Gerald Jerome "Jerry" Jinx Mouse, is an American character and one of the two titular characters in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's series of Tom and Jerry theatrical animated short films and other animated media, usually acting as the protagonist opposite his rival Tom Cat. Created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, Jerry is an anthropomorphic (but usually silent) brown house mouse, who first appeared in the 1940 MGM animated short Puss Gets the Boot.
The character was not referred to by name in his debut cartoon; Hanna said that the mouse's original name as "Jinx", while Barbera claimed the mouse went unnamed in his first appearance. A 1940 article from MGM's Short Story magazine, however, would refer to the character as "Pee-Wee".
Contents
History
Tom and Jerry cartoons
The name "Jerry" was chosen by Geraint Rowlands, who submitted "Tom and Jerry" as potential names for the duo after an important Loews Inc. distributor in Texas asked for follow-ups to Puss Gets the Boot. While the idea of a cat-and-mouse duo was considered shopworn by the 1940s, Hanna and Barbera decided to expand upon the standard expected cat and mouse relationship. Instead of being a "cowering victim" of Tom, he took delight in besting, and even torturing, his feline frenemy (even if Tom is just following orders or is even just minding his own business and is antagonized by Jerry). Hanna and Barbera considered Tom and Jerry "the best of enemies", whose rivalry hid an unspoken amount of mutual caring and respect for one another. Indeed, Tom and Jerry are not always enemies; they have been known to stop fighting with each other long enough to team up on occasion and get rid of a common foe if the situation calls for it.
In later Tom and Jerry cartoons, Jerry acquired a young ward: a small grey mouse called "Tuffy" or "Nibbles" depending upon the cartoon, who was left on Jerry's doorstep as a foundling baby in the 1946 short The Milky Waif. Jerry and Tuffy were also featured together in a sub-series of Tom and Jerry cartoons set in 17th century France which featured the characters as musketeers. The first of these shorts, The Two Mouseketeers, won the 1951 Academy Award for Best Short Subject: Cartoons.
Hanna and Barbera served as writer/directors of the Tom and Jerry cartoons until 1956, when they also became the producers. Fourteen Tom and Jerry cartoons between 1940 and 1954 were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Short Subject: Cartoons, with seven of the shorts winning that award. MGM shut down its animation department in 1957, but new Tom and Jerry cartoons were produced by Gene Deitch and later Chuck Jones during the 1960s. Jerry would also appear in later Tom and Jerry productions made for television, a series of direct-to-video features, and Tom and Jerry: The Movie, a 1992 theatrical film. Later productions eschewed much of the violence the 1940s and 1950s shorts were known for, and in several of the television shows Jerry was given a red bowtie and a kinder disposition in Tom & Jerry Kids.
Anchors Aweigh
On his own, Jerry Mouse appears in a fantasy sequence in the 1945 Gene Kelly MGM musical film Anchors Aweigh. Jerry appears as the young ruler of a kingdom where music is banned because he feels he lacks talent, and Kelly persuades the mouse into performing a song-and-dance number with him. Kelly and MGM had originally wanted Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse as Kelly's dance partner for the sequence, but Disney was unwilling to license the character.
Hanna and Barbera achieved the effect of Kelly dancing with Jerry by rotoscoping: live-action plates of Kelly dancing alone were shot first, and the action traced frame by frame so that Jerry's movements would match. The success of the animated segment of Anchors Aweigh, which was mentioned as "stealing the show" in contemporary trade reviews, led to two more live-action/animated projects for Hanna and Barbera and MGM: an underwater ballet sequence featuring both Tom and Jerry in the 1953 film Dangerous When Wet, with Esther Williams, and the "Sinbad the Sailor" sequence of Kelly's 1956 film Invitation to the Dance.
Tom & Jerry Kids
In 1990, this version of Jerry wears a red bowtie (just like what he used to have in the 1975 Tom and Jerry Show) and has a tuft of hair on his head. He often taunts Tom (as a kitten) any chance he gets. Sometimes, in a few episodes, he is friends with/allies of Tom.
Tom & Jerry (2021)
The 2021 movie marks the first time when live-action human actors interact with Tom and Jerry who, along with various other iconic characters of the show and all other animals, are 2D animated cartoons. Both characters are called by their actual first names by the end of the film and their full names are given during the end credits, "Jerry" being Jerome A. Mouse.
Voice actors
Like Tom, Jerry is usually a silent character, but this is not a strict rule, and several people have voiced him in various capacities over the years:
William Hanna: Vocal effects in the Hanna-Barbera era (1940–1958) shorts and speaking in Part-Time Pal, Tom and Jerry: Shiver Me Whiskers (archival recordings from classic shorts), The Tom and Jerry Show (2014, archival recordings from the pre-1958 shorts), Tom & Jerry (2021, archival recordings as before) and Tom and Jerry Special Shorts (2021 series) (archival recordings as before)
Harry Lang: vocal effects and speaking in The Lonesome Mouse, whistling in The Bodyguard, whistling and sneezing in Mouse in Manhattan
Kent Rogers: Fraidy Cat and Puss n' Toots vocal effects
Sara Berner: speaking in The Zoot Cat, speaking and singing voice for Jerry in Anchors Aweigh
Jerry Mann: The Million Dollar Cat vocal effects
Lillian Randolph (voice of Mammy Two Shoes): when Jerry and Tuffy disguise to fool Tom in the 1946 short: The Milky Waif
Frank Graham: speaking in Kitty Foiled
Georgia Stark: whistling in Kitty Foiled
Paul Frees: speaking in His Mouse Friday and Blue Cat Blues
Manuel Paris: speaking in Mucho Mouse
Allen Swift: vocal effects in the Gene Deitch era (1961–1962) shorts
Gene Deitch: vocal effects in the Gene Deitch era (1961–1962) shorts
In popular culture
Tom and Jerry were planned to appear in a cameo in the deleted scene "Acme's Funeral" from the 1988 film Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
Xilam's Oggy and the Cockroaches is inspired by Tom and Jerry, with the three cockroaches like Dee Dee, Joey, and Marky and being inspired by Jerry.
Tom and Jerry made a cameo appearance in the 1992 animated TV special The Rosey and Buddy Show.
Jerry has been variously credited as Gerald "Jerry" Mouse in the video game Multiversus, and Jerome A. Mouse in the credits to their 2020 feature film. Neither of these conflicting names is considered canon, according to leading animation historian Jerry Beck.
The stage name of Ukrainian singer Jerry Heil was derived from her use of the name "Jerry Mouse" on Russian social media service VK.
The supreme leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei likened the rivalry between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran to Tom and Jerry, with Iran in the role of Jerry.
Time Magazine noted that late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat admired Tom and Jerry because, in his view, the mouse always outwits the cat—mirroring how Palestinians, seen as the underdog, persist despite adversity.
In 2025, Jerry, alongside Tom, was featured as a playable pilot in Bullet Hell game ACECRAFT.
