulent, grumpy middle-aged white man whom was also more graphically brutal in punishing Tom's mistakes as compared to Mammy Two-Shoes, by beating and thrashing Tom repeatedly, searing his face with a grill, and forcing Tom to drink an entire carbonated beverage.
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3. Chuck Jones era (1963–1967): After the last of the Deitch cartoons were released, Chuck Jones, who had been fired from his thirty-plus year tenure at Warner Bros. Cartoons, started his own animation studio, Sib Tower 12 Productions, with partner Les Goldman. Beginning in 1963, Jones and Goldman went on to produce 34 more Tom and Jerry shorts, all of which carried Jones' distinctive style (and a slight psychedelic influence). Jones had trouble adapting his style to Tom and Jerry's brand of humor, and a number of the cartoons favored full animation, personality and style over storyline. The characters underwent a slight change of appearance: Tom was given thicker eyebrows (resembling Jones' Grinch, Count Blood Count or Wile E Coyote), a less complex look (including the color of his fur becoming gray), sharper ears, longer tail and furrier cheeks (resembling Jones' Claude Cat or Sylvester), while Jerry was given larger eyes and ears, a lighter brown color, and a sweeter, Porky Pig-like expression.


PS: I hate this era. SUPER BORING

3. Second Hanna-Barbera era: The Tom and Jerry Show (1975–1977): Tom and Jerry were reunited with Hanna and Barbera, who produced new Tom and Jerry cartoons for Saturday mornings. The return of the founding duo brought about changes to the two characters. Tom and Jerry (now with a red bow tie), who had been enemies during their formative years, became nonviolent pals who went on adventures together, as Hanna-Barbera had to meet the stringent rules against violence for children's TV.




4. Filmation era (1980–1982): The Filmation Tom and Jerry cartoons were noticeably different from Hanna-Barbera's efforts, as they returned Tom and Jerry to the original chase formula, with a somewhat more "slapstick" humor format. This incarnation, much like the 1975 version, was not as well received by audiences as the originals, and lasted on CBS Saturday Morning from September 6, 1980 to September 4, 1982. The red bow tie which was seen on Jerry in the Hanna-Barbera era was removed.




5. Tom and Jerry's new owners: In 1986, MGM was purchased by WTBS founder Ted Turner. Turner sold the company a short while later, but retained MGM's pre-1986 film library, thus Tom and Jerry became the property of Turner Entertainment (where the rights stand today via Warner Bros.), and have in subsequent years appeared on Turner-run stations, such as TBS, TNT, Cartoon Network, The WB, Boomerang, and Turner Classic Movies.
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6. Third Hanna-Barbera era: Tom and Jerry Kids (1990–1994): One of the biggest trends for Saturday morning television in the 1980s and 1990s was the "babyfication" of older, classic cartoon stars, and on March 2, 1990, Tom and Jerry Kids, co-produced by Turner Entertainment and Hanna-Barbera Productions (which would be sold to Turner in 1991) debuted on Fox Kids and for a few years, aired on British children's show, CBBC. It featured a youthful version of the famous cat-and-mouse duo chasing each other. As with the 1975 H-B series, Jerry wears his red bowtie, while Tom now wears a red cap. Spike and his son Tyke (who now had talking dialogue) and Droopy and his son Dripple, appeared in back-up segments for the show, which ran until November 18, 1994. Tom and Jerry Kids was the last Tom and Jerry cartoon series produced in 4:3 (full screen) aspect ratio.


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7. Individual episodes (2001 and 2005): In 2001, a new television special titled Tom and Jerry: The Mansion Cat premiered on Boomerang. It featured Joe Barbera (who was also a creative consultant) as the voice of Tom's owner, whose face is never seen. In this cartoon, Jerry, housed in a habitrail, is as much of a house pet as Tom is, and their owner has to remind Tom to not "blame everything on the mouse".
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8. Warner Bros. era (2006–2008): During the first half of 2006, a new series called Tom and Jerry Tales was produced at Warner Bros. Animation. Thirteen half-hour episodes (each consisting of three shorts, some of them—like The Karate Guard—were produced and completed in 2003 as part of a 30-plus theatrical cartoon schedule aborted after the financial disaster of Looney Tunes Back in Action) were produced, with only markets outside of the United States and United Kingdom signed up.




9. Second Warner Bros. era (2014): In 2014, Cartoon Network announced a new series consisting of two 11-minute shorts that will preserve the look, core characters and sensibility of the original theatrical shorts. Titled The Tom and Jerry Show, the series is produced by Warner Bros. Animation, with Sam Register serving as executive producer in collaboration with Darrell Van Citters and Ashley Postelwaite at Renegade Animation. Originally slated for an undated 2013 Cartoon Network premiere before being pushed back to April 9, 2014, this is the second Tom and Jerry production presented in 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio.






10. ?

Lalasticlala

Tom and Jerry Kids were more crazy than the older ones.

Oh! I love Tom and Jerry #TeamJerry


Bros, how are you doing? Long time, no saw

ammyluv2002:
Oh! I love Tom and Jerry #TeamJerry


Bros, how are you doing? Long time, no saw

Lol #TeamJerry!

I'm doing well Sis. Yeah, I'm sorry. I take every blame. And how are you doing?

prof800:
Tom and Jerry Kids were more crazy than the older ones.

As in eh

Can't remember the last time I saw Tom and Jerry. Doubt it'll ever leave tv.

Still love Tom nd jerry

Nice

Those episodes directed by fred quimby was soooo far the best of all

Epic!

hyuga:
Those episodes directed by fred quimby was soooo far the best of all

True, very true. Much of Fred's episode is what everyone has come to reckon with.

They have tried...

7. Individual episodes (2001 and 2005)

hyuga:
Those episodes directed by fred quimby was soooo far the best of all

If it's not Fred Quimby T&J, it's inferior T&J and not worthy of my viewing.

The quality of the animations, the plot, the additional characters like Spike and the music. Fred Quimby!

I never like catoons...even as a kid

Best ever

olukenzo:


If it's not Fred Quimby T&J, it's inferior T&J and not worthy of my viewing.

The quality of the animations, the plot, the additional characters like Spike and the music. Fred Quimby!

And his son dyke/dike..... Jerry's cousin, nimbus, those thugs hired by Tom. Its Fred all the way.