What duo first appeared in the 1940 cartoon ‘Puss Gets the Boot’?

Tom and Jerry.

The famous cartoon duo that first appeared in the 1940 animated short Puss Gets the Boot was Tom and Jerry, although they were not yet known by those names at the time. This cartoon, produced by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), introduced the classic dynamic of a cat relentlessly chasing a clever mouse, a formula that would become one of the most beloved and enduring in animation history.

In Puss Gets the Boot, the characters were somewhat different from how they would later be portrayed. Tom, the cat, was originally named Jasper, while Jerry, the mouse, was referred to as an unnamed brown mouse. The short follows Jasper as he attempts to catch the mischievous mouse, only to cause chaos in the house. The plot centers around a strict warning from his owner, Mammy Two Shoes, who tells him that if he breaks one more thing, he will be thrown out. Naturally, Jerry takes advantage of this situation, leading to Jasper’s ultimate downfall.

Surprisingly, Puss Gets the Boot was not originally intended to launch an ongoing series. MGM executives initially believed that the cat-and-mouse chase concept was too repetitive and lacked longevity. However, after the short became a hit and was even nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film, the studio reconsidered. Encouraged by its success, Hanna and Barbera refined the characters and officially renamed them Tom and Jerry, leading to the creation of one of the most iconic duos in animation history.

This cartoon marked the beginning of a legendary series that would go on to win multiple Academy Awards and remain popular for generations. Tom and Jerry’s slapstick humor and timeless rivalry have made them an integral part of animation history, with their legacy continuing even in modern adaptations.