The Cat Above and The Mouse Below (Tom and Jerry)

The Cat Above and the Mouse Below is a 1964 musical cartoon directed and produced by Chuck Jones with backgrounds by Philip DeGuard. It is the second of the 34 cartoons of the Chuck Jones Tom and Jerry series overall.

Synopsis
This cartoon is a musical. Tom is a baritone opera singer who is apart of the "Signor Thomasino Catti-Cazzaza Baritone" concert, who is set to sing "Largo al Factotum" from The Barber of Seville. He arrives at the auditorium via a limousine and walks into the auditorium, singing for his audience. Jerry, however, is sleeping under the stage and is awaken by Tom's really annoying singing! Jerry gestures Tom to stop with a toothbrush, but in return, Tom continues to sing and stomp on the stage, causing Jerry's underground room to shake.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) Funny gags, here and there, very typical of Chuck Jones' slapstick formula.
 * 2) The title of the cartoon short is really creative. Tom is above while Jerry is down under. It totally works!
 * 3) As with all Tom and Jerry cartoons, this one pits the characters in a unique setting. A story of Tom attempting to unleash his baritone singing in a theater show all the while Jerry, living under the floor, is constantly perturbed by Tom's singing.
 * 4) Great voice acting by Mel Blanc (Jones' Looney Tunes collaborator) and Terrance Monk doing the singing voices for both Tom and Jerry.
 * 5) This cartoon has a lot of charm to it.
 * 6) Hilarious ending where Jerry sings in a high-pitched baritone voice after smashing Tom down the floor, in which the mouse gets a standing ovation before the curtains close in.
 * 7) This is considered one of Chuck Jones' finest and most memorable cartoons, with a scope that's even comparable to his earlier Looney Tunes work, ''What's Opera, Doc?"

Reception

 * It holds a rating of 6.9 out of 10 on IMDB.

Trivia

 * This is the only Chuck Jones Tom and Jerry short that attends to be a musical cartoon.
 * This is the first time that Tom sings in a Baritone voice.
 * This cartoon from the Chuck Jones-era acknowledges Tom's full name as "Thomas" via the label "Signor Thomasino Catti-Cazzaza Baritone" on the theatre entrance. This marks the first cartoon since the Hanna-Barbera era where Tom is referred to as Thomas, and the only Chuck Jones-era cartoon to do so.