Favorite Film #18, 1946: Solid Serenade. Directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera

The quintessential Tom and Jerry film. Solid Serenade is an absolutely phenomenal burst of slapstick adrenaline, that races through it’s 7 minutes faster than I can blink! Not since Tex Avery and Frank Tashlin has there been a cartoon that bursts through the door this fully energized from the opening titles. It just doesn’t stop! Every single second in Solid Serenade is the most energetic and hilarious moment in the entire Tom and Jerry filmography! Even Scott Bradley’s typically excellent score sounds completely rejuvenated, with Is You Is or Is You Ain’t my Baby being one of the all time greatest musical numbers in animation history! This is the single greatest chase cartoon ever made, one of the funniest films of all time, and the culmination of all the filmmaking skills William Hanna and Joseph Barbera had spent the last six years fine tuning. An absolutely brilliant film!