How many childhoods were enlightened with Tom and Jerry cartoons? The classic cat and mouse escapades of the pair bought delight and a smile to children all around the world. Nearly all the episodes were harmless fun, except one. There’s one episode that is regarded almost universally as the most controversial children’s cartoon episode, of all cartoons, of all time. That’s because there was one episode of Tom and Jerry with a suicidal ending.
In the episode where it appears that Tom and Jerry commit suicide, Tom falls in love with a female cat, only to have her stolen away by another cat after showering her with gifts. The other cat’s name is Mr. Butch. Anyone who has lost a love knows that it leaves a devastating and depressive feeling. But it simply didn’t end with Tom feeling sad at a lost love, no, it went much further.
After losing his love, Tom takes to alcohol and falls into a drain. Jerry comes along to rescue him, only to follow a similar fate as Tom. Yep, that’s right. In the few minutes of attempting to rescue Tom and get him back on his feet, Jerry falls in love with a female mouse only to lose her to another mouse. Needless to say, this leaves Jerry in a sad and depressed state. It’s pretty messed up right here, isn’t it? But we haven’t even come to the controversial part yet.
This particular episode wouldn’t be winning any accolades for setting a good example for young children, with examples such as love and alcohol abuse already present. The writers went just one step further, and this is the controversial part. They end the episode with the viewer believing both Tom and Jerry were suicidal. The exact ending was with a train fast approaching, both Tom and Jerry drunkenly sit on the train tracks and apparently await their death, neither willing to move.
You can of course watch the episode and decide for yourself. The link is in the source.
