Tom Thumb in Trouble (1940)

It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

Love animation, it was a big part of my life as a child, particularly Disney, Looney Tunes and Tom and Jerry, and still love it whether it's film, television or cartoons.Chuck Jones deserved, and still does deserve, his status as one of animation's most legendary, greatest and most important directors/animators. He may have lacked the outrageousness and wild wackiness of Bob Clampett and Tex Avery, but the visual imagination, wit and what he did with some of the best-known and most iconic characters ever were just as special. 'Tom Thumb in Trouble' may not be one of his best cartoons, but it shouldn't be dismissed as it can easily be for being a subdued effort for Jones that is more reliant on heartfelt emotion than it is hearty, witty humour.Pacing may lack the zip that one would expect for Jones, something that early Jones cartoons have been criticised for. But really there is very little to criticise 'Tom Thumb in Trouble' for.All three characters are immensely engaging and have a wonderful rapport with each other, very easy to relate to Tom Thumb. The friendship and love is realised beautifully and with a lot of heart. Shepperd Strudwick does understatement beautifully in his voice work.Story is effective in its simplicity, is high in charm and cuteness and is very touching. It is easy to dismiss 'Tom Thumb in Trouble' as a sentimental cartoon that cloys too much, but actually to me the sentiment wasn't overdone and was well-meaning and poignant.'Tom Thumb in Trouble' is beautifully animated. It's fluid in movement, crisp in shading, vibrant and atmospheric in colour and very meticulous in detail. Jones does direct very solidly. Ever the master, Carl Stalling's music is typically superb. It is as always lushly orchestrated, full of lively energy and characterful in rhythm, not only adding to the action but also enhancing it. The use of pre-existing music is inspired. Overall, excellent. 9/10 Bethany Cox

"Tom Thumb in Trouble" is an absolutely sweet, cute, innocent cartoon made at Warner Brothers. It was directed by Chuck Jones, and he most likely got in trouble for it. The Warner Bros. cartoon studio was known for its lively, fast-paced, hilarious cavalcade of animation treasures, and Leon Schlesinger, the "big guy" himself, declared that he didn't want any cutesy Disney-type cartoons. Chuck Jones fortunately followed Schlesinger's order, but for now, let us turn our discussion to the beautifully-made "Tom Thumb in Trouble". With its careful attention to detail, this film boasts interesting camera angles; a superlative usage of light & shadow; a fine music score by Carl Stalling; and a wonderful rapport between the adorable Tom Thumb, his kindly lumberjack father, and a sweet little bird.My favorite moments from this cartoon? Tom is hilarious as he struggles to pin down an alarm clock ringer. While performing all his daily chores, Tom sings a cheerful tune. The ink/paint department did a fantastic job on the facial shadows of Tom's father as he opens his window and calls out to Tom during a violent snowstorm. When the father enters his home and glares menacingly downward at the bird, the effect is absolutely terrifying! As you began reading my commentary for "Tom Thumb in Trouble", you might have predicted that the tone of my writing was going to be negative, but no, this is a cartoon that I highly admire, even if it does not have the wacky, looney spirit of the Warner Bros. animation department. As children, I'm certain we can all relate to Tom trying to explain something to his dad, who refuses to listen. Everything works out fine in the end, though.

Little Tom Thumb is just happy to be alive. Every day he wakes up and wrestles with the morning alarm clock in a fun, cute and harmless way. After the clock has been turned off, Tom eagerly emulates the larger than life actions of his gargantuan (by anyone's standards) father. This is just Tom's way of getting himself ready for another day of household chores, in a fun, cute and harmless way. However, before starting up with those chores, little Tom Thumb must bathe himself properly. Tom gets himself clean by bathing in the water inside the cupped hands of his father. Does that sound cute? Well, that's because it is. But you know what? It gets cuter. Tom actually uses his father's thumb as a diving board. However, once Tom's bath is over, Tom's father goes outside to take care of some 'big boy' errands. Little Tom Thumb is left alone to his own devices as he gets down to doing some chores around the house, namely taking care of the dirty dishes. Tom has many dishes to clean, and he gets each cup and dish to sparkle with an intense attention to detail that only a person of his size can give. The custom made devices that Tom uses to clean the dishes are fun, cute, but somewhat harmful.Before Tom is able to complete his chores he accidentally slips on the cleaning soap and falls into the sink. Little Tom isn't used to pools of this size and it looks like little Tom is bound to drown. That is until a little birdie comes to his rescue.As the bird crashes through the window from outside, Tom's father senses his son is in trouble. The bird manages to save little Tom just in time, but this life saving ends up looking like a murder in progress in the eyes of Tom's father. This guilty by appearance scenario predates the one used by Hitchcock in 'North By Northwest' by some twenty years. The bird escapes from the house within an inch of his life. Tom tries to explain to his father what actually happened, but his father won't listen, instead he tells Tom to go to bed. Tom betrays his father's demands by sneaking out at night when his father is asleep. Tom is in a search to find and then to apologize to his feathered friend. The ending resolves the father, son and bird conflict rather beautifully, as the three end up falling asleep in the same bed…. in a fun, cute and harmless way, of course.7/10. Clark Richards

The TCM network shows film "shorts" as a time filler between movies and this one was shown right before the 'Tom Thumb' feature length movie with Russ Tamblyn. This animated short shows a typical winter day for Tom and his dad. Tom is so small, he takes a bath in the water held in dad's hands. When dad goes outside to labor, Tom uses a tiny mop and suds to clean a plate, as a normal size person might clean a kitchen floor. But Tom has a mishap and falls into a pot of soapy water and cannot get out, the sides are so slippery.A bird about Tom's size is watching from outside, and flies so hard into the window to break it and rescue Tom. Dad, who looks much like 'Bluto' of the Popeye, comes back to find the broken window, Tom wet and barely conscious, and tries to swat the bird before it flies back out the window. Tom writes a very large (for him) note at night telling dad he is going out to find the bird that saved him. Dad is worried but Tom finds the bird, and flies home on the back of the bird which is about his size. The story ends with the three of them sleeping soundly, the bird making its nesting place in dad's beard. Cute animated film short.