The Night Before Christmas (1941)

T'was the Night Before Christmas and all through the house
not a creature was stirring except Tom Cat and Jerry mouse.
 Jerry is playing around the Christmas tree with care
Not knowing Tom was still there.
Tom chases Jerry.
Making Christmas anything but merry.
Tom throws Jerry out of the house.
Letting the weather freeze the mouse.
Tom feels bad and wants to make amends.
Tom helps Jerry and now they are friends.

The Night Before Christmas was the third Tom and Jerry cartoon and one of the best. It is clear that Bill, Joe and the rest of the team were now fully understanding how to use these characters just right.

The animators on the film included some of those who had worked on the previous two cartoons. These were Jack Zander, George Gordon and Pete Burness. It also introduced some new animators to the series. These included Irven Spence  Irven Spence would stay with the studio until 1957. Other new animators for the series included Bill Littlejohn and Cecil Surry, both of whom would only stay with the series one more year.

The opening scenes with Jerry playing around the tree, the mistletoe scene and the ending were all animated by Jack Zander. George Gordon animated the scene of Jerry bouncing on Tom, and a very funny sequence involving boxing gloves. Cecil Surry animates Jerry freezing outside. Bill Littlejohn animates the scene of Jerry pretending to be a toy solider. Irven Spence who would later become one of the most prominent Tom and Jerry animators (known for animating over the top reactions) has a very limited role here. He animates Tom feeling guilty about Jerry freezing outside, while he is trying to sleep and a very brief scene of Tom shaking snow off of Jerry. Even his animation of Tom feeling guilty is interrupted by Cecil Surry animating Jerry freezing.

This is one of the best Tom and Jerry cartoons. The pace has picked up a lot since the last two films, and the timing couldn't be more perfect. William Hanna (who did most of the timing for these cartoons) is completely at his element here. The animation is fantastic, and the characters are as likable as ever. This film was also nominated (though it didn't win) for an Oscar.

-Michael J. Ruhland

Resources Used
Tom and Jerry: The Definitive Guide to Their Animated Adventures by Patrick Brion
http://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/mgms-the-night-before-christmas-1941-with-tom-jerry/