The Art Of Tom And Jerry Laserdisc Archive [best] -
The "Art of Tom and Jerry" LaserDisc Archive is considered the "Holy Grail" for fans of classic animation. Released in the early 1990s, this massive box set remains the most comprehensive, unedited collection of the duo's Golden Age ever produced. 📀 Why it’s Legendary
This collection is famous among cinephiles because it captures the MGM shorts exactly as they were seen in theaters. 112 Shorts: Includes every cartoon from 1940 to 1958. Uncensored: Features scenes later cut for TV or DVD. Best Audio: High-fidelity uncompressed analog audio tracks.
The "Lost" Disc: Volume 3 is notoriously rare due to late-series content. 🎨 What’s in the Box?
The set was divided into three volumes, each containing several double-sided discs.
The Early Years: Tracks the evolution from "Jasper" to the sleek 1940s designs.
The Masterpieces: Covers the Academy Award-winning streak (7 Oscars total).
Bonus Features: Includes pencil tests, original trailers, and rare production art.
Physical Art: The jackets feature high-quality frame enlargements and liner notes. ⚠️ The Rarity Factor Finding a complete set today is difficult and expensive.
Disc Rot: Many copies suffer from physical oxidation over time. The Recall: Volume 2 faced minor distribution hiccups.
Collector Prices: Expect to pay $200–$500 for a mint-condition set.
No Modern Equal: Subsequent Blu-ray releases have omitted certain "controversial" shorts found here. 💡 Collector Tips the art of tom and jerry laserdisc archive
If you are looking to track this down, keep these technical specs in mind: Format: NTSC (ensure your player is compatible). Audio: Check for "CX Encoding" for noise reduction. Storage: Keep these heavy boxes upright to prevent warping.
📍 Pro Tip: Look for the Japanese imports if you want even higher print quality, though the menus will be in Japanese. If you'd like, I can: Find current listings on eBay or specialist sites.
List the specific shorts that were censored in later versions. Compare this to the Golden Collection Blu-rays.
The Art of Tom & Jerry is a definitive three-volume LaserDisc archive released by MGM/UA Home Video in the early 1990s. It remains a holy grail for animation collectors because many of the cartoons included are presented uncut and uncensored, featuring original audio and titles that were often edited or redrawn for subsequent DVD and television broadcasts. Archive Overview & Contents
The archive is divided into three volumes, each focusing on a specific era or creative team: Go to product viewer dialog for this item.
The Art Of Tom And Jerry 1992 Mgm Home Video 5 Laserdisc Set - Factory
For animation enthusiasts and physical media collectors, The Art of Tom and Jerry LaserDisc Archive
represents the definitive "Gold Standard" of the franchise’s home video history. Released between 1992 and 1994 by MGM/UA Home Video, this three-volume series was the first time the original theatrical shorts were presented in their proper ratios with high-quality transfers that far surpassed previous VHS editions. The Three Pillars of the Archive
This collection is divided into three distinct box sets, each documenting a specific era or production style of the iconic duo: Volume I (1940–1953)
: A massive 5-disc (10-side) set featuring 70 complete and uncut Hanna-Barbera shorts. It begins with the pair's debut in Puss Gets the Boot (1940), where they were originally named Jasper and Jinx. Volume II (1953–1958) The "Art of Tom and Jerry" LaserDisc Archive
: A 3-disc set containing 48 cartoons, including the experimental CinemaScope
shorts presented in their original 2.35:1 widescreen ratio. It also features rare Spike and Tyke spin-offs and animated sequences from live-action MGM musicals like Anchors Aweigh Volume III: The Chuck Jones Cartoons (1963–1967)
: This final 3-disc set compiles all 34 shorts produced by legendary animator Chuck Jones. It is now considered one of the rarest LaserDisc sets to find on the secondhand market. Why Collectors Prize This Set Before the advent of modern Blu-ray collections like the Golden Era Anthology (available on Instagram)
, these LaserDiscs were the only way to see these shorts in their original theatrical form. Uncut Content
: Most cartoons are presented uncensored, retaining original title cards and dialogue that was often edited out for television broadcasts. Historical Context
: The sets included extensive booklet liner notes and archival supplements that detailed the transition from hand-drawn "2D paper animation" to the more stylized looks of the late 50s and 60s. Superior Transfers
: At the time of release, they offered "new video transfers" that were considered revolutionary compared to the grainy VHS releases of the 1980s.
The Price of Preservation
Today, finding a complete copy of The Art of Tom and Jerry (often packaged in a heavy cardboard slipcase featuring a lithograph of the duo frozen mid-swing) is a challenge. eBay listings range from $150 to over $400 for a pristine, non-rotted copy—"laser rot" being the unfortunate bane of early '90s disc manufacturing.
For those who own a working laserdisc player (or the patient collectors who rip the digital streams for preservation projects), the experience is ritualistic. You must flip the disc halfway through a short. The analog tracking produces a soft, reassuring hum. The video has a softness—a natural grain—that DNR-heavy modern remasters scrub away.
Why Isn't This on Blu-ray?
This is the tragedy of the archivist. Much of the original nitrate film elements for the 1940s Tom and Jerry shorts have deteriorated. The negatives for some of the supplementary material (the photos and sketches) are lost or were destroyed in the 1980s MGM vault fires. The Price of Preservation Today, finding a complete
The Laserdisc represents a snapshot of those materials when they were still viewable in 1989. While Warner Bros. (now owners of the pre-1986 MGM library) has released excellent Blu-ray sets, many of the specific gallery images on The Art of Tom and Jerry have never reappeared. The disc contains variant angles and rough animation drawings that even Jerry Beck’s The 50 Greatest Cartoons book doesn't print.
The "Lost" Audio Mix
Ask any Laserdisc archivist why they hunt this disc, and they won't mention the video first. They will mention the Audio.
Modern streaming versions of Tom and Jerry often suffer from "loudness wars" compression or replaced sound effects (generic boings instead of the original Foley crashes). The Art of Tom and Jerry contains a rare, uncompressed PCM stereo track derived directly from the original 35mm magnetic masters.
Listeners report hearing details that are absent on HBO Max or the 2005 DVD releases:
- The specific "grain" of the cellophane wrap in Puss Gets the Boot (1940).
- The deep, resonant reverb of the cellar steps.
- The full frequency range of Scott Bradley’s orchestra, which is often flattened in modern codecs.
For audio restoration hobbyists, ripping the PCM stream from this LD is the equivalent of finding the master tape.
The Holy Grail of Cat and Mouse: Unearthing The Art of Tom and Jerry Laserdisc Archive
In the golden age of physical media, the Laserdisc (LD) occupied a strange, beautiful limbo. It was too big, too expensive, and too fragile for the average consumer, yet it was the undisputed king of cinephiles and animation historians. For the latter group, one disc has achieved near-mythical status: The Art of Tom and Jerry (1989).
While the VHS generation grew up with pan-and-scan, heavily edited prints, a handful of LD collectors have spent decades guarding a digital fossil that contains the purest, most vibrant version of Hanna-Barbera’s masterpiece. Here is why this specific archive is a time machine back to MGM’s golden age.
The "Letterbox Revolution" Before Streaming
Released by MGM/UA Home Video in 1989, The Art of Tom and Jerry was not a movie, but a curated anthology. Its significance lies in its timing. Before the Disney Renaissance, before the advent of DVD commentary tracks, this disc attempted to treat animation as art.
The LD featured a selection of seven classic shorts, including the Oscar-winning The Yankee Doodle Mouse (1943) and the surreal masterpiece The Night Before Christmas (1941). However, the "art" in the title refers to the supplemental material: production stills, model sheets, and early concept sketches of Tom and Jerry from the 1940s.
For a generation of animators, this was the first time they saw the "staging" of a gag. The Laserdisc’s analog component video output (better than early DVD) allowed viewers to pause on a single cel and study Scott Bradley’s musical timing or the smear frames of Tom running through a wall.