History YMMV / TomAndJerry

* BetterOnDVD: The Warner Home Video [=DVD=]s still have some censored shorts ("His Mouse Friday") and shorts that are missing entirely ("Mouse Cleaning" and "Casanova Cat"), so if you're a classic cartoon purist, then it would be an aversion (unless you like the fact that the Cartoon Network/Boomerang Station ID bug is no longer visible on the screen). But the MGM/UA home video Laserdisc box sets are completely uncensored (sans "His Mouse Friday" which mutes the [[HollywoodNatives African Cannibals]]' (and Jerry's poor imitation) voices and "Saturday Night Puss" which is the 1960s redrawn version that replaces Mammy with a white-teenager). A recent box set contains the uncensored version, however.

* BetterOnDVD: The Warner Home Video [=DVD=]s still have some censored shorts ("His Mouse Friday") and shorts that are missing entirely ("Mouse Cleaning" and "Casanova Cat"), so if you're a classic cartoon purist, then it would be an aversion (unless you like the fact that the Cartoon Network/Boomerang Station ID bug is no longer visible on the screen). But the MGM/UA home video Laserdisc box sets are completely uncensored (sans "His Mouse Friday" which mutes the [[HollywoodNatives African Cannibals]]' (and Jerry's poor imitation) voices). A recent box set contains the uncensored version, however.

** The part from "The Midnight Snack" where Tom blows into an ''[[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything eclair while Jerry was licking the other open side, covering him in a pile of cream]]''.

* AccidentalInnuendo: The part from "The Midnight Snack" where Tom blows into an ''[[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything eclair while Jerry was licking the other open side, covering him in a pile of cream]]''.
%%** Similarly, [[http://darzeken.tumblr.com/post/121791169139 this particular scene...]]

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation:

** Also, fans who view Jerry as the VillainProtagonist. Of course, in some cartoons, he explicitly ''is''.

* DesignatedVillain: We're almost ''never'' meant to be rooting for Tom, even if he didn't actually do anything to provoke Jerry (common in many infamous episodes), or if Jerry doesn't even have the right to be provoked (like when he screws with Tom's golf game and piano performance because they were disturbing his sleep; never mind that Jerry's the idiot who decided to set up shop in those specific places).

* AccidentalInnuendo:
** The part from "The Midnight Snack" where Tom blows into an ''[[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything eclair while Jerry was licking the other open side, covering him in a pile of cream]]''.
** Similarly, [[http://darzeken.tumblr.com/post/121791169139 this particular scene...]]

->"When I let on to the others in the studio...that Bill and I were developing a cat-and-mouse cartoon, we were greeted with a universal chorus of jeers and raspberries. A cat and a mouse! How unoriginal can you get? And how much variety can you milk out of such a hackneyed, shopworn idea? How many cat-and-mouse cartoons can you make?"
-->-- '''Joseph Barbera''', ''My Life in 'Toons''

* BadassDecay: [[PlayedWith Yes and no]]. Tom is significantly more threatening in his early appearances. Compare how much of a dominating force Tom is in the first few episodes and how easy he is to beat as time went on. However, by the end of Hanna Barbara's run, Tom has more instances of outright ''[[TeamRocketWins defeating]]'' Jerry.

** The Gene Deitch shorts mostly get this treatment from fans (see AudienceAlienatingEra above), who instead choose to believe the franchise went straight to Creator/ChuckJones after Hanna and Barbera left. Even then, some people ignore Jones' shorts, too, though nowhere near to the extent of Deitch's works. Chuck Jones himself later said that he didn't really care much for his shorts.
*** That being said, some fans, while having no problem disowning Deitch's works, accept a few of his shorts[[note]] mainly "Tall in the Trap", "The Tom and Jerry Cartoon Kit", "Buddies Thicker Than Water", "Carmen Get It", and sometimes "Calypso Cat"[[/note]].

* FirstInstallmentWins: The original MGM series of shorts are usually considered the best of the entire franchise, particularly the first ones made by Hanna-Barbara.

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: Jerry, to the point most consider him a VillainProtagonist, as many episodes feature him as the instigator of the conflict. The few that don't, weren't written until he had a '''long''' history of brutally harassing and physically harming Tom, in some episodes even getting him killed off-screen. Making this worse, is that even in said episodes, he goes way too far in his retaliations. It doesn't help that he is consistently portrayed as a thief who steals much more food from Tom than he would ordinarily need.

** At the end of "WesternAnimation/BlueCatBlues", Tom and Jerry's superficial love interests both ditch them for richer suitors, leaving the pair heartbroken, so they both decide to commit suicide and put themselves out of their misery by waiting on train tracks for a train to come and run them over. A train starts to rumble along towards them, comical music starts playing, and the short irises out to the usual MGM logo outro, suggesting the coda was supposed to be another amusing punchline. SuicideAsComedy gags were pretty regular back then (the Looney Tunes has its fair share of them as well), but most modern day viewers find the suicide joke to be more disturbing than anything.
*** To add, another factor in the above ending is that unlike most other SuicideAsComedy gags at that time, which usually involved guns, falls, or even drowning, being struck by a train carries far more gruesome implications (especially with the act in this case being off-screen).

** Tom's iconic "leather-lunged scream" (as described by Wiki/TheOtherWiki), performed by Hanna himself.

** The Clint Clobber-esque owner from the Creator/GeneDeitch shorts, who lashes out at Tom [[DisproportionateRetribution for simple mistakes]] and beats him in shockingly agonizing ways that would make animal lovers (especially cat lovers) and PETA scream in horror[[labelnote:Which include...]] Stomping on one his paws, searing Tom's face with a meat searer, [[ForceFeeding forcing Tom to drink an entire bottle of carbonated soda]], wrapping a shotgun around Tom's head and then firing it (causing Tom to go deaf), slamming Tom's face with a thermos lid, and slamming Tom's fingers against a lid of his lunchbox (we're also treaded to a close-up of Tom's throbbing fingers).[[/labelnote]]. It doesn't help that we're supposed to find this [[BlackComedyAnimalCruelty funny]] when it's clearly anything but.

* DesignatedVillain: We're almost ''never'' meant to be rooting for Tom, even if he didn't actually do anything to provoke Jerry (common in many infamous episodes), or if Jerry doesn't even have the right to be provoked (like when he screws with Tom's golf game, opera, and piano performance because they were disturbing his sleep; never mind that Jerry's the idiot who decided to set up shop in those specific places).

* BileFascination: The Creator/GeneDeitch shorts, which are filled to the brim with [[LimitedAnimation terrible animation]], bizarre sound effects, unlikable side characters such as Tom's obese owner, messy pacing, poor writing and a more sadistic and mean-spirited tone. People who have never seen those particular shorts before are curious as to why they angered many a ''Tom and Jerry'' fan.

** Many fans go as far as ignoring every post-theatrical era T&J property, especially Creator/{{Filmation}}'s [[WesternAnimation/TheTomAndJerryComedyShow series]], ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerryTheMovie'', the 2000s shorts, most of the DTV films and ''especially'' the [[WesternAnimation/TheTomAndJerryShow 1975 series]]. Not even Creator/WarnerBrosAnimation's generally well-received ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerryTales'' and ''WesternAnimation/TheTomAndJerryShow2014'' are safe in some circles.

* BileFascination: The Creator/GeneDeitch shorts, which are filled to the brim with [[terrible animation]], bizarre sound effects, unlikable side characters such as Tom's obese owner and a more sadistic and mean-spirited tone. People who have never seen those particular shorts before are curious as to why they angered many a ''Tom and Jerry'' fan.

* DesignatedVillain: We're almost ''never'' meant to be rooting for Tom, even if he didn't actually do anything to provoke Jerry (common in many infamous episodes), or if Jerry doesn't even have the right to be provoked (like when he screws with Tom's golf game, and piano performance because they were disturbing his sleep; never mind that Jerry's the idiot who decided to set up shop in those specific places).

* FountainOfMemes: The titular Tom and Jerry are incredibly iconic in pop culture and have continued their fame through meme culture as well. Thanks to the many different reactions, facial expressions and zany situations the duo have made throughout the years in many animations and shorts.

** Also, contrary to popular belief, the black maid's name is '''not''' Mammy Two Shoes; absolutely no evidence exists, whether in production art or interviews that the character was ever given a real name in the original theatrical cartoons. The name in fact derives from an almost identical character from the WesternAnimation/ClassicDisneyShorts. That said, "Mammy Two Shoes" still continues to be a popular nickname for the character, to the point where even Wiki/{{Wikipedia}} uses it. This did lean a little into AscendedFanon in ''Tom and Jerry Tales'', whose RaceLift counterpart was officially dubbed Ms. Two Shoes.

* EthnicScrappy: The black maid, commonly (and erroneously) known as Mammy Two Shoes. Later TV airings would dub her with a less "stereotypical" voice, but it didn't last long.

* FoeYayShipping: Despite their [[ArchEnemies famous enmity]], some people ship Tom and Jerry themselves. It's likely because of them sometimes being FriendlyEnemies and Tom occasionally having TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou moments with Jerry. And Jerry has even [[HilarityEnsues kissed him many times]], [[TheGadfly just to annoy him]]. The shorts "Springtime for Thomas" and its near-remake "Smitten Kitten" don't help, where Jerry's ShoulderDevil encourages him to break up Tom's budding relationship with a girl cat because it's getting in the way of their fun!

* FoeYayShipping: Despite their [[ArchEnemies famous enmity]], some people ship Tom and Jerry themselves. It's likely because of them sometimes being FriendlyEnemies and Tom occasionally having TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou moments with Jerry. And Jerry has even [[HilarityEnsues kissed him many times]], [[TheGadfly just to annoy him]].
** The shorts "Springtime for Thomas" and its near-remake "Smitten Kitten" don't help, where Jerry's ShoulderDevil encourages him to break up Tom's budding relationship with a girl cat because it's getting in the way of their fun!

* CriticalResearchFailure:
** ''Tom and Jerry Meet Sherlock Holmes'' gets a pretty noticeable case of this if you happen to be a ''Literature/SherlockHolmes'' fan. In one scene, Holmes mentions the case of the Red-Headed League and Watson responds it was a crime perpetrated by Holmes' nemesis, Moriarity. The Red-Headed League caper was actually masterminded by a criminal named John Clay. However, this could be a reference to the 1985 adaption starring Jeremy Brett, where Moriarty was the mastermind, with Clay being his pupil.
** "Rock'n'Rodent" really should've been called "Jazzin' Jerry"; the music in the cartoon sounded closer to upbeat jazz than what rock & roll sounded like when the cartoon was released in 1967.

* HilariousInHindsight: Near the end of "The Milky Waif", Jerry, who is absolutely outraged at Tom [[WouldHurtAChild spanking Nibbles on the rear with a flyswatter]], grabs the cat by the tail, slams him on the ground back and forth thrice and swings him around before tossing him away. 50 years later, [[VideoGame/SuperMario64 a certain heroic plumber would do the same to a certain reptilian king]].
* HoYay: The 1945 short "Flirty Birdy" revolves around Tom dressing himself in drag to seduce a male hawk who snatched Jerry from him. After much flirtation and shenanigans that would put WesternAnimation/PepeLePew to shame, the cartoon ends with the two apparently married and Tom (somehow) laying eggs.

* ''YMMV/QuietPlease''

* UncannyValley: Toodles' design means she barely resembles a cat at all and in "Salt Water Tabby" she essentially has a human woman's body (including ''breasts'') and what can only be described as some kind of human-cat hybrid.