[John G]

Looking to replace my old VHS tapes at last. Could someone please advise on which is the definitive Tom and Jerry collection (Fred Quimby produced). There seems to be certain DVD's that have had some cartoons censored. Any help much appreciated.
Cheers, John

[mikegambit]

The best ones to get are the US Spotlight Collection.
There are 3 sets to buy and although they are US dvd's they are coded for R2 aswell.

When first released sets 1 and 2 had censored toons included by mistake and it took a couple of years to get corrected ones sorted.

IIRC a corrected version of set 1 was also censored.

By now corrected versions should be obtained if buying new but you never know.

Personally I think set 3 was screwed up aswell because 2 toons are missing.
But Warner released a statement saying their absense was intentional because of racism - but when you look at what was included in the first 2 sets that excuse does not sound genuine .
My guess is that they simply did not want to have to replace set 3 aswell.

I dont recall the 2 missing titles offhand but they are both included on the UK R2 discs and as sods law dictates they are both on different discs.

If you get all the UK discs you will find that there is at least one toon missing from those aswell which seems to be simply an oversight rather than censorship.
Typical for Warner in the UK I dont think any effort has been made to reissue a complete version.

"Mouse Cleaning" is one of the toons missing from the third US set

If quality is an issue forget the Asian import bootlegs often listed on ebay . They are awful quality.

[John G]

Mike,
Thanks very much for your detailed reply. I have ordered the Spotlight collection from Amazon US.
All the best, John

[mikegambit]

Don't forget to check out the UK discs too.
"Mouse Cleaning" is one you don't want to have missing.

Why Warner US missed it is a mystery because its uncut on the UK dvd and its even been shown on The Cartoon Network completely uncut and its one of the few in circulation on TCN that still has (had?) the original Mammy voice from the time of its making.

I believe Mammy has been revoiced twice over the years and in the case of Saturday Evening Puss even redrawn to be a white woman. That version was on UK VHS tapes but UK and US dvd's have the correct black woman although the UK dvd has the revoiced soundtrack
The same UK dvd with that also carries the censored version of The Little Orphan

[BjRay]

US Spotlight Collection is a good one

[mikegambit]

Originally Posted by chengk5

real classic where to find them?

Amazon.co.uk: tom and jerry spotlight collection

[IAN P]

According to the Digitalbits there's an anniversary set coming out in June.

30 shorts + more.


Uncut? Don't know. I wouldn't bet on it.

[mikegambit]

If you have the Spotlight ones the Anniversary one is not worth getting unless you want a few more extras

[IAN P]

I didn't buy any at all, the alleged censoring puts me right off.

Mammy two shoes etc.


Same reason Song of the South will never be released.

[mikegambit]

If you get the Spotlight Collection you won't have any censoring as the corrected discs have been available for ages.

Although the optical zoom on His Mouse Friday is still present.

The UK ones are poor in comparison with all widescreen ones chopped in half

[IAN P]

Just so I don't manage to get a dodgy Spotlight collection( sods law says I will) I'll get the anniversary set when it comes out.


They might have put some effort in to this re-release, time will tell.

[mikegambit]

But there are only 30 toons on the Anniversary set and some of those are the dreadful later ones .

You will be missing stacks of the Hanna Barbera classics and once you've bought the new set you might end up paying for them again when you buy the Spotlight ones

[IAN P]

The Amazon user reviews aren't helping. People still getting edited discs etc.


Very disappointing if true.


31 quid from my prefered seller for vol-1 2 3.

[mikegambit]

Originally Posted by IAN P

The Amazon user reviews aren't helping. People still getting edited discs etc.


Very disappointing if true.


31 quid from my prefered seller for vol-1 2 3.

I got replacement discs from Warner in the US when they were released so you could too if necessary.

The only thing is that they wanted me to return the edited ones which I planned to do until I realised I had to pay for the return postage

[INXS]

just checked out E-Bay, not much cheaper there so Amazon is a better bet.

[krusty]

i think for complete uncut versions your gonna probably have to buy the asian box sets that pop up on ebaynot sure if they are legit ,but they go for under 20.00. uncut tom and jerry on bbc in the 70,s happy days

[mikegambit]

Originally Posted by krusty

i think for complete uncut versions your gonna probably have to buy the asian box sets that pop up on ebaynot sure if they are legit ,but they go for under 20.00. uncut tom and jerry on bbc in the 70,s happy days

The Asian sets are bootlegs and dreadful quality not even worth £20.

With the exception of His Mouse Friday all the Spotlight Collection toons are uncut as long as you get the reissues but these have been available for a couple of years now

[krusty]

Originally Posted by mikegambit

The Asian sets are bootlegs and dreadful quality not even worth £20.

With the exception of His Mouse Friday all the Spotlight Collection toons are uncut as long as you get the reissues but these have been available for a couple of years now

glad you told me that im a big t and j fan although my 2 kids dont see the fascination ..i tell them that itchy and scratchy are there desendents and they buy into that story

[krusty]

tom and jerry,s descendants that is