The Van Beuren Tom and Jerry (as said already not the famous cat and mouse, this is a human duo that lasted for just under 30 cartoons, 29 if memory serves correct, between 1931 and 1933) series was interesting but uneven and not easy to rate as an overall whole. At the series' best, the cartoons were good, very good in a few cases. At its worst, they were really bad.
'Pencil Mania' by far is one of the best of the series. It's one of the strangest (a good thing, the humour the series aims for is absurdist but some cartoons were far more successful than others) Tom and Jerry cartoons, but it is also one of the funniest and a strong contender for their most inventive. Flaws are few, with the only real ones for me being the primitive at best animation quality, only the animation for the train is well done, and some of Tom and Jerry's more melodramatic antics being somewhat too old-fashioned and reminiscent of overly-histrionic 1920s silent film.
However, the music is outstanding. Even in the worst Tom and Jerry cartoons it was the best asset. It is so beautifully and cleverly orchestrated and full of energy, doing so well with enhancing the action.
Moreover, the gags are also among the most consistently entertaining and well-timed of Tom and Jerry's cartoons. Not just the deliciously surreal metamorphoses, such as a saxophone metamorphosing into a duck, and the ahead-of-the-time breaking the fourth wall moments (which gives 'Pencil Mania' a unique distinction not just for the Tom and Jerry series but also of any cartoon from 1932), but especially the mesmerising finale which is the best finale of any Tom and Jerry cartoon since their debut 'Wot a Night'.
Like the previous cartoon 'Piano Tooners', it is impossible to not enjoy the wonderful weirdness of the surrealist (in this cartoon that is) atmosphere, being so inventively done and true to the absurdist style of the general humour of the cartoons and using it to full advantage. Timing is done very well and all the characters are fun.
In short, one of the best of the series. 8/10 Bethany Cox