The iconic cat and mouse duo had a lot more going on than you think
People are only just coming across the dark truth behind a resurfaced Tom and Jerry episode.
The animated series – which became famous in the 1940s for its 161 short films – centred around a cat and a mouse who didn’t like each other, at all.
House cat Tom is always trying to kill mouse Jerry and many shorts are often set in the backdrop of a house.
The Tom and Jerry episode in question came out in 1949 (Warner Bros.)
However, in one eight-minute episode from 1949, ‘Heavenly Puss’, we witness Tom getting killed by the weight of a piano.
Tom has only got one chance at the afterlife and that’s if he apologises to Jerry in heaven.
But that’s not why people are stumped.
A short clip from the episode that’s been posted on social media shows Tom arriving in heaven, going up a gold escalator into the clouds.
After getting off the ‘Heavenly Express’ train line, Tom has to wait in a queue behind other cats who are ‘checking in’ to heaven.
Viewers are only just realising the dark reason why these characters are in a sack (Warner Bros.)
The check-in clerk then asks each cat how they died and as more and more come through, we witness three kittens pop out of a wet, bouncing sack.
It turns out the dark meaning behind the characters is that someone had most likely thrown the kittens in a sack to let them drown.
Having figured out that tiny, but eerie, detail in the episode, fans have been left ‘traumatised’.
“You don’t see it when you’re a kid. You haven’t been corrupted yet so don’t know what it means,” one person commented.
Another viewer penned: “What seemed like just another cartoon now feels so much more emotional and unsettling when viewed through adult eyes.”
We were too young to understand this Tom and Jerry episode from 1949 where three drowned kittens arrive in Heaven pic.twitter.com/Z0mQ0oiQKd
— Historic Vids (@historyinmemes) September 15, 2024
A third wrote: “My god. As kids we didn’t realise how dark these cartoons could be! looking back at this now just makes me cry.”
While a fourth also pointed out: “That’s so touching! I love how the episode handles the concept of loss and the afterlife in a way that’s both gentle and profound.”
“Omg, Soo true.. I remember watching this as a kid.. it all just flew right over my head!! The bag of wet kittens…” a fifth commented.
Though someone else decided to play the UNO reverse card and wrote: “At what age did you realise that Jerry was the villain.”
That is just too much to comprehend right now tbh.
Tom and Jerry, which picked up seven Academy Awards in its day, was made by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera.
The ordinal series ran from 1940 to 1967, and reboots have, and still are, being made.
Featured Image Credit: Warner Bros.
