A Swiss Trick (1931)
Starring: Anonymous Voice Actors
Directors: John Foster and George Stallings
Rating: Eight of Ten Stars
World-travelers Tom and Jerry are stranded in Switzerland, where learn about the strange local culture and discover the side effects of eating too much Swiss cheese.
"A Swiss Trick" is one of handful of entries in the "Tom and Jerry" series that see our heroes traveling to faraway lands and meeting the people and creatures that dwell there. This one starts a bit weak--with an extended Alps-related train gag that is more repetitive than amusing--but gets funnier and more surreal as it goes. By the time we get to the end, with our heroes having angered the Swiss villagers and having learned an unpleasant secret about their much-celebrated cheese, this emerges as one of the best entries in the series. The catchy music throughout and the nutty musical routines add greatly to the entertainment value.
This is another of those Tom and Jerry cartoons that needs to be experienced, and the longer I go on the greater the chance of me spoiling something. So... why don't you grab a soda, click on the embedded video below, and lean back for seven minutes of Swiss-inspired weirdness?
Trivia: On the day this review was originally posted--December 19, 2020--it was exactly 89 years since "A Swiss Trick" originally appeared in theatres.
Great review!
ReplyDeleteI gave it one less point than you because of the sloppy animation, but some very clever absurdist humour and amazing music! Much better in both those regards than what the Disney studio was producing at that time!
Thanks for the comment -- and I agree with you about Disney.
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