OllieSuave-007 Tom and Jerry teams up again, this time to deal with Spike, the mean, ruthless bulldog which happens to be in Mammy Two-Shoe's house. Tom and Jerry seems to always have a love-hate friend relationship going on, but it works in these cartoons and make the stories unpredictable and unique. Lots of fun here.Grade B+

Horst in Translation ([email protected]) "Dog Trouble" is an American cartoon from 1942, so this one has its 75th anniversary this year and as it is a Hanna Barbera production, you probably guessed correct already that it is another Tom & Jerry film. At 8 minutes, it is minimally longer than most of what Warner Bros and Disney offered back then during the days of World War II. And even if this is not one of the Oscar-winning T&J short films, it is still among their most known today. This may have to do with the story slightly differing from the usual cat-mouse routine. For over half of the film, the main antagonist was the big dog that got accidentally woken up by Tom's shenanigans in pursuit of Jerry. If you have seen other films starring Spike, you know perhaps that he always has it for Tom, but here he is so angry that he got disturbed that he also wouldn't mind eating Jerry. Luckily Tom helps the little mouse as the duo unites to get rid of the brutal canine. This is still one of the early T&J cartoons and you can see that especially by the way Tom was animated, but also like I previously mentioned by Spike's behavior. It was an okay watch. At times a very action-packed little film, but then again also all about the preparation, like towards the end when Jerry sets up the trap for Spike. Of course, after succeeding with their collaboration, Tom and Jerry cannot stay friends for long and the chase continues and this is also an indicator of many more T&J cartoons being released in the years/decades after this one here.

TheLittleSongbird Tom and Jerry, like Disney and Looney Tunes, were a huge part of my childhood, ever since seeing the entire collection at my sister's now deceased godfather's house when I was about 5 or 6. Dog Trouble was one of the first T&J cartoons, that particular era for T&J cartoons were very interesting and are well made and fun but there is the sense that they were still trying to find their feet. You do get that vibe here in Dog Trouble with the routine story and a rather crudely drawn Spike(coincidentally in his first collaboration with the duo). However, the rest of the animation in Dog Trouble is great, the colours are luscious and the backgrounds show detail and fluidity. The music is one of my personal favourites of the early T&J cartoons, just love the trombone motif, the musical laugh idea I have seen a fair bit when it comes to animation but still worked very well here. The gags are as ever physical humour-based, they come thick and fast and are funny, while the chase sequences while not the most original on the block still add to the not-too-rushed-but-never-a-bore pace of Dog Trouble. I also loved the characterisations, Tom is showing a crafty side here, Spike is at his most dog-like and Jerry still is endearing but clever. All in all, very good, just not among Tom and Jerry's best. 8/10 Bethany Cox

ccthemovieman-1 Tom and Jerry on the same side? It didn't happen often but it happens in this early Tom and Jerry cartoon. This is the one the big bulldog is first introduced. "Spike," as we know him, is bigger and scarier than he was in future cartoons, although he never was a slouch in the "scare" department. However, he's like a roaring lion in this one, going after both Tom and Jerry after the latter two were going at each other. This cartoon is so-so, at best, however. Most Tom and Jerry cartoons, in my opinion, in the first year or two were weak in comparison to the rest of the way. The humor isn't as clever in here and the chase routines are just that: routine. Frankly, I never laughed at anything in here. This one had historical value, and little else.