Timid Tabby
| Timid Tabby | |
|---|---|
| Tom and Jerry series | |
 Title card | |
| Directed by |
William Hanna Joseph Barbera |
| Produced by |
William Hanna Joseph Barbera |
| Story by |
William Hanna Joseph Barbera |
| Voices by | Bill Thompson (uncredited) |
| Music by | Scott Bradley |
| Animation by |
Lewis Marshall Kenneth Muse Irvin Spence Ken Southworth Bill Schipek |
| Layouts by | Richard Bickenbach |
| Backgrounds by | Roberta Greutert |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
| Release date(s) | April 19, 1957 |
| Color process |
Technicolor CinemaScope Perspecta |
| Running time | 6:49 |
| Language | English |
| Preceded by | Tops with Pops |
| Followed by | Feedin' the Kiddie |
Timid Tabby is a 1957 one reel animated Tom and Jerry short, directed and produced by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera with music by Scott Bradley. The cartoon was animated by Lewis Marshall, Kenneth Muse, Irvin Spence, Ken Southworth and Bill Schipek, with backgrounds by Roberta Gruetert and layouts by Richard Bickenbach. It was released on April 19, 1957 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer before the MGM cartoon studio shut down on May 15, 1957. This was the final Tom & Jerry cartoon short to credit Irvin Spence as an animator. It is also one of the very few shorts in which Tom manages to save himself and emerges victorious over Jerry.
Plot
The short begins with Tom chasing Jerry in circles until he gets a letter that says his (identical) cousin George, who has a fear of mice, is coming to visit. Tom boards up Jerry's hole to prevent him from scaring George. But Jerry escapes and unexpectedly encounters George, who immediately tries to get as far away from him as possible.
Jerry, not knowing about Tom's cousin, believes that the terrified cat is Tom and tries several attempts to frighten him, including saying boo and pulling scary faces. But he gets confused when the real Tom shakes off Jerry's scaring and whacks him with his fist.
Having had enough of Jerry bothering George, the two cats play a trick on him by pretending to be a two-headed, four-armed and four-legged monster which terrifies Jerry and makes him flee the house and also overcoming George's fear of mice. A frightened Jerry runs to a house that has a gate with the words "Home For Mice With Nervous Breakdowns" and enters immediately.
Availability
Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection Vol. 3, Disc Two