Have you ever wondered why, in the iconic cartoon Tom and Jerry, the faces of people — especially Tom's owner — are always left off-screen? For dozens of episodes, viewers watched her distinctive stockings, heard her loud footsteps and stern exclamations, but her face remained a mystery. So why did the creators hide it from the audience?
It turns out the reason isn't to build intrigue, but rather a carefully planned perspective. Tom and Jerry is a cartoon about animals, and we see everything from their point of view. The cat and the mouse are small creatures, and humans simply don’t fit in the frame. It’s like filming a movie about ants — humans would only appear as feet or voices.
But there are also artistic reasons. The creators consciously chose not to show faces to avoid distracting the viewer. The human face is a powerful visual anchor. If it appeared on screen, the focus would shift away from the main action, and Tom and Jerry would no longer be the center of the universe of the cartoon.
There’s also a practical aspect: technique. In the mid-20th century, animating faces took more time and budget. It was easier and quicker to draw legs than to work on facial expressions. Besides, the animals’ emotions in the show were already more than expressive — sometimes even more human-like than those of people.
Interestingly, Tom’s owner’s face was once drawn — though, reportedly, this moment didn’t make it into the final cut of the episode. Perhaps to preserve the magic of the unknown, which makes the cartoon even more memorable.
Would you like to know what she looks like? Or is it better to keep it a mystery, just as it should be in a good story?
