♫That night in Manhattan was the start of it...♫
Mouse in Manhattan is a 1945 Tom and Jerry cartoon directed by Hanna-Barbera.
In this Lower Deck Cartoon, Jerry, tired of country life, writes Tom a letter of farewell and heads out to the city of Manhattan. At first, he enjoys the hustle and bustle of New York as he takes in the sights. However, as he finds himself in more and more hazardous situations, Jerry starts to prefer life in the country.
Tropes:
-
Blooper: The third tabletop doll Jerry dances with has orange hair at first, but yellow hair when he starts 'skating' with her. - Bowdlerization: Versions shown on Cartoon Network and Boomerang cut the part where Jerry's head is used to shine a shoe to remove Jerry coming out in Black Face.
- Butt-Monkey: Jerry, for once. In this episode he gets stuck to a piece of chewed up gum, is used to polish a shoe, nearly gets hit by a truck and becomes mistaken for a jewel thief among other things.
- Country Mouse: Taken very literally. Bored with country life, Jerry goes in search of adventure among "bright lights and Broadway". However, he is completely unprepared for the grime, traffic, and vicious feral cats that accompany the glitz and glamour, and after less than a day, he decides to go back to the country and Tom (who hasn't even seen Jerry's farewell note when he returns).
- A Day in the Limelight: This is the only Tom & Jerry short to focus solely on Jerry.
- Extremely Short Timespan: Based on the fact that Tom was still asleep by the time Jerry came back, everything Jerry went through - from traveling to Manhattan by train, exploring the city, and then racing all the way back to the country on foot - happened in the span of a single night. Although a few shots show blue daylight sky above New York, so maybe Tom slept through all the following day as well.
- Formula-Breaking Episode: The cartoon focuses entirely on Jerry and his adventures in New York.
- Ill-Timed Sneeze: Jerry sneezes after landing in a dark alley, which echoes through the streets. Moments later, the cats appear.
- Leitmotif: The various scenes of Jerry's misadventures in Manhattan are accompanied by an instrumental version of Louis Alter's "Manhattan Serenade", which serves as a theme for the city itself.
- Lower-Deck Episode: Jerry is the focus, with Tom only making a brief appearance at the beginning and end (and even then, he's asleep until the very end of the short).
- Luminescent Blush: When Jerry sneaks under a door into a room, he almost immediately exits, looking embarrassed with his face glowing red. Turns out he had accidentally gone into a Powder Room.
- Mistaken for Thief: Jerry crashes through the window of a jewelry store, setting off the alarm. He emerges covered in jewels as the cops show up and start firing at him.
- Oh, Crap!: After popping out of a manhole cover in the middle of a street, Jerry has this reaction when he sees a stoplight turn green and there's a bunch of vehicles in front of him.
- Out of Focus: Tom only appears at the very beginning and then again at the very end.
- Recursive Canon: A theater in the background has Tom and Jerry given billing on it.
- Scenery Porn: If this cartoon doesn't give you an itching to visit New York City, nothing will.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: After being chased by the police when they mistake him for a jewel thief, Jerry decides he's had enough of the city and races all the way back to the country.
- Soda Can Shakeup: While dancing with doll displays, Jerry accidentally gets stuck in the neck of a champagne bottle. The resulting pressure ends up launching him into the air and landing in a dark alley.
