If Tom & Jerry were to have it’s run in the modern era it probably wouldn’t land as well with people nor would it have been as popular as it may have been when it first came into the world of entertainment. And no disrespect to Tom and Jerry because if you’re a fan of the slapstick humor then that Tom & Jerry is the perfect show that fits that stigma. What made the show popular were the two main characters themselves, Tom and Jerry. The rivalry between the two was always entertaining to watch and it also plays into this idea of the conflict between a cat and a mouse. They were also very well liked characters, even if Jerry was always one step ahead over Tom or vice versa. It was great to throw in additional characters like Spike, Butch, Quacker or Tuffy into the show to add more entertainment value, but at the core of Tom & Jerry is the constant battle between the two, so to see that theme applied in a cartoon show is a brilliant idea. Now, the Tom and Jerry has been in development hell since 2009 due to the original approach that the studio wanted to go with, which was originally intended as a live-action/computer-animated film to them shifting completely to an animated movie. Initially set for a Christmas release in 2020, COVID sort of changed its plans, altogether, and pushed the movie into 2021 with a release for February 26th in theaters and on HBO Max simultaneously. Is Tom & Jerry one of the greatest animated movies? Absolutely not. But it will make you smile. Granted, it’s outlandish and SEVERELY silly. But it acts as a reminder of why we fell in love with these two characters. It’s got energy, a jazzy soundtrack, poppy visuals and a good bit of fun. It’s not taking home any Oscars, but who cares?
Tom & Jerry follows Tom and Jerry in the Big Apple, where Jerry moves into New York’s finest hotel just days before the wedding of the year, which then forces the management to find a way to get rid of him. Tom is then hired as an employee whose main goal is to get rid of Jerry. As chaos rises, the escalating confrontation between the cat-and-mouse puts the hotel in jeopardy, thus we have our movie.
The worst aspect about Tom & Jerry, and probably the one aspect that a lot of people will agree on, is there is way too much focus on the humans. We do get to see enough of the feud between Tom and Jerry, however, there’s a good chunk of this movie that spends time on the humans. Some of it works but some of it doesn’t work, even in the slightest. Chloë Grace Moretz and Michael Peña are both wonderful talents who have displayed some great performances in the past. It’s not so much that their performances in Tom & Jerry are bad, it’s more that the script doesn’t give them virtually anything interesting to do. But at the same time, when you look at the kind of movie they’re in, a groundbreaking script isn’t going to be found in this movie. The interacting with the human characters is hacky and weak, but at the same time, you should expect that in a movie called Tom & Jerry.
The style that Tom & Jerry is going with is a very outdated format. It had it’s prime with Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Space Jam (we’ll see how Space Jam 2 plays out this summer), but in 2021 its become a dated style. Movies like The Smurfs, Yogi Bear and Alvin and the Chipmunks are examples of how that format doesn’t land with kids or any other movie goer like it used to. But in the case for Tom & Jerry, it surprisingly worked out well. The design of Tom and Jerry honored the original designs of the characters from their prime, but it also seemed to blend in well with the live action environment. The visuals of this movie really popWhat Tom & Jerry also did well was the continuous clashing between Tom and Jerry. From the opening chase in the streets of New York to a hotel room, Tom & Jerry delivers on slapstick humor, once again, that works as mindless entertainment but also pays a significant amount of respect that came before. They’re not be a whole of it, but when it’s on screen it’s impressive.
Tim Story is the kind of filmmaker that basically makes the same the movie over and over again. He has the same visual style in virtually all of his movies, whether it’s the Ride Along movies or the two Fantastic Four movies he directed and for the most part, it hasn’t worked out that well. But with Tom & Jerry, Tim Story captures the energy and fun that Tom & Jerry has always had. It’s by no means his best movie, but it’s fun to watch.
Tom & Jerry knows what kind of movie it is and there’s a lot of fun to have while watching it. The visuals are fetching, Tom and Jerry are great to watch and the music is perfectly in sync with the tone. Kids should eat this movie up like candy, but adults who grew with Tom & Jerry will also find some common ground.
My grade for Tom & Jerry: B-
Zane's take at the Cinema's 