The Truce Hurts

The Truce Hurts
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Released:	July 17, 1948 Reissue: December 17, 1955
Runtime:	7 min. 59 sec.
Series:	Tom and Jerry
MPAA Number:	12503
Production Number:	173
Copyright Renewed:	July 10, 1975
Starring:	Tom Cat Jerry Mouse Spike Bulldog (referred to as Butch) Butch Cat
Crew
Voice Characterizations:	Billy Bletcher (uncredited) William Hanna (uncredited)
Director:	William Hanna Joseph Barbera
Written By:	William Hanna (uncredited) Joseph Barbera (uncredited)
Producer:	Fred Quimby
Animated By:	Kenneth Muse Ed Barge Ray Patterson Irven Spence
Assistant Animators:	Lewis Marshall (uncredited) Barney Posner (uncredited)
Layout Artist:	Richard Bickenbach (uncredited)
Background Artist:	Robert Gentle (uncredited)
Film Editor:	Fred McAlpin (uncredited)
Sound Effects:	Fred McAlpin (uncredited)
Musician:	Scott Bradley

The Truce Hurts is a 1948 American one-reel animated cartoon and is the 35th Tom and Jerry short directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera.

Plot

Jerry is chased off the house by Tom, who in turn is chased by Spike. The mouse grabs a pipe, the cat grabs a frying pan, and the dog grabs a baseball bat. They start to fight by the garage, when Spike suddenly stops and questions, "What's all this fighting gettin us, huh? Cats can love dogs, can't they? And mice can get along with cats, can't they?" The three animals agree to become friends in the future, they sign a peace treaty in the house.

Tom, Jerry, and Spike take a nap after this, sharing a blanket, and a flower then falls from a tree near the house and that goes into Tom's mouth. He then puts the blanket on Jerry, Jerry wakes up and then closes Spike's mouth to stop him snoring, suddenly, the alarm clock goes off and Spike manages to stop it, props up Tom's head with a pipe and sneaks off to the kitchen. The pipe slips off, which makes Tom's head hit the floor, waking him and Jerry up in the process. Spike sets up the table with glasses and rings the bell, while Tom helps Jerry brush his teeth, Spike prepares the milk. They seat each other, lick the lid of the milk, then Spike pours the milk on each glass while he measures with his ruler, they drink the milk and then share a tooth pick for their teeth.

Later, Jerry is taking a stroll outside, when Butch who happens to be scouring for food in trash cans, spots him and decides that he will make a delightful appetizer. Tom, who is nearby, immediately rushes to Jerry's rescue and subdues Butch by slamming a trash can lid into his face. Butch stares at him angrily, as if he is thinking that Tom is trying to mess with him. But then sees Tom brushing Jerry and kisses the little mouse on the cheek before sending him off, which leaves Butch looking on, shocked, screams terrifyingly, and repetitively knocks himself silly with a brick out of shock.

Tom is soon walking along the sidewalk where a dog is gnawing on a bone. He decides to make a meal out of Tom when he sees him, but Spike screams and noticed the scene. Before the orange dog can close his jaw, Spike rescues Tom and punches the dog's jaw, causing his teeth to fall out from his mouth. Spike tries to get Tom to speak before Tom points to the apple in his mouth. Spike pushes it down and accidentally knocks Tom out while trying to help him swallow it.

Later, the trio are walking until they come across a mud puddle. Spike uses his coat as a way of crossing before a delivery truck splashes them with mud, leaving them in blackface. The delivery truck drops a package leaving Tom, Jerry, and Spike to see what's in it. They see that it is a steak and take it home to grill it. Before they decide to eat it, they draw lines on it each with a chalk to determine on which one can have which size. After Spike gives Jerry a small piece, he gives Tom the bone which angers the cat into putting a fork in Spike's hand. Spike then hits Tom's nose, which extended like a platypus bill and shook. Then they spot Jerry running away with the steak, but Spike catches them with his mouth as Tom takes the steak and Jerry out of it again. The trio fight over the steak before the steak flies out of the house, breaking the window and lands in a stream. The trio tries to catch it, but it falls into the sewers. Anguished by what happened, Tom, Jerry, and Spike realize that all of them no longer can be good pals. Spike shreds the peace treaty and then runs to the outside of the house, picking the baseball bat again up, while once again Tom picks up the pan and Jerry takes the pipe up one more time to resume their earlier fight.

Music Cues

• Happy Days Are Here Again - Milton Ager (opening credits)
• Runnin' Wild - A.H. Gibbs (Tom, Jerry and Spike fighting)
• Auld Lang Syne - Robert Burns (Spike reads the peace treaty)
• Sleepy Head - Walter Donaldson (Jerry closes Spike's mouth)
• Sing Before Breakfast - Nacio Herb Brown (Tom, Jerry and Spike at the table)
• For He's a Jolly Good Fellow (Tom, Jerry and Spike drinking milk)
• Over the Rainbow - Harold Arlen (Butch searching for food)
• The Worry Song - Sammy Fain (Jerry walking past Butch)
• We're Off to See the Wizard - Harold Arlen (Tom, Jerry and Spike walking)
• Rocked in the Cradle of the Deep - J.P. Knight (the steak goes down the sewer)

Availability

The Art of Tom & Jerry: Volume I (LaserDisc)

Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection Volume 1, Disc 1 (DVD)

Tom and Jerry Golden Collection Volume 1, Disc 2 (DVD, Blu-ray)

Notes

• The title is a pun on the phrase "The truth hurts", a truce being a treaty, or agreement between multiple people/groups.
• When signing the peace treaty, Spike's name is written as "Butch". This should not be confused with Butch the black cat, who is also present in this short, albeit briefly and without his name revealed.

Gallery

• Screenshots
• Production

William Hanna and Joseph Barbera demonstrating the storyboards to child actress Margaret O'Brien

Animation cel