汤姆和杰瑞：猫和老鼠斗过的80年

2020-06-11陈义杰

疯狂英语·读写版 2020年5期

陈义杰

《猫和老鼠》是欧美经典动画，于1940年2月10日在美国首播。这个机灵老鼠与笨猫的故事，堪与米老鼠和唐老鸭的故事相媲美。没有动物世界中恃强凌弱的残酷，只有两个邻居之间的日常琐事和纷争……

A cartoon cat， sick of the annoying mouse living in his home， sets a plot to take him out with a trap loaded with cheese. The mouse， wise to his plan， safely removes the snack and saunters away with a full belly. You can probably guess what happens next. The story ends with the cat yelling out in pain， as he almost always does.

MGMs animation department， where creators William Hanna and Joseph Barbera worked， had struggled to imitate the success of other studios which had hit characters like Porky Pig and Mickey Mouse. Out of boredom， the animators， both aged under 30， began thinking up their own ideas. Barbera said he loved the simple concept of a cat and mouse cartoon， with conflict and chase， even though it had been done countless times before.

Puss Gets the Boot became the first released in 1940. The debut was a hit and won the studio an Oscar for best animated short. Despite their work， the animators were not credited on the win. A change of heart came only when a letter arrived from an influential industry figure in Texas asking when she would see another one of those “wonderful cat and mouse cartoons”.

According to Barbera there was no real discussion about the characters not speaking， but having grown up with silent films starring Charlie Chaplin， the creators knew they could be funny without dialogue. Music composed by Scott Bradley underscored the action and Toms trademark humanlike scream was voiced by Hanna himself.

For the best part of the next two decades， Hanna and Barbera oversaw the production of more than 100 of these shorts. Each took weeks to make and cost up to $50，000 to produce， so only a handful could be made every year. These Tom and Jerrys are almost universally considered the best， which win six more Academy Awards and cameos in Hollywood feature films. “Ill bet when you watched them as a child， or even if you look at them right now， you would be hardpressed to know when they were made. Its‘evergreen. It doesnt fade，” said Jerry Beck， a cartoon historian who has worked in roles across the industry.

In the 80 years since their creation， the cat and mouse have appeared in everything from a “kids” version to a 1992 musical movie where they sang and spoke. Warner Brothers， who now own the rights to Tom and Jerry， will release a new liveaction film just before Christmas this year. Not much is known about the project， except that actors including Chlo？觕 Grace Moretz and Ken Jeong have signed on.

Reading Check

1. When was Tom and Jerry first released？

A. In 1940. B. In 1992. C. In 2002. D. In 2012.

2. What can be inferred from paragraph 4？

A. Most funny films are without dialogue.

B. Bill Hanna composed the music of Tom and Jerry.

C. The creators talked many times about the characters voice.

D. Charlie Chaplins silent films influenced the creators a lot.

3. Whats Jerry Becks attitude to Tom and Jerry？

A. Indifferent. B. Satisfied. C. Ambiguous. D. Negative.

4. Who owns the rights to Tom and Jerry now？

A. Ken Jeong. B. Scott Bradley.