Created by legendary animators William Hanna and Joseph Barbera in 1940, Tom (a cat) and Jerry (a mouse) have had one of the longest and most beloved rivalries. Tom chases Jerry, and Jerry outsmarts Tom; sometimes it’s the other way around, and Jerry ends up on the receiving end of Tom revenge. On occasion, the two enemies team up to take care of a mutual foe. The concept laid out by Hanna-Barbera is amazingly simple, yet remains highly entertaining even after all these years.

Recently, Warner Bros. released Tom and Jerry: Pint-Sized Pals. The two disc set contains thirty cartoons, mostly from their theatrical run from 1940-58. Also included is a smattering of later cartoons from the more recent Tom and Jerry Tales series. Thankfully, most of them appear to be in their unedited, occasionally violent form. Below is a list of all the included shorts, as well as the year they were produced.

tom and jerry ps-palsDisc One

Love That Pup (1949)
The Dog House (1952)
That’s My Pup! (1953)
Hic-cup Pup (1954)
Pup on a Picnic (1955)
Puppy Tale (1954)
Barbecue Brawl (1956)
Endless Bummer (2007)
Little School Mouse (1954)
Robin Hoodwinked (1958)
Jungle Love (2007)
Royal Cat Nap (1958)
The Vanishing Duck (1958)
Cat Nebula (2006)
Adventures in Penguin Sitting (2007)

Disc Two

Babysitting Blues (2008)
Game Set Match (2007)
Happy Go Ducky (1958)
That’s My Mommy (1955)
Little Quacker (1950)
Southbound Duckling (1955)
Just Ducky (1953)
Cat Show Catastrophe (2007)
Kitty Foiled (1948)
Ho Ho Horrors (2006)
The Two Mouseketeers (1952)
Touche’, Pussy Cat (1954)
Mice Follies (1954)
The Egg and Jerry (1956)
Tot Watchers (1958)

The unifying theme—the presence of other animals in addition to Tom and Jerry—is a loose one at best. Otherwise, this set appears to have been put together at random, with no particular thought to chronology or history. It should be noted that every original theatrical short in this collection has already been previously released on DVD via the Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection sets that were released in 2004, 2005 and 2007 respectively, or can be found on the Golden Collection Blu-ray/DVD that was released in 2011. Still, others are slated to be available on the second Golden Collection, scheduled for release in June of this year.

Obviously, diehard collectors of Tom and Jerry cartons might have little use for this particular set, but Tom and Jerry: Pint-Sized Pals might just be the perfect way to introduce this legendary pair to their kids.  This set is a great value, and provides plenty of laughs, while exposing kids to a nice variety of what Tom and Jerry has to offer.

These DVD’s are strictly a bare-bones affair. Other than the cartoons, the only special features are a couple of trailers for other Warner Bros. animated productions.