The Million Dollar Cat (1944) Poster

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7/10
enjoyable
movieman_kev30 May 2005
Tom the cat stands to inherit a cool million dollars even on the stipulation that he can't harm one single living thing even a mouse. So of course Jerry the mouse has a field day with this news and torments Tom unmercifully, but you can only push a cat so far. This is a humorous cartoon. Tom speaks in this one, but it's not as grating as it was in the "Zoot Cat" short so I didn't mind quite as much. While it's not one of Tom and Jerry's best if you like these type of animated shorts, you could really do worse than this one. This cartoon can be found on disc one of the Spotlight collection DVD of "Tom & Jerry"

My Grade: B+
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8/10
Tom gets rich meanwhile Jerry goes to far.
stephen068420 January 2008
Warning: Spoilers
In this picture from 1944, Tom gets an telegram that states he inherited a million dollars. Provided he dosen't harm any living creature including an mouse. Jerry loves the clause but Tom dosen't. They end up in Park Avenue in an New York City apartment and throughout the picture, Jerry keeps reminding Tom about the telegram. Which forces Tom to seemingly to make sure Jerry's death was acendental. However, no matter what Tom does, there was Jerry not far behind. They even shared an bed together expect that Jerry pushes tom off the bed and just when Tom is preparing to kill Jerry with an bat, he reminds Tom about the telegram. So, Tom hits himself with the bat. Eventually, Tom's had it and stuffed Jerry's mouth with the telegram,and starts his revenge with Jerry. He tells the audience that he's throwing away an million dollars. But, he's happy and resumes his revenge. Now this is one of an few films that either character speaks as well. I recommend it as well.

This picture gets an 8 out of 10.
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8/10
Money can't buy happiness.
Pjtaylor-96-1380447 April 2020
'The Million Dollar Cat (1944)' is a 'Tom & Jerry' short in which the former is granted a million dollars by his owner's eccentric aunt, on the condition that the cat harms no living creature - not even a mouse. Of course, this tantalises Jerry as much as the cash does Tom. Once the feline has moved into his new lifestyle, the tenacious little guy leeches off him. How much of this humiliation can Tom take? Well, that's where the fun of the film comes in. By restraining the cat's ability to clobber the mouse, the piece gives itself a unique challenge which it meets tenfold. It's entertaining throughout, with some great set-pieces and a streak of subversion. The beautiful animation leads to some terrific sight gags and the ultimate punchline is as satisfying as you'd expect it to be. In the end, this is probably one of the duo's best outings. 8/10
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10/10
The Million Dollar Cat
TheLittleSongbird5 July 2010
Yet another delightful Tom and Jerry cartoon. The best? Probably not. The funniest? Same answer really. Entertaining? Very! In short I thoroughly enjoyed this cartoon. It did have a nice story, probably not the most original but is still effective, and the sight gags are very funny and inventive. What I loved most about The Million Dollar Cat though was the animation, the backgrounds were lovely, the colouring audacious, the characters well drawn and the skyscrapers wonderful and majestic to look at. True, there are better looking Tom and Jerry cartoons, but for its time it is perfectly reasonable. The music as always is energetic, while Tom and Jerry are both great as Jerry constantly reminds Tom "not even a mouse". Overall, very entertaining and well animated. 10/10 Bethany Cox
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10/10
One of my favorites!
lennoxxx16 February 2006
This is absolutely one of my favorite Tom & Jerry Short! It Starts when Tom is playing dart and jerry is in the goal-table, Tom receive a telegram saying that his masters aunt has left 1 million dollars to Tom, he screams out his happiness and Jerry is wondering why he is so happy, then he goes and read the letter and it says that if Tom hurts a living thing, he loses all his money.. Tom moves to Park Ave and of course Jerry follows him to his new place, and torment him all the time by eating Tom's food, throwing him out the bed, using the shower all the morning knowing that Tom can do nothing to stop him..

The next morning Tom is waiting to enter the Bathroom but jerry is in there and he opens the door and take Tom's towel and closes the door and Tom is trying to open the door but fails, He begins to think how he can get rid of Jerry and gets an idea! He writes a paper where it says ''Fire Exit'' and put it in the window and he starts a little Fire and Jerry jumps down the skyscraper and Tom is so happy and go to eat his breakfast but then to his surprise Jerry appears with the cutlery and eat up all Tom's food, throwing food at him and degrade him, Tom get's Furious and tear the Telegram apart and press the teared paper in Jerry's Mouth and screams in anger and destroy the whole table and gets enraged against Jerry and he speaks too! ''Im throwing away a million dollars.. But I'm Still happy!'' And so it ends...

Enormously funny entertainment! If you haven't seen it i strongly recommend it!

My Grade: A+
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6/10
Money Can't Buy Tom's Happiness
ccthemovieman-111 February 2007
Tom gets interrupted from playing William Tell with darts (with Jerry being the poor victim with the apple on his head) when he gets a telegram stating his "eccentric Aunt Harriet" died and has left him a million dollars!

Jerry is all excited, too, as happy as Tom. How could that be? Well, points to the bottom of the telegram, which Tom didn't see. It said "all benefits will cease should the cat bring harm to any living thing EVEN A MOUSE."

Tom makes all the headlines in the New York City papers as he marches his way to a penthouse on Park Avenue. (Jerry has a mouse hole with a veranda on top that says, 1/2 Park Ave. He wears a top hat, tails, gloves, etc., too!)

However, as the story unfolds we get the message that "money doesn't buy happiness." Jerry hogs most of Tom's luxury items and food and each time the cat is ready to kill the mouse, Jerry pulls out the telegram reminding him he can't. It's driving Tom nuts. In the end, well, he'd rather be poor and happy by beating the crap out of Jerry.

In all, I would label it slightly below-par, laugh-wise. It looks like one of the earliest Tom and Jerry animated shorts. The artwork is not up to par and it just has a primitive feel to it.
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10/10
Tom a Rare Good Guy and Jerry a Rare Bad Guy
ShelbyTMItchell6 December 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Tom is torturing Jerry aka William Tell receiving a telegram. Saying he received $1M for an eccentric aunt on the condition that he not harm any animal. Including a mouse as Jerry took advantage of Tom Usually I am on the mouse's side but not in this one. Really Jerry crossed a line and poor Tom despite his luck at the money but Jerry is the one tormenting Tom and bullying him. As Tom tries to find ways to get rid of his friendemy. But no such luck for him there! You had to feel sorry for the cat. Knowing he could lose a million but prefered happiness over money as in the end, it is best never to get on Tom's bad side and the rare time either of them speaks as the actions speak louder than words. Money can buy you toys but not happiness! Tisk Tisk!
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7/10
Feel Bad for Tom
shelbythuylinh13 December 2021
Warning: Spoilers
One of the very few times Tom is the winner and Jerry is the antagonist. As that he inherits from an aunt a very cool million dollars but can't hurt a living thing even a mouse on that condition.

But really Jerry had us mad and how that he had a field day tormenting Tom as he really, really was pushed to the boiling point there. Jerry crossed beyond a huge line.
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The Million Dollar Cat
Michael_Elliott29 December 2015
The Million Dollar Cat (1944)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

One of the classics in the series, Tom receives a telegram telling him that he's inherited a million dollars but he can only keep it as long as he doesn't hurt anything. Including a mouse. Tom heads to New York City where he's living it up but it doesn't take long for Jerry to show up and begin tormenting him. THE MILLION DOLLAR CAT is the one episode where I can say I really, really hated Jerry. I mean, he's just so vicious and cruel to Tom here that you can't help but hope something happens to him so that Tom can enjoy his life and money. This film features a lot of very funny moments but of course it's all building up to whether or not Tom flips out and gives up on the money. Very fast, very fun and certainly one of the best.
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10/10
I'm throwin' away a million dollars... BUT I'M HAPPY!
Kalashnikovin14 September 2022
Tom and Jerry is a complete Classic and the Best Cartoon I have seen in my life, "The Million Dollar Cat" is a complete classic and possibly the Best Cartoon of the duo, I am not lying when I tell you that it is Excellent, surpassing Most of the Disney and Warner Brothers cartoons of the time.

The Story is quite good, Although not original enough to be considered its own, but ideally it has a good plot development, the Cartoon focuses on Tom, who is Surprised while Playing William Tell darts with Jerry, a Telegram arrives where Tom is told that if Eccentric Aunt Harriet has given him One Million Dollars!, But the Happiness does not last long when he reads that one of the conditions to keep the Money is "Not to Harm Any Living Being Again" so Tom has to resist the urge to beat Jerry.

After that we see Tom suffer in a thousand and one ways while Jerry has an incredible time, then Tom is fed up that Jerry is really enjoying the money instead of him, he decides to destroy the Telegram and return to his normal attitude with the Mythic Phrase "I'm throwin' away a Million Dollars... BUT I'M HAPPY!".

Tom is Possibly the most outstanding character here, After receiving the Million Dollars he fills himself with luxuries, bathes in Milk and has Exceptional Banquets, although Jerry gives him an infernal Torment to the point that Tom tried to burn down the Bathroom Door to finish with Jerry, but other than that, Tom is the character you're going to sympathize with the most in the cartoon.

One of the main attractions of the cartoon is the splendid animation that it has, both the House and the Exterior are Perfect, the city looks Beautiful as well as Tom's Car, the Movements are fluid and although the Designs of the Characters They are still somewhat rough, they are a great advance and they are becoming what they would be in the future.

The Music is Completely elegant and frenetic, first Tom Playing Darts a la William Tell and then Tom celebrating having won a lot of money, there are too many good scenes that would not be the same without the music, likewise, many MGM cartoons would not be the same without Scott Bradley really.

One of the things that I like the most about The Million Dollar Cat, was that it explores other environments, we are not in the Typical Rural House of Mammy Two Shoes, now we are in a more Urban environment (Possibly Chicago or New York) We see some Urban shots making this cartoon stand apart from the rest, these same Ideas would be Perfectly Implemented a Couple of Years Later with the Excellent, Mouse In Manhattan (1945), but continuing the theme, it's Interesting and cool to see the duo in a different setting to the usual.

The Cartoon itself, in addition to its Good qualities, expresses an Incredible Message and although quite well known, it expresses it in a good way, We see Persevering Tom suffer due to not being able to fight Jerry, we see him desperate and endure all that Torment until he simply explodes destroying the telegram and voluntarily rejecting the Money, therefore, we see that Tom really did not need the money to be happy and the only thing he needed was to do what he liked!.

The Million Dollar Cat is Possibly the Best Cartoon I've seen of the Cat and Mouse Duo and that's Too Much, I never decided which was the Best but I think this is one of those chosen for that position, but as I said, a complete classic which is basically Perfection reflected in a Cartoon, Animation is Brilliant even beating Disney, Music is elegant and fun as ever and adds a lot to the cartoon, Story is a Great Improvement over previous Cartoons and You can see a better job in the Script, Bill and Joe apply several Gags that really work and the Cartoon itself is Basically Perfect.

For everything I've said above, The Million Dollar Cat gets an incredibly deserved 10.
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6/10
Meowlionaire moggy.
BA_Harrison21 February 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Aunt Harriet leaves Tom $1m on the condition that he doesn't harm a living thing, even a mouse. Naturally, this gives Jerry free rein to torment Tom, but a cat can only be pushed so far...

This one is a fairly predictable example of Tom and Jerry knockabout fun-nothing exceptional, but enjoyable enough for fans of the cat and mouse. Jerry helping himself to Tom's food at every turn is vert amusing, as is his ability to suddenly appear despite Tom's best efforts to distance himself from the rodent (Jerry reappears even after being tricked into leaping out of the window of Tom's Park Avenue penthouse apartment).

The finale holds few surprises, with Tom finally losing his patience and attacking Jerry. He's thrown away his fortune, but he's happy!
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9/10
An All-Time Classic
maxschoby13 October 2023
The Million Dollar Cat is an all time classic Tom and Jerry. This cartoon manages to be incredibly funny, creative, and entertaining. Every time I watch this cartoon, I have so much fun seeing this. The whole part after the newspaper montage is an example of peak Tom and Jerry. The scene when Tom gets out of the car and blows a raspberry at Jerry, then hits a pole, makes me laugh out loud every time. Tom's scene at breakfast, the whole sequence where he finally snaps, is so funny. His line, said in the most exasperated way ever, and him screaming in joy going after Jerry is great. Not to mention all the other touches in the cartoon I haven't mention, such as the beautiful morning shots of Tom's apartment, the music in the car scene, as well as animation, and the running gag of Jerry showing off the telegram is great. This cartoon is great. I can't even describe how entertaining this can be. You have to go watch it. This earns a recommendation for sure.
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6/10
Manners vs. millions
Horst_In_Translation28 January 2018
Warning: Spoilers
"The Million Dollar Cat" is an American cartoon from 1944, so this one was released during the days of WWII, and this means it has its 75th anniversary next year. It is a Hanna Barbera production and yes you guess correctly that here we got another Tom & Jerry cartoon and like the others it runs for 7 minutes, slightly under, and even without an Oscar nomination or even win, this is still today among the more, maybe even most, known starring the world's most famous cat-and-mouse duo. Tom for once is the master of the house this time having sent mail to him even and he inherits a huge sum of money under the premise that he can never harm Jerry (or any other living creature) again. I must say as a consequence Jerry is an unlikable nuisance really in here and is just annoying for the rest of the film. Luckily, Tom's instincts prevail eventually and I am happy he's happy, even if it is still somewhat strange to hear him talk. By the way, Bill Hanna voiced Tom himself there. Overall, an okay little cartoon, one of the better T&J cartoons I'd say, but not one of the best. See it if you like old animation.
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5/10
This picture documents that rodents are such obnoxious pests . . .
pixrox129 August 2022
Warning: Spoilers
. . . that most anyone would pay a million bucks to exterminate them, IF they had such funding available. Someone wrote a tome illustrating that IF you give a mouse a cookie, it will demand an apartment on Park Avenue. The fiendish apprentice rat here bedevils THE MILLION DOLLAR CAT every which way from Monday. In his prophetic novel 1984, George Orwell reveals that there is no fate imaginable worse than rodents. WILLARD bore this out later. The only good mouse is one pushing up daisies, Charlie learns in FLOWERS FOR A-L-G-E-R-N-O-N. One does not need to be a "Peeping Tom" to fathom that rodents are a no good terrible destructive plague upon Humanity. Whether it's a Black Death Pandemic or a prematurely lost family heirloom, wanton rat and training rat wickedness is no laughing matter.
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6/10
Meowing For Millions
StrictlyConfidential28 June 2021
Warning: Spoilers
"The Million Dollar Cat" was originally released back in 1944.

Anyway - As the story goes - Jerry has fun heckling Tom, who has just inherited a million dollars on the condition that he doesn't harm any creatures (including even a mouse).
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