In a formal concert, Tom, in a tuxedo as the soloist, is performing a piano version of Franz Liszt's "Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2". Jerry, living and sleeping inside the piano, is rudely awakened, then sits on top of the piano to mock the cat by "conducting" him.

Spike is very protective of his son Tyke and gets very angry if Tom interrupts their quality time together.

The Itchy & Scratchy Show, featured in the animated television series The Simpsons, depicts a blue mouse, Itchy, who repeatedly and violently maims and/or kills a black cat, Scratchy, typically presented as 15 to 60 second-long cartoons that are a part of The Krusty the Clown Show. The show is filled with gratuitous violence that almost invariably prompts uproarious laughter from the Simpsons.

Tom and Jerry's first feature film appearance was in the 1945 MGM musical Anchors Aweigh, in which Jerry performs a dance number with Gene Kelly. Tom also makes a cameo as a servant. Tom and Jerry's second feature film appearance was swimming with Esther Williams in a dream sequence in another MGM musical, Dangerous When Wet (1953).

Deitch has said that, being a "UPA man", he was not a fan of the Tom and Jerry cartoons, thinking they were "needlessly violent". However, after being assigned to work on the series, he quickly realized that nobody took the violence seriously, as it was merely meant to be a parody of exaggerated human emotions. He also came to see what he perceived as the "biblical roots" in Tom and Jerry's conflict, similar to David and Goliath, stating "That's where we feel a connection to these cartoons: the little guy can win (or at least survive) to fight another day."

In its original run from 1940 to 1958, Hanna and Barbera produced 114 Tom and Jerry shorts for MGM, seven of which won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film, tying Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies for first place in the category.