Quiet Please!

(left) is repeatedly trying to hit Jerry, (middle) much to Spike's (right) annoyance. Spike is trying to take a nap, but Tom disturbs him while chasing Jerry. Before going to sleep, Spike, exasperated with the constant noise, grabs Tom and tells him to keep it down and threatens to skin him alive if he doesn't. Overhearing this, Jerry proceeds to do many things to try to wake Spike throughout the short, which in turn, forces Tom to prevent Spike from waking up. At one point, Jerry makes Tom drop multiple light bulbs, waking Spike up for a second, but Tom quickly makes Spike fall back to sleep by singing Rock-a-bye Baby. To prevent Spike from waking up again, Tom gives him a medication called "knock out drops". Jerry doesn't realize this, as he starts playing a drum loudly. Tom takes the drum and starts playing it on the asleep Spike and shows Jerry the medication, to his shock. Upon realizing this, Jerry runs to the kitchen and writes a will with it promising a custard pie. Tom asks Jerry to have the pie with Jerry throwing the pie at Tom's face. After this, Jerry would try many ways to wake Spike up, but none of them would work due to the medications given to him earlier. After getting his toe flattened by Jerry hitting it with a hammer, Tom sees Jerry lighting a stick of dynamite under Spike. As he tries to remove the dynamite, Spike's medication wears off as he wakes up. Since Tom woke him up, Spike growls at Tom which forces Tom to leave him to get blown up by the explosive. This infuriates Spike as he beats Tom up. After this, an injured and blind Tom with casts and patches all over his body rocks Spike and Jerry in a cradle. ==Voice cast==

• William Hanna as Tom's vocal effects • Harry E. Lang for Tom's speaking voice ==Production==

Quiet Please was directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, who directed every Tom and Jerry short before the MGM Cartoon Studio closed down. with the production number being #131. Irven Spence, whom historians refer to as the "cartoony" animator, animated the scene where Tom hides behind a couch, and he animated until Tom covers Spike's ears. Historian Mark Kausler stated that Spence animated "speed lines" whenever a character ran. Kenneth Muse, a former Disney animator, and a former assistant to Fred Moore during that tenure, animated the following sequence until Jerry runs into the kitchen. Kausler states that Muse drew characters in a more "solid" form. Kausler also states that Muse animated Tom with "crossed whiskers." Ed Barge, a former assistant to Spence, animated the scene where Jerry throws a pie at Tom's face. Spence animated the next scene with Tom lifting up Spike's head to reveal Jerry. Barge animated the next sequence of Jerry trying to wake Spike up. Muse animated the scene of Tom getting his foot flattened by a hammer. After that, Spence animated the scene of Tom trying to remove a stick of dynamite under Spike. Muse animated the rest of the short which shows Tom rocking Spike and Jerry in a cradle. ==Reception==

Ben Simon states that Quiet Please! "plays on a similar premise as The Million Dollar Cat|[The] Million Dollar Cat". But he praises the cartoon's formulaic approach, stating that "it’s often amazing to see them picking up plaudits for generally routine outings or cartoons based on others’ ideas, situations and gags." Author Thad Komorowski praises the cartoon as it is "[f]unny stuff," though he finds it strange as it is "an Oscar-winner, for some reason." In contrast, author Michael Lyons states that it is a "quintessential Tom and Jerry short that deserved its Oscar win." Another editor called it "everything a cartoon should be," as "it is hilarious, well made and satisfying to the audience." Audience appreciated the cartoon. In a commentary for Tom and Jerry Golden Collection, Historian Mark Kausler compliments the animation: , the producer of the cartoon, with the short's Oscar in hand Quiet Please! won the 1945 Oscar for Best Animated Short Subject, making it the 3rd out of 4 consecutive wins Tom and Jerry won from 1943 to 1946. ==Release==

Quiet Please was released to theaters in December 22, 1945, and was enjoyed by the audience. As for most Tom and Jerry shorts released in the 1940s, Quiet Please was re-issued on March 28, 1953. LaserDisc: • Tom & Jerry Classics • The Art of Tom & Jerry DVD: • Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection Volume 1 (2004) • Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Academy Awards Animation Collection (2008) • Tom and Jerry's Greatest Chases Vol. 2 (2009) • Tom and Jerry: The Deluxe Anniversary Collection (2010) • Tom and Jerry Golden Collection Volume 1 (2011) • Tom and Jerry: In the Dog House (2012) • Tom and Jerry: The Golden Era Anthology (2025) Blu-ray: • Tom and Jerry Golden Collection Volume 1 (2011) • Tom and Jerry: The Golden Era Anthology (2025) ==References==