Jerry's Diary

Jerry's Diary is a 1949 one-reel animated cartoon and is the 45th Tom and Jerry short released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, produced by Fred Quimby, scored by Scott Bradley, and animated by Kenneth Muse and Ed Barge. It is the first of several compilation films T&J shorts, integrating footage from previous shorts into the plot.

Summary
Tom places a bunch of traps in front of Jerry's mouse hole. He raises a cleaver over the hole but is immediately stopped by a talking radio. The announcer, portrayed by Uncle Dudley, tells him it is "Be Kind To Animals" week. Tom removes the traps he just set up and returns with flowers, a present, and a pie with, "To Jerry with Love" on it. Tom knocks on the wall but Jerry is not there. Tom removes the grate on the wall and sees that Jerry is not at home. But he does see his diary. Tom reaches in, grabs it, and starts to read it.

The first entry dates on Sunday, April 5, when Tom used Jerry as a Tee when he played golf. The scene from Tee for Two opens, where Tom uses Jerry as a tee. Tom searches for his golf ball, for unbeknownst to him, Jerry has the golf ball. Tom then washes Jerry in a ball cleaner. Tom is laughing while reminding this scene. But after reading the next part of the entry, Jerry is forced to hold the tee. Tom hits the golf ball which ricochets on a rock and the ball shatters all his teeth like glass. Because of this, Tom's mood immediately goes down and he turns to another entry.

The next entry dates on Thursday, May 12, when Jerry got curious about Tom and it almost got him caught. The scene from Mouse Trouble opens, where Tom is reading a book and guffawing. Jerry comes out of his mousehole, curious about why Tom is laughing. Tom keeps turning the book away and laughing again. Tom finally traps Jerry and takes him out, but Jerry uses a similar trick and punches Tom in the eye.

Because of this, Tom gets angry from what he has read and throws away the flowers in frustration. He turns to another entry which dates on Monday, June 3, when Jerry got Tom into two nasty surprises in a chase. The scene from Solid Serenade opens, where Jerry is being chased and he dives into the kitchen sink, but the pesky mouse drains the sink filled with piles of dishes for Tom to crash into. Jerry traps Tom's neck by slamming the window shut, which causes Tom to scream like a New Year's Eve blowhorn.

Because of this, Tom is enraged at what Jerry has written about him and he destroys Jerry's present (which appears to be a box of chocolates) in frustration. He is just about to throw the diary away when he opens it again and reads one more entry dating Saturday, July 4, when Tom and Jerry fought using firecrackers. The scene from The Yankee Doodle Mouse opens, where Tom and Jerry are continuously fighting over a firecracker. Just then, the explosion occurs on Tom, who traps Jerry in a teapot with a firecracker, which mysteriously goes out by accident. Jerry escapes and Tom looks inside the teapot, which accidentally causes the firecracker to blow up in his head with him appearing in a Blackface sunflower.

Because of this, Tom then rips Jerry's diary to pieces in frustration just as soon as the mouse comes home. He is happy to see that Tom has baked him a pie. Jerry points at the pie and then points to himself, asking if the pie is for him. Tom is just about to strangle Jerry when Uncle Dudley, via the radio, stops him once again. "And now before your old Uncle Dudley says goodbye, did you get a nice little surprise for your animal friend?" Tom picks up the pie with a devilish smile. "You did? Well let him have it." At the end of the cartoon, Tom throws the pie on Jerry while he fishes out his hands, then Jerry, who is rather dazed, looks into the camera and shrugs his shoulders.

Availability
DVD
 * Tom and Jerry's Greatest Chases, Vol. 1
 * Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection Vol. 3, Disc One