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5.7/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 5.7/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. A Swiss Trick remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you have seven minutes to kill and a soft spot for classic hand-drawn mayhem, sure. It’s not going to change your life, but it’s a decent enough time-passer if you're feeling nostalgic. If you hate slapstick or just generally find cats and mice running around in hats annoying, you’ll probably want to skip this one.
The whole thing kicks off on a train in the Alps, which is honestly a pretty great setting for a cartoon. The engine breaks down, the train leaves them behind, and then this spindly St. Bernard shows up. He looks like he’s made of pipe cleaners and brings the engine some liquor. Why? Who knows. It’s a cartoon.
The goats are the real stars here, honestly. When Tom and Jerry try to signal for help, the herd just answers back with a bleat that sounds like a flat tire. Then they literally boot the pair down the mountain. It’s mean, it’s abrupt, and it’s actually kind of funny.
There’s this moment where a local yodeler uses a piece of Swiss cheese on a string to lure them into a chalet. It feels like a trap from a much more sinister movie. When the locals catch them, the duo tries to yodel their way out of trouble. Spoiler: it goes about as well as you’d expect.
The ending is where things get weird. They eat so much cheese that they end up covered in holes. Then, mice start chasing them down the mountain because they think they’re actually wedges of Emmental. It’s a strange visual, and it made me wonder about the physics of the cartoon world.
Compared to something like The White Sheep or the drama in The Ghost That Never Returns, this is pure fluff. There’s no big message. No deep themes. Just a cat and mouse getting terrorized by dairy products. Sometimes that’s enough. 🧀