Tom and Jerry (Van Beuren)

Tom and Jerry are fictional characters that starred in a series of early sound cartoons produced by the Van Beuren Studios, and distributed by RKO Pictures.

When Official Films purchased the Van Beuren library in the early 1940s, the characters were renamed Dick and Larry to avoid confusion with MGM's Tom and Jerry.

The duo were likely named after the stage play and/or the mixed drink of the same name, both of which predated the duo by a century through an 1821 book titled Life in London written by Pierce Egan (British sportswriter and author of Boxiana), which was based on George Cruikshank's, Isaac Robert Cruikshank's, and Egan's own careers.

Stylistically, the cartoons were similar to those made by Fleischer Studios, which like Van Beuren Studios was located in New York City; one 1932 short, Piano Tooners, even introduced a "flapper" character similar to Fleischer's Betty Boop, and Maltin (1980) says "it's probable that one of the women who did Betty Boop's voice .

It was also released on DVD as Tom and Jerry & Friends: The Tuba Tooter as part of the Digiview Productions’ Cartoon Craze series.