The Bowling Alley-Cat (1942) User Reviews

Begins To Set The Pins, Er Stage

[ccthemovieman-1 · 8/10 · 17 August 2007]

For at least one reason, this was better than the rest of these 1942 Tom and Jerry cartoons: they got out of their house. With new surroundings - in this case, a bowling alley, - it allowed for different and better gags than the normal house scenes.

This starts off slowly, however, and I wondered if it was every going to produce some laughs, but it did, especially with Tom caught in the automatic pinsetter and then the caravan of bowling bowls was pictured as a train. Decent, overall, with the really clever stuff to come in a couple of years. This would have been much better, let's say, in 1945, with crazier stunts.

Nonetheless, this cartoons starts to set the stage for the really funny (and violent) material that also was to come.

Something new

[CuriosityKilledShawn · 7/10 · 21 September 2006]

This is one of the first Tom and Jerry shorts that doesn't take place inside a generic 1940s house but inside, as the title would suggest, a bowling alley. This new environment allows for fresher gags and more imagination. There are some inventive sequences and it doesn't resort to the ancient clichés of Jerry plugging Tom's tail into a power socket or putting his tail in a mousetrap.

There are no humans to be seen at all and it appears that Tom and Jerry at alone in the bowling alley. Which is good. I find that extra characters such as stray cats and unseen humans (including the staggeringly un-offensive Mammy-Two-Shoes) to be a distraction. New locations, new torture devices and no diversions would make Tom and Jerry funny every single time. Too bad they mostly never really turned out that way.

Different and enjoyable

[TheLittleSongbird · 9/10 · 6 May 2010]

While it is slow in pace to begin with, Bowling Alley-Cat is still very enjoyable. It doesn't belong in the best of their cartoons, but in my opinion it is one of their better early ones. For one thing, the animation is lovely, crisp and clean and smooth in general. True, Tom looks like a kitten here, but for 1942 this animation was not bad at all, quite the contrary. The music was a delight, hearing the Waltz from Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty was a real plus, and the sight gags were both original and funny. Also I loved this because it was different, it all takes place in a bowling alley rather than the house, it was really nice to see something new once in a while. Overall, different and enjoyable, definitely worth the watch. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Tom and Jerry find their feet

[Spleen · 21 March 2002]

The Tom-and-Jerry shorts were unquestionably, UNQUESTIONABLY, the most violent cartoons of the golden age. I recall reading that, in terms of bashings, stabbings etc. per minute, the Pink Panther cartoons are the most violent, followed (not surprisingly) by the Road Runner - but we know better than to trust such statistics. It's the Tom and Jerry cartoons that make you say "ouch". This is a tame sample, actually, from the days before Tex Avery came to MGM. Orthodoxy (for instance, Leonard Maltin, "Of Mice and Magic") has it that even the cartoons directed by Hanna and Barbera perked up after he arrived, and orthodoxy is correct. This is still a good cartoon. Watch it, and you'll see the violence I'm referring to clearly enough.

It's a clash between two forces that makes Tom and Jerry so bracingly brutal. Firstly, there's the detailed, polished, true-to-Newton realism. That bowling alley floor really is slippery, and the bowling balls really are heavy - one could get hurt playing with such things. Secondly, there's an element's somewhat muted in this pre-Avery cartoon, although it's still there - the hyper-exaggerated, sadistic anarchy which Avery brought over from Warner Brothers, back when that studio really was producing loony 'toons (mostly not very good ones, it must be admitted). Put them together and you have a bowling ball that will go out of its way to injure a cat, as only a cartoon bowling ball could - except that, somehow, it also behaves like a REAL, genuinely dangerous bowling ball. Ouch.

Tom and Jerry were at their best in the years following this cartoon, when the balance between realism and cartooniness was precisely maintained. At some hard-to-pinpoint moment in the 1950s, the realism got lost, and the cartoons became unbalanced in the opposite direction.

Another factor which enhanced Tom and Jerry cartoons, right through to the end, was their uncertainty. Usually, we side with Tom (the cat), who is mean-spirited but at least honest about it - and usually, it's Tom who is roundly walloped. But Jerry rarely emerges unscathed himself (unlike the Road Runner, or that unendurable creation, Tweety Pie). And sometimes, just once or twice, he gets the worst of the exchange. We suspect that Tom will somehow end up losing the battle, but we don't KNOW that he will - which, I suppose, makes his defeat sting all the more.

Truly A Classic

[JonathanDP81 · 10/10 · 19 May 2000]

This is one of the early Tom & Jerry cartoons and also one of the best. The animation is superb and extremely well done. The antics of both Tom and Jerry as they try to outwit each other are classic. The parts of Tom trying to bowl with a ball that's much too heavy for him are some of the most fluid and natural looking animation of the entire time period. This and another two other sports shorts they made (Tennis Chumps, 1949, and Cue Ball Cat, 1950) have to be on list of top Tom & Jerry cartoons ever. Definitely one of my all-time favorites.

Mayhem at the bowling alley

[Tweekums · 8/10 · 23 July 2012]

This 'Tom and Jerry' short starts off gently with Jerry skating on the slippery surface of the alley; things don't remain gentle for long though as Tom appears and the two of them end up fighting it out as usual. Being in a bowling alley means plenty of violence involving heavy bowling balls and pins as well as the various mechanisms used to reset the pins and return the balls. Who has the upper hand switches between them although for the most part it is poor Tom taking the battering... frequently due to his own actions or stupidity... would any sane person try to catch a flying bowling ball!?

This is a fairly standard 'Tom and Jerry' short although it benefits from the novelty of the location; if you are a fan of the duo I'm sure you'll have plenty of laughs here and if you aren't then odds are you won't. The animation is top notch with the balls given just the right amount of shine to make them look real and thus heavy; clearly the animators weren't rushing and making this on the cheap. The action is inventive as are the accompanying sounds; we hear a speeding steam train as a 'train' of bowling balls bears down on Jerry. Overall it is a fun cartoon than can be enjoyed by viewers of all ages.

Right up my alley!

[BA_Harrison · 7/10 · 14 March 2008]

Early Tom and Jerry cartoons have often been accused of being racist—with Mammy Two Shoes' character possibly being a servant and characters often getting a 'blackface' (amongst other stereotypical ethnic representations)—but now I'm starting to wonder whether I'm seeing examples of racism where there are none. I'm sure that there's one bowling ball in this short that is inexplicably made to look like a 'blackface'. Or maybe not.

Anyway, regardless of my possible hallucinatory concerns, this is actually a pretty entertaining T&J caper, with the guys escaping the confines of their house to wreak havoc in a bowling alley. The fresh environment allows for a whole new wave of creativity, there are plenty of laughs to be had (as well as much cartoonish violence, as one would expect in a place full of machinery and heavy objects), and the animation is as highly polished as the bowling alley we see Jerry skating on, with convincingly weighty bowling balls that look like they could really hurt.

Strike!

[Pjtaylor-96-138044 · 8/10 · 7 August 2019]

'The Bowling Alley-Cat (1942)' isn't complex. Its narrative plays on the most basic dynamic its two stars can possibly have, which is perhaps only natural considering that it's one of the earliest shorts starring the now-famous pair. The classic game of cat-and-mouse is made more interesting by the setting, however, which provides opportunity for some inventive, engaging and visually-stunning set-pieces. Indeed, the animation here is absolutely superb. It's probably the main reason why the piece is as entertaining as it is. It's peppered with satisfying sight-gags that seem so fluid you could almost swear they were real. The whole thing is just so well-accomplished. It's highly enjoyable and often funny, to boot. 8/10

Pin me down with a strike and take a pounding from a bowling ball!

[blanbrn · 7/10 · 17 December 2020]

This "Tom and Jerry" short "The Bowling Alley-Cat" is one that has plenty of action and chase as the two continues their game this time it's in a bowling alley. The animation still is okay and the duo still entertain with their crazy ways as it's like an actual game of bowling when Tom gets pounded by some bowling balls! Overall different setting still a good early episode.

Alley hoop

[Horst_In_Translation · 6/10 · 31 January 2018]

"The Bowling Alley-Cat" is another Hanna Barbera cartoon starring Tom and Jerry as you may have guessed from the title already, a pretty nice play on words there and even if the title only features Tom, Jerry is the one who keeps having the last laugh like so many other times. At exactly 8 minutes, this one's slightly longer than they usually are and it was released back in 1942, so during the days of WWII, and this means that it had its 75th anniversary last year already, which makes it one of the oldest T&J cartoons and from Tom's looks you can see that pretty well as he changed a lot physically from his original form the more cartoons got released over the years. Actually this is number 007 (Bond anyone?). The two are at the bowling alley and it is really just the duo at that point, o other customers, no other animals, no other employees, just the cat and the mouse he is trying to catch. This results in several funny and witty sequences that in fact not only involve jokes on pins and balls (and their faces), but also jokes on other sports like ice skating very early on. I enjoyed the watch here. It's among the better, but not best Tom and Jerry cartoons I have seen (and I have seen lots) just like it is among the more, but not most, known cartoons starring this duo. Go see it, it's worth it in my opinion.

Anyone who's been to a bowling alley knows . . .

[pixrox1 · 6/10 · 19 September 2022]

. . . that walking down the lanes or sliding yourself into the pins is frowned upon. It's also considered improper to pitch your bowling ball as if it were an over-sized black softball, even if one is strong enough to do so. However, Tom the Cat lacks the three fingers necessary to roll a ball like even a rookie k-e-g-l-e-r. He also violates all the norms of sportsmanlike decorum during the course of THE BOWLING ALLEY-CAT. No one would patronize their local lanes after Tom has defiled them. We used to have a neighborhood alley, but it burned down a few years ago and never was rebuilt. This picture makes me suspect that an arsonist cat was hired to help the owner collect some insurance money.

10-Pin Pussy-Cat

[StrictlyConfidential · 6/10 · 27 June 2021]

"The Bowling Alley-Cat" was originally released back in 1942.

Anyway - As the story goes - Tom strikes again when he chases Jerry in a bowling alley where pins fall hard and fast.

A Great Bowling Episode

[maxschoby · 7/10 · 11 October 2023]

The Bowling Alley-Cat is the very first in a series of Tom and Jerry cartoons about sports. This cartoon is where I think, they finally really nail the pacing. The jokes flow naturally, the cartoon is constantly exciting, and the jokes are very good. The most entertaining was definitely when Tom runs to the lobby to try to catch the bowling ball. It is consistently entertaining, but this cartoon doesn't really have the artistry of some later entries. Despite lacking in that department, the cartoon is very consistent. It is able to overall remain funny throughout. I just don't like the color of Tom, and some jokes are just ok. Other than that, a very solid cartoon.

Out of the House

[shelbythuylinh · 7/10 · 13 December 2021]

As they are out of the house. And in that over in the trying to get in the bowling. And that as both are in the title hence there, they are in the using the bowling pins to try to have a go at each other.

Still like all T&J shorts this one is played for laughs and for gags on it.

One of the Best Realistic Animals Tom and Jerry era.

[Otavio-clubpenguin · 14 July 2014]

I Consider the Realistic Animals Tom and Jerry era to start at Puss Gets the Boot and end in Sufferin' Cats.

The Story is that Jerry is having some fun at the Bowling Alley, when Tom appears and wants to eat him, leading some fun and inventive gags, that didn't take place inside a House.

This is Tom and Jerry first cartoon to take place outside a house. And for me, it's for the best, it allowed some new gags, that weren't seen in the earlier episodes, such as Jerry using a bowling pin as a baseball bat, Or Tom trying to catch a bowling ball like a baseball ball and gets smashed by it. Another Highlight was Jerry teleporting himself to other Bowling Ball inside another far away bowling ball.

I recommend it to every Tom and Jerry fan.

The Bowling Alley-Cat

[Michael_Elliott · 27 December 2015]

The Bowling Alley-Cat (1942)

*** (out of 4)

The action and laughs are the same but the setting is different. Jerry is at the bowling alley having some fun when he runs into Tom and chaos follows. THE BOWLING ALLEY-CAT has pretty much everything that the previous Tom and Jerry shorts did but the big difference here is that the action has gone from the house to a bowling alley. While there's really nothing new here there's no question that the new settling allowed for some creative fun. One of the highlights is when Tom plans on eating Jerry but instead gets pounded by some bowling balls. The animation is quite good as you'd expect and there's no doubt that the comic duo were really starting to come into their own.