“Cat Concerto” is definitely my favorite of the "Tom and Jerry" shorts. All around beautiful, funny, and entertaining.

Tom for some reason or another is a pianist, no less a concert pianist, and as Lupercal pointed out "don't ask why. We are no supposed know such things." Anyway, Jerry and Tom end up dueling out as usual; well Tom tries to play "Hungarian Rhapsody".

The animation, as in most of the early "Tom and Jerry" shorts is detailed and beautiful. For me, this is hands down the best "Tom and Jerry" short.

(Erich Von Daniken voice) "There are many unsolved mysteries. The Plains of Nazca, Mayan carvings of ancient astronauts - but perhaps above all else, the mystery which defies all explanations remains - how could William Hanna go from directing this short, to producing 'The Mork & Mindy/Laverne & Shirley with the Fonz Show'? How could Joseph Barbera go from directing this, to 'The Baby Smurf'?"

Tom and Jerry shorts are often not big on plot. At least, they don't bother setting up a background. They often just put two antagonistic characters together in situation X and let things happen. Sometimes this approach can be a recipe for disaster, but here it's pure gold.

Tom is a concert pianist (don't ask why. We're not supposed to wonder about such things), while Jerry is trying to get some sleep inside his grand piano.

After an impressive and pompous beginning, Tom's routine starts to go wrong when Jerry becomes increasingly angry at this disturbance of his private life.

This short just exudes class and inspiration, and fully deserved its Oscar. Some of the animation and sight gags involving the internal workings of the piano hammers is just beautiful, and the synchonisation of music and animation is superb. Maybe this is a little less frenetic and more 'clever' than some Tom and Jerry shorts, but it's gets four stars from me, and BTW that's only the third time that's happened in this category. Perhaps the fact that I'm a pianist of sorts, and am familiar with the guts of grand pianos and how they work makes a difference. I don't know, but I suspect this would have rated highly even if I'd never played a note.

Incidentally, I know Warner also produced a short the same year, with the same piece of Liszt music, but I daresay this is the cartoon which they were giving the nod to when Daffy and Donald played the same piece in 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit. It's the one that got the gong, after all.