The Milky Waif (1946) User Reviews

The First Of The 'Nibbles" Intro Films

[ccthemovieman-1 · 7/10 · 12 July 2007]

I swear I have seen another cartoon in which the character "Nibbles" was "introduced" yet the opening scenes in here make it sound like he's introduced in THIS cartoon. I finally looked it up and found out THIS cartoon was the first and the other one - "The Little Orphan" - was the similar story, and released in 1948.

Anyway, Jerry wakes up from a bad dream and hears a knock on the door and there, under a blanket in a little wooden bowl is the little gray mouse. Attached to the blanket is a note saying, "Please take care of Nibbles. He's always hungry. P.S. Feed him lots of milk."

Well, as a watched this I realized it's a different story because in the other cartoon, the "orphan Nibbles" eats Jerry out of house and home. Here, he's just a milk freak, so the story centers around the little one getting his milk from Tom's bowl.

The gags are funny in here, I am to give them that. I also have to remark how violent some of these T&J cartoons are, not that it bothers me but often I am almost shocked at the amount of it....mainly because I can't believe the pain that usually inflicted on the poor cat (Tom). It's unbelievable what this cat goes through in most of these cartoons, but this one isn't as rough. At least both mice get a little of their own medicine, too.

White washing history

[movieman_kev · 7/10 · 30 May 2005]

Featuring the first appearance of Tuffy (known in this short as Nibbles). After Jerry awakens from a nightmare, he finds a baby mouse at his door with a note asking him to care for it. Jerry then attempts to get milk for the infant much to Tom's chagrin. This is the first cartoon short that the Spotlight Collection DVD drops the ball with. Originally the two mice appeared in black face for a gag. But it's gone here in a misguided attempt at being overly PC and the short is worse of for it. That got on my nerves. This cartoon (minus the black face part) can be found on disc one of the Spotlight collection DVD of "Tom & Jerry"

My Grade: A for the original; C for the bastardized DVD version

Who has custard pies anyway?

[CuriosityKilledShawn · 7/10 · 8 January 2007]

Jerry wakes from a nightmare by a knock at the door only to discover he's been made a surrogate daddy to a baby mouse called Tuffy. The attached note claims that Tuffy loves milk and Jerry must find a way to get him some. Tom has a big bowl full of it, but they'd only be asking for trouble if they were to go steal.

The chase begins and it is rather funny, if a bit generic. I did notice moment of weird editing in a certain scene, but later found out that the version I saw was censored by the PC Police for containing a scene where Jerry and Tuffy disguise themselves as African Americans. I would say 'black men' but they ARE mouses. I do wish the overzealous censors would leave these harmless cartoons alone.

This gripe aside, it was entertaining nonetheless. But the crappy custard pie jokes are beneath Tom and Jerry standards!

Tuffy-nuff?

[Antzy88 · 30 July 2001]

Jerry awakens to find a mysterious basket outside his front door, and finds a little baby grey mouse within, who he learns is known as Nibbles via a note that also tells Jerry to look after him and feed him lots of milk. Trouble is, the biggest store of milk available is in Tom's milk bowl...

This was the first cartoon to feature Nibbles (who would in later years assume the name Tuffy), and is really good, although some of the more violent gags are quite painful.

Flawed, but cute and funny

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 24 June 2010]

I am well aware this is our introduction to Nibbles, and The Milky Waif is a cute and funny cartoon even with the flaws. Some of the editing is a tad choppy occasionally, and the ending verges on the ridiculous, yet there is still a lot to like. The animation is really nice, and the music is energetic and rousing. The sight gags and chase scenes are cleverly constructed and get a lot of laughs from me. Tom is likable enough, Jerry is cunning and caring and Nibbles steals the show just by how adorable he is.

Overall, it is a flawed Tom and Jerry cartoon, but it is still thoroughly enjoyable and has the cute factor about it. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Awesome!

[NikitaChillyWillyFan938Rodin · 10/10 · 3 December 2019]

I love Tom and Jerry since I was child, and this episode is one of best Tom and Jerry episodes ever!

This episode is first appearance of Jerry's son, Nibbles Mouse.

This episode have good music, good animation, and good and funny plot.

The only bad thing about this episode, is that in this episode Tom is Antagonist, Jerry hits Tom and Tom loses in the end.

A really funny and an awesome Tom and Jerry cartoon. This episode is better than motherfreakingcraping Southbound Duckling and motherfreakingcraping The Invisible Mouse

Another fun T&J cartoon

[Horst_In_Translation · 6/10 · 22 December 2017]

"The Milky Waif" is an American cartoon from 1946, so this one is already over 70 years old and it is a Hanna Barbera production and of course another Tom & Jerry cartoon, at almost 7.5 minutes one of their longer ones. It's also among their earlier ones, as you can see from the characters' (especially Tom's) looks, but not earliest. Here they go with the known formula already of including another new character in order to keep the cat-mouse routine between the two protagonists from becoming repetitive. And little Nibbles with his tiny size and diaper is just too cute to be true, perhaps fighting with Sniffles for the top spot in cartoons from back then. Jerry is more of a supervisor here, interfering when the going may get a bit too tough for the milk-longing Nibbles. Interestingly enough, Jerry shows some unique stuff nonetheless in here like his Momma Two-Shoes voice and his super powers at the very end. In terms of the former, I'm sure some will find the looks of him a bit racist, but I couldn't agree less. People need to stop being so overly sensitive, politically correct etc. Back then nobody was offended and today it would be so many, probably even Whites. So yeah, watch it and enjoy it for the fun it is. Apparently you even get to hear the incomparable Mel Blanc in here on one occasion, which is definitely a rarity for a cartoon starring the world's most famous cat&mouse duo. All in all, a good funny watch. Not one of my most favorite or least favorite T&J cartoons I'd say. Certainly worth seeing for everybody who likes old cartoons. Of course, I give it a thumbs-up.

Jerry takes in a foundling

[Tweekums · 8/10 · 12 August 2012]

This 'Tom and Jerry' short opens with Jerry awakening from a nightmare and finding a baby grey mouse abandoned outside his home. The accompanying note explains that the baby mouse is named Nibbles and that he likes milk... a lot of milk! Jerry has barely finished reading the note before Nibbles is head towards Tom's milk. It isn't long before Tom is chasing after the pair of them as Nibbles continues to try to get his milk. As usual the tables get turned and Tom ends up suffering at the hands of both mice; they don't get it all their own way though; Jerry gets hit by a frying pan and Nibbles gets his backside tanned with a fly swat.

This was a fun short as Nibbles made a fun addition to the regular cast and there were plenty of amusing sight gags. Nothing too unexpected happens but one doesn't really expect that with Tom and Jerry... when it comes down to it the only question is 'how will Tom suffer this time?' There is one scene that may surprise modern viewers if they watch this in its uncensored form; Jerry and Nibbles use boot polish to make themselves look black then as they walk past him Jerry talks in the voice of Tom's black owner; not exactly politically correct so I wasn't surprised to learn that it is cut by many broadcasters!

Meet Baby "Nibbles"

[StrictlyConfidential · 6/10 · 29 June 2021]

"The Milky Waif" was originally released in 1946.

Anyway - As the story goes - Nibbles, a baby mouse with a one-track mind for milk, causes all sorts of trouble for Jerry, who tries to prevent Tom from striking the baby.

The House of the Groaning Fat Cat always has been . . .

[oscaralbert · 8/10 · 1 September 2022]

. . . a prime specimen of self-loathing, and THE MILKY WAIF is a perfect example of this. No one would sign up for years of buying litter and spending a fortune to kowtow to a feline's fiendishly fickle financially-draining finicky food phases after seeing this picture, which delights in depicting said fur-balls as inept thankless loser pets. Cats are shown to be totally defenseless at keeping a household from being overrun by voracious vicious vermin here, as apt to foster disease-spreading pests as to corral them. Tom the Cat is given the super power of being able to wield a gun. This implausible turn of affairs simply results in Tom shooting off his own tail, which has become a constant refrain from Leo's Poverty Row animation studio. Tragically, Tom did NOT manage to squander all of his lives here, since he seems to be endowed with an infinite number of these by his unimaginative bevy of doodling dolts.

Super Jerry saves the day.

[BA_Harrison · 5/10 · 14 June 2008]

The Milky Waif introduces Tom and Jerry fans to a new character in the form of Nibbles, an impossibly cute little grey mouse in a diaper, who is left abandoned in a basket on Jerry's doorstep. Attached to Nibbles' basket is a note that says the wee little fella needs lots of milk, which means that Jerry must risk life and limb to raid Tom's bowl...

Apart from the introduction of a new pal for Jerry, this is another unremarkable episode full of generic chase scenes and the usual violence one expects from the duo. It's fun for most of the running time, but is completely let down by a ridiculous ending which sees Jerry lose his temper and totally trash Tom the cat. This leads me to ask why Jerry has never blown his top before, since it obviously imbues him with supernatural strength.

This one was a 6/10 up until the silly closing scene, which forced me to lower my rating to a 5.