Which Tom and Jerry short won the 1946 Academy Award?

The Tom and Jerry short that won the 1946 Academy Award was “The Cat Concerto.”

Released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the cartoon turns Franz Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 into a frantic piano duel. Tom performs the piece onstage while Jerry secretly disrupts the concert from inside the piano, transforming a formal recital into a showcase of escalating slapstick. William Hanna and Joseph Barbera directed the short, with Scott Bradley arranging and composing its music.

The award was for Best Short Subject: Cartoons, the Academy category then used for animated shorts. “The Cat Concerto” was the fourth consecutive Tom and Jerry short to win, following “Yankee Doodle Mouse,” “Mouse Trouble,” and “Quiet Please!” Its victory also extended the series’ remarkable run of recognition and tied it with Walt Disney’s Silly Symphonies for four consecutive wins.

A common mix-up is the short’s release dating: it is associated with 1946 in the Oscar record, although some references discuss its 1947 theatrical release. The award-winning film remains one of the series’ best-known examples of music-driven animation.