TheLittleSongbird Tom and Jerry has always been one of my absolute favourites, though I do agree that Down Beat Bear was one of the last that were truly outstanding(I do remember liking Blue Cat Blues a lot though as a kid) and there were a huge number number of classics from when it all started to this point(1956). After this point at their best they were pretty good(some of the better Chuck Jones shorts, none of them are a patch on the Hanna Barbera/MGM era), at their worst they were downright awful(the Gene Deitch cartoons). Back to Down Beat Bear, I love everything about it. The animation is really beautiful to watch, I love the colours which are all smooth and vibrant and all the characters are very well drawn. Down Beat Bear also has some of the best music of any of the Tom and Jerry cartoons, it is toe-tappingly catchy and makes you want to dance yourself. The gags are inspired, the interaction between Tom and the dancing bear are the highlights, and never fall into predictability, while the story is fast moving and always interesting to the audience. Sure the whole escaped animal angle has been done before but not in a way that is this fun. Tom is appropriately crafty, which always has been part of his persona, and Jerry still proves himself to be more than just cute-looking. But the best character was easily the dancing bear, what he does for much of the cartoon is dance and to hilarious results. I wouldn't say no to having a bear like him. All in all, a wonderful cartoon. 10/10 Bethany Cox

ccthemovieman-1 No movie or cartoon is guaranteed to entertain, but if this cartoon doesn't bring at least a smile to your face a few times I would be shocked. Between the music and the sight gags, somewhere in here you are going to have some big laughs and/or smiles.. (If not - if you can't laugh at this - why are you watching cartoons?)Oh, man, is this the 1950s or what? Dig the modern furniture in hear and the "hip" jazz and Dixieland numbers. This will really be nostalgic for anyone around 60 years of age and older, but people of any age should laugh at the dancing bear. He's a cool bear, having escaped from the circus, and he just wants to eat and dance to some fast music.He gets plenty of both at Tom's house (there are no humans around) with the jukebox in the living room. I won't say more, except this is a fun cartoon, fun for the eyes and the ears.This is presented in the widescreen CinemaScope and is part of Disc 2 of the Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection Volume Two DVD.

nnwahler Probably the last of the TRULY GREAT Tom & Jerrys--from HB, of course.....I've noted that the other poster has bashed Hanna-Barbera for their animation. Let me mention that the Fred Quimby you've always seen at the end of the credits was really a do-nothing PRODUCER; H-B were the DIRECTORS, and their 40s and 50s Tom and Jerrys constitute their proudest contribution to the art of animation. In many of these late-50s T&Js, it's the THIRD-PARTY character that's supposed to provide the most interest, and and the creators really hit on a superb example this time with the bear. He's utterly likable and (refreshingly) is no violent threat to Tom (Tom's more annoyed than anything else; most likely he's most alarmed at Jerry taking off at the end to collect the reward money for the bruin's return). SUPERBLY animated dance sequences; frenetically paced; a treat all the way through.

Mary-18 It always irritated me when Jerry decided to mess with Tom's mind just for the pure pleasure of it. Here, Tom attempts to collect a reward on find a runaway dancing bear, and Jerry thwarts him by continuously creating music, causing the bear to grab Tom and jitterbug with him. There really is no other purpose or plot, and it's hard to know who to root for, since none of the three characters have any personality. There's really just one joke here, repeated until the ending seems obvious. But for Hanna-Barbera, the animation is surprisingly good, and it's always nice to see that Jerry has been able to find such nice mouse-sized furniture for his hole-in-the-wall apartment.