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Too much of everything

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

"Flirty Birdy" is a Hanna Barbera cartoon from 1945, the last year of WWII, so this one is already over 70 years old and of course it stars the world's most famous cat and mouse duo. And even if it is not one of the Oscar-nominated ones, it is still among the more known Tom and Jerry cartoons today. Like in so many others, they add one major character to the story for a breeze of fresh wind and this time it is no dog, no stray cat and also none of Jerry's friends or relatives. It is a bird, a hungry hawk willing to devour Jerry at least as much as Tom does. And Tom learns quickly that his lack in physical attributes renders him clearly inferior here, not just because he cannot fly. So he needs to find a way to trick Jerry out of the hawk's dinner plans. And he goes for the most simple bird costume out there, probably intended for comedy reasons. And believe it or not, the bird really falls for that "female bird" (Tom in costume) while Jerry sees through it right away. Oh well. I personally think this is one of the weaker T&J cartoons sadly. I found it underwhelming and while it was full with action and events, it was never remotely funny sadly. Bird may be the word, but he clearly doesn't cut the cake here. And how com Tom always catches Jerry so easily when he is about to lose him afterward (frequently to a competitor), but then again on other occasions has no chance to get him at all. Other than the animation which is as good as always, there is nothing recommendable to this cartoon. My suggestion is to skip it.

Tom is about to tuck into a delicious Jerry sandwich when a huge bird of prey swoops down and flies off with his snack. Not at all happy with having his sarnie stolen right from under his nose, Tom takes off in hot pursuit, determined to retrieve his mousy morsel.As much as I love Tom and Jerry, I have got to say that this one is a bit of a stinker: the story is rather mundane; it introduces a badly conceived peripheral character that lacks charm; and it flogs the old 'dress the cartoon character up as a woman' gag to death.In my opinion, 'Flirty Birdy' rivals 'Fraidy Cat' and 'Mouse in Manhattan' for the title of weakest Tom and Jerry caper thus far.

Foiled by a falcon? Well, it's some kind of bird, anyway. Tom is a half-second away from having a Jerry-sandwich, his jaws ready to clamp down on his mouse-burger when suddenly a big bird swoops down and takes the sandwich away. He, too, wants to eat Jerry. Both Tom and the big bird have bibs on and like Jerry with a little salt!The two then fight over the sandwich, going through and inside tree stumps and limbs, around houses and just the neighborhood in general. Jerry, a confident mouse apparently, isn't fazed. Even when the bird adds mustard to him, Jerry takes the spreader and scratches himself gleefully with it! However cocky he appears, however, he always seems to disappear at the right moment.This was another solid Tom and Jerry cartoon with Jerry evoking more laughs than normal. Tom is pretty funny when he dons his female disguise and starts flirting with the birdie to distract his attention. The eyelash sight gag was very clever. Also in here is the standard eyeball-popping out of head scenes. I wonder how many times that was done in cartoons? It's always effective, despite the gag being used thousands of times. Here, the big bird's eyes pop out so far, they land on his beak like old granny glasses.

Tom the cat has to contend with a buzzard for the right to eat Jerry the mouse at first, then the vulture falls in love with him for some reason. Whenever a third character is in a Tom and Jerry short it can be hit or miss with me. Spike the dog is good, The black maid is good, the duckling is good sometimes. But this one, co-starring a love-stricken vulture as Tom's main foil is not one of the lesser Tom and Jerry shorts. While there are some laughs to be had, it just didn't seem to have that special something to make it one of the keepers. This cartoon can be found on disc one of the Spotlight collection DVD of "Tom & Jerry" My Grade: C