In Need of a Bailout from Daily Life?

Lately the news has been addressing the economic slump that we are all experiencing. These are the times when I tune out from the real world and tune in my must have TV shows.

You know, Grey’s Anatomy, LOST, Hero’s, House, and my all time fave Tom & Jerry.

*SIGH* Tom & Jerry. My favorite cartoon from my childhood. I do have to say that I did escape to Tom & Jerry’s world every Saturday morning. The plots of each cartoon short usually centers on Tom (the cat) who despite numerous attempts tries to capture Jerry (the mouse) and the mayhem and destruction that ensues. Since Tom rarely attempts to eat Jerry and because the pair actually seems to get along in some cartoons, it was somewhat confusing to my little brain at the time why Tom chases Jerry so much.

Never mind Looney Tunes, and Woody Woodpecker, I only wanted to watch Tom & Jerry! (I had very little friends as a child).

I have now carried on this quirky habit well into my adulthood and now my children are forced to watch Tom & Jerry at 12 noon on Cartoon Network (when they are not in school), and then at 7:30 PM on Boomerang. But they don’t mind, it’s the silly hijinks that Tom & Jerry commit that keeps them laughing. Its great family time for a well deserved get together at the end of the day.

Since I don’t have TIVO (not in the budget) I have to make due with putting it on timer with my satellite network. But I faithfully watch them everyday religiously. I’ve been known to have stranger habits.

On that note I’d like to announce that today is the 69^th anniversary of Tom & Jerry making their first appearance on the screen. You go boys for entertaining the world since 1940!

Some trivial trivia…

• When the cartoon first aired Tom (the cat) was actually called Jasper in the first cartoon short titled ‘Puss Gets the Boot’.
• Tom & Jerry won a total of seven Academy Awards for Best Short Subject (cartoons) tying with the infamous Walt Disney back in the day.
• In 1986 Tom & Jerry were bought by Turner Entertainment. Hanna Barbera owned them from 1940-1958. Gene Deitch then owned them from 1960-1962. Then Chuck Jones from 1963-1967.
• Tom & Jerry are well-known all over the world, especially in Saudia Arabia (big surprise), China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Thailand, Mongolia, and South Korea.

So what was your favorite cartoon as a child?