Smitten Kitten is an animated Tom and Jerry short released on April 12th, 1952 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, and produced by Fred Quimby.
It begins with Tom chasing Jerry after the latter used a pair of scissors to turn his tail into a paper doll chain (a set piece reused from "Salt Water Tabby"). Upon grabbing Jerry outside the house, however, Tom sees a female cat sunbathing in the front yard, and falls in love with her instantly. Jerry's devil guard (of "Springtime for Thomas" fame) appears to tell the mouse what this can lead to, as whenever Tom falls in love with a female, trouble ensues for Jerry himself. The rest of the episode is about the devil guard reminding Jerry of such instances, with scenes from the relevant Tom and Jerry cartoons being revisited.
However, unlike in those past cases, this story will conclude with an unexpected ending...
This animated feature provides examples of:
- Call-Back: Jerry's personified devil guard reminds him of the many times Tom fell in love with a female cat and how that became a problem for Jerry, thus referencing events from past episodes.
- Clip Show: This is one of several "cheaters" that consist mostly of clips from previous cartoons. This one revisits events and scenes from "Salt Water Tabby", "The Mouse Comes to Dinner", "Texas Tom", and "Solid Serenade", all while reusing a plot point from "Springtime for Thomas" (including bringing back a character thereof).
- Good Angel, Bad Angel: Like in "Springtime for Thomas", Jerry's evil side appears in a personified form as an evil green mouse to encourage him to sabotage Tom's potential relationship with the female cat he fell in love with.
- Love at First Sight: Like in several previous Tom and Jerry episodes, this is Tom's reaction upon seeing the female cat sunbathing in the house's front yard. Unlike in previous episodes, however, this also happens to Jerry and his devil guard when they see a female mouse and a female demon respectively.
- Win-Win Ending: Jerry's plan by the end of the episode is to sabotage Tom's romantic moment with the female cat he fell in love with, only for him to get distracted with a female mouse, now wanting to spend time with her. In turn, this appears to be a misfortune for Jerry's devil guard (as he was the one who persuaded Jerry to do the aforementioned sabotage), but then he finds a female devil mouse and falls in love with her. Thus, all characters are happily paired with Love Interests, and the episode ends.