Tom and Jerry gets a cool bit of its history placed on display in “The Gene Deitch Collection”. Deitch worked at the start of the 60s and his animation was produced overseas. The shorts were produced in Czechoslovakia and the names of the animators were made to be American friendly. Still, these were an odd series of shorts being producer by foreign labor that never really cared for the material.
As I watch the shorts for the first time in ages, they look interesting enough. Still, there’s something about the animation style that feels cheap. I guess that it’s the Eastern European influence, but it pales when compared to the Chuck Jones shorts that started immediately after Deitch got fired. The series represents such a weird time in animation history, but it’s a time that needs to be represented.
The DVD comes with featurettes about Gene Deitch and his work with the characters. The A/V Quality is pretty strong for standard definition. The Dolby 2.0 mono track is clean for shorts of its age. Plus, the transfer represents true three strip technicolor represented on DVD. In the end, it’s worth a purchase for Classic Animation fans.
Release Date: 6/2/15
