I'm probably going to be the one in the doghouse for posting yet another Tom and Jerry DVD review. To make it easier for everyone, here's the short
version:
If you are a longtime collector of Tom and Jerry on DVD, unsurprisingly, you can go ahead and skip this release. There's no new-to-disc content here.
If you are new to collecting Tom and Jerry cartoons on DVD and are understandably overwhelmed with the sheer number of T&J collections out there:
Tom & Jerry - The Golden Collection, Volume 1 is the one you want to start with.
If anyone is left reading, I will continue the review of Tom and Jerry in the Dog House. I used to pass on reviewing these things, but now have become
oddly fascinated with the number of ways Warner Home Video is able to repackage the same exact cartoons over and over. While the Spotlight Collections
and now the Golden Collection series have had the collector in mind, we've also seen countless discs aimed at the kids/family audience. Typically these are about an hour
in length and feature a random sampling of assorted cat-and-mouse shorts. The previous Greatest Chases series were
collections of the so-called "best" T&J shorts. These were followed by the Fur-Flying Adventures series which were just a hodgepodge of shorts from
various eras (with some shorts of the 2005 Tom and Jerry Tales TV series thrown in). Now we are getting a series of "themed" collections. In the Dog
House, for example, features cartoons co-starring Spike the Bulldog. Other recent (or upcoming) themed discs include Tom & Jerry - World Champions,
Tom and Jerry - Summer Holidays and Tom and Jerry Around the World.
The fact that the contents are, for the most part, thematically related at least gives us a sign that some thought went into the selections (unlike some of the
other kiddie-aimed compilations). Also, this disc has a running time of about two hours, so the target audience is now getting a bit more cartoons for their money.
