Tom & Jerry: Golden Collection, Volume 1 Blu-Ray Review – Beloved Cat And Mouse Duo Never Fail To Entertain

Tom and Jerry have chased their way over funny bones and into hearts for generations, and the iconic team’s earliest adventures are unleashed inside this delightful 2-disc collection of 37 Remastered and Uncut Shorts Plus Fun Bonus Features. Created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, the beloved cat and mouse came out of the gate as instant cartoon stars whose hilariously diabolical rivalry delighted everyone. Among these golden nuggets are seven Academy Award nominees and four winners*. And with this in hand, you’re a winner too!

The thirty-seven shorts in the Tom & Jerry Golden Collection Vol. 1 include:

For thoughts on Tom & Jerry: Golden Collection, Volume 1, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

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Video Quality

In 2020, Warner Archive reissued this previously out-of-print Blu-Ray set that was first released by Warner Home Video in 2011. This initial volume of the Golden Collection series for the famous duo is sadly the only installment to date due to a confluence of factors, but hopefully one day they will continue. Due to limitations of the source (many of the original elements were destroyed long ago), this not being handled by Warner Archive directly, and the advancements in restoration processes in the last 13 years, this effort falls short of the usual top-tier quality from Warner Archive that we have seen with releases such as the Tex Avery series or the Popeye volumes. Some shorts look especially off due to their Metrocolor source, but more often than not these shorts look really lovely. 

One of the biggest wins is that DNR has not been applied to these shorts. The drawback for some will be that things can get pretty gritty and grainy, but we much rather have film grain intact than detail digitally scrubbed away for an unnatural aesthetic. This helps preserve some of the subtle details of the animation. There are 37 shorts provided across these two discs, and since they are, well, short, there is still room for compression artifacts to be avoided along with other digital factors. The colors are saturated favorably even though there is a hint that these colors could be a bit more radiant. There are no obvious signs of color bleed, compression artifacts or any other digital anomalies. Despite a couple of drawbacks, animation fans will be happy to own these classics in high quality. 

Audio Quality

The audio quality of the Blu-Ray set is similarly not quite up to the level we would hope, but it still delivers a serviceable collection of Dolby Digital mono tracks. The lack of a lossless option is a disappointment, but it does not sink the set. These shorts do not offer any kind of uniformity in terms of quality, as some sound really rich while others seem to be suffering from a bit of age-related strain. Most of these sound closer to the DVD quality released long ago as opposed to a fresh audio experience. This presentation may showcase a bit more age-related wear and tear than we are used to, but it gets the job done. This disc also includes optional English (SDH), Spanish, and French subtitles during all shorts. 

Special Features

• Audio Commentaries: There are some great commentary tracks provided that bring together many great minds to give some background information on these shorts. 

• • Puss Gets The Boot #1: Animator Mark Kausler

• • Puss Gets The Boot #2: Comedienne Nicole Parker and Historian Earl Kress

• • The Nightmare Before Christmas #1: Author Michael Mallory

• • The Nightmare Before Christmas #2: Comedienne Nicole Parker and Historian Earl Kress

• • The Yankee Doodle Mouse: Author Michael Mallory

• • The Zoot Cat: Historian Jerry Back 

• • Mouse Trouble: Author Michael Mallory

• • Quiet Please!: Animator Mark Kausler

• • The Cat Concerto: Director Eric Goldberg

• • Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Mouse #1: Author Michael Mallory

• • Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Mouse #2: Comedienne Nicole Parker and Historian Earl Kress

• • Kitty Foiled: Historian Jerry Back 

• The Midnight Snack Pencil Test (1941): A nine-minute version of the short in pencil sketch form. 

• How Bill and Joe Met Tom and Jerry: A 27-minute documentary that takes a look at the rise of animation at MGM, the collaboration of Hanna-Barbera, the origins of the iconic duo, the evolution of their style, and more. 

• Vaudeville, Slapstick, and Tom and Jerry: A 23-minute retrospective featurette that takes a look at the comedic stylings of Tom and Jerry, the popularity of comedy teams in classic Hollywood, how slapstick was integrated into animation, and more. 

• The Comedy Stylings of Tom and Jerry: A nearly six-minute look at the exaggerated comedy of Tom & Jerry through interviews with comedians Ike Barinholtz and Nicole Parker and animator Mark Kausler. 

• The Worry Song from Anchors Aweigh (1945): An eight-minute excerpt from Anchors Aweigh which features the duo is provided here in standard definition. 

Final Thoughts

Tom & Jerry: Golden Collection, Volume 1 is a highly enjoyable collection of classic shorts that bring together so many deeply hilarious scenarios for the duo to work through. If you plow your way through all 37 shorts at once, they may begin to feel the slightest bit repetitive, but the creatives typically find a way to put a fun twist on their output. These are bite-sized bits of joy. Warner Archive has re-released a Blu-Ray set featuring a decent A/V presentation and a good number of special features. We hope that Warner Archive can properly continue this line in the future. Recommended 

Tom & Jerry: Golden Collection, Volume 1 is currently available to purchase directly through MovieZyng or various other online retailers. 

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Warner Archive has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.