Tom and Jerry have been getting the royal treatment as far as releases go for quite awhile. There was the Chuck Jones collection and the many Spotlight Collections and now the Tom & Jerry Deluxe Anniversary Collection, like the others, a two disc affair. So what makes this collection stand out among the rest?

The Deluxe Anniversary Collection is divided up into two discs; Oscar Winners and Classic and a Through The Years Collection, both winners in their own right. The first disc starts off with one of the earliest versions of Tom & Jerry (back when Tom was named Jasper), a very sketchy primitive style of drawing for the cat & mouse duo. Like the Tom and Jerry: Chuck Jones Collection Warner Brothers opens with an official statement acknowledging the prejudice factor of the cartoons back then stating that to edit them out in anyway would be like trying to pretend they never existed. While as hefty a political statement as that is I think the entire cast of creators, voice actors, and money men have created characters that transcend race, sex, and any other ism to offer a cultural treasure trove in the art that has made so many of us smile through the years. Truly to let the mindset of years gone by effect something that has given us so much joy would be a shame. Okay, those thoughts aside I really enjoyed this collection for all the same reasons I enjoyed the Chuck Jones Collection.

Over the years Tom & Jerry have gone through some changes, as can be seen here in this collection as we travel from the earliest forms of the characters all the way to the quirky Tom & Jerry Kids show. What this collection signifies is a richer more in-depth look at the show from the rich animation in such episodes as The Cat Concerto to the amazing jazz interpretations that had so much to do with how our silent characters related their every move and emotion (The Lonesome Mouse). The Oscar Winner and Classics disc is simply filled with some of the best of the early years featuring other notable characters that made their way onto the show like Spike and Nibbles the little orphan mouse.

Disc 2: Through the years surprisingly doesn’t feature any award winners but after watching Jerry dancing alongside Gene Kelly in Anchors Away or the duo swimming alongside Esther Williams in Dangerous When Wet you have to wonder how they didn’t get some wins. For me that second disc signifies my years with Tom & Jerry. I can recall laying down on the floor with my Jumbo Spider-Man coloring book watching a slew of Hanna Barbara  shows coming on back to back on a Saturday morning and humming along to the odd little theme song that developed during those years, Tom and Jerry being one of them of course. It strikes a chord with me as I’m sure the many generations of fans will experience as they follow the show through the years (no pun intended). All together simply a fantastic record of the shows existence that the whole family can enjoy. I highly suggest.