In 1939, producer Rudolf Ising and his MGM animation unit were in trouble. Their last animated series, Captain and the Kids, had been a huge flop, in both financial and popular terms.
Ising, on an inspiration, decided to team up two members of his unit and try to strike gold with a new animated series idea. He decided to combine the talents of Wiliam Hanna, a director, and Joseph Barbera, a story man and character designer.
It was Hanna who had the (hardly original) idea of combining a cat and a mouse in a cartoon. Hanna recalled: "We knew we needed two new characters. We thought we needed conflict and chase and action, and a cat and mouse seemed like a great, basic thought." Barbera added that with a cat and mouse "Half the story was written before you even put pencil to paper.
Tom and Jerry got oscar for 7 times
One Quotes from Tom & Jerry
"Narrator: Anyone can now enter the lucrative field of animated cartoons with the new Tom and Jerry Cartoon Kit. This kit contains everything needed for quiet, sophisticated humor--one mean, stupid cat; one sweet, lovable mouse; and assorted deadly weapons. The coffee and cigarettes are for the cartoonists.
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