The classic 1940s animated series Tom and Jerry has made it’s live-action debut (sort of). In this animated/live-action hybrid Tom Cat and Jerry Mouse hit New York looking for new lives, but unfortunately as destiny would have it the duo can’t keep away from each other. After inadvertently meeting Kayla Forester (Chloe Grace Moretz) the three are entwined into a chaotic hotel/wedding plot.

Tom and Jerry is a 2021 comedy film based on the 1940s series of the same name. It is produced by Warner Animation Group, and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is currently in theaters now with an airing on HBO Max until March 26, 2021. 

Editor’s Note: Near complete to complete spoilers for Tom and Jerry the Movie may be present within this review. 

I’m sure most people my age (30) are familiar with Tom & Jerry. The classic version of the cartoon and some of the 70s+ era shorts aired in syndication as recently as 1999ish. This of course was before the formation of Boomerang, Cartoon Network’s answer to finding a home for their classics library before web TV and streaming got off the ground. Something that may shock many is that Tom & Jerry has managed to stay relevant well beyond the original shorts. Following a successful direct to video run the franchise received a number of TV follow-ups including 2014’s The Tom & Jerry Show which only just ended earlier this month along with two more series aimed at different audiences on the way. With the addition of the new theatrical release Tom & Jerry is truly one of the few franchises that will always remain with us.

THE GOOD: The film opens with Tom and Jerry, believing they’ve gone their separate ways simultaneously moving to New York. As Jerry attempts to look for a new place to live, Tom has dreams of being a professional pianist. A young woman named Kayla does odd jobs around the city to get by while working she comes across Tom and Jerry who crash into her after fighting due to Jerry attempting to takeover Tom’s piano performance in the park. Kayla learns of a job at a fancy hotel and lies about her identity by stealing a highly skilled applicant’s application after tricking her to get the job. Jerry invades the hotel with Tom looking for a way to go in after him. Following an encounter with Butch leading to him and his gang getting caught by the pound, Tom attempts to force his way into the hotel multiple times failing. Eventually he gets in and he & Jerry get into a huge fight leading them back to Kayla who’s been tasked with setting up an important wedding hosted at the hotel. Kayla befriends one of the bartenders named Cameron and sometime later Tom who she enlists to help catch Jerry which she had earlier promised her boss she’d do without anyone of the hotel guests knowing Jerry was there. Spike and Toots arrive at the hotel with their respective owners and Tom frequently attempts to flirt with the latter. After Spike befriends Jerry he continuously threatens Tom with beatings for attacking the mouse. Tom managers to outwit Jerry trapping him in a shipping crate and sending him out of the hotel. Kayla learns from the bride that her wedding ring is missing and Kayla goes off to find it leading to the two being friends. As the film progresses the event manager Terrance has become increasingly suspicious of Kayla and her true identity. Tom celebrates his victory over Jerry by playing the hotel piano, but Jerry returns to the hotel and interrupts his performance again leading to a fight involving Spike that damages the wedding reception ceremony. 

Terrance is put on leave having been blamed for inciting the fight, while Kayla is named the new event manger for finding the bride’s wedding ring. Jerry reveals to Kayla that he was the one who found the ring. Kayla pleads with Tom & Jerry to put aside their differences and become friends for the sake of the wedding and hotel to which they agree. She also tells them to stay away from the hotel for the wedding day just to be safe. While away Tom & Jerry slowly rebuild their friendship but are taken in by the pound believing them to be strays. Tom is once again met by Butch and his gang and is goaded and threatened into eating Jerry to which Tom reluctantly attempts to do, but is saved by a guard who informs them of their visit by Terrance. Terrance reignites Tom & Jerry’s feud by spreading lies angering both. This leads to another huge fight that wrecks the hotel and Kayla is found out by the hotel’s owner Dubois being fired while Tom is kicked out. The pair getting married end up splitting up. Jerry reunites with Tom and the two agree to repair the damage they did started with the wedding finally becoming true friends. They manage to get the bride and groom back together and with the help of Kayla & Cameron re-plan the wedding from scratch much to the pleasure of the newly weds. Kayla is reinstated at the hotel and even gets the woman who’s resume she stole a job there. Tom tries to impress Toots again by playing the piano, but like before is interrupted by Jerry leading to another fight involving Spike that’s quickly stopped by Kayla and the others.

For a first attempt at bringing Tom and Jerry to life the 2021 film is a valiant one compared to past efforts with live-action Western cartoon adaptations. I have to commend the producers for at least getting Tom and Jerry right as characters. The series frequently tells us that they don’t outright hate each other and even have a loving albeit begrudging respect and care for each other. The producers could have just had them being completely at odds with one another as if that were the entire basis of their relationship. But it’s good to know that the team are at least very aware that this is an on again/off again friendship. 

In addition to Tom and Jerry they also got Spike, Butch, and several other characters solid adaptations of themselves. Even Tom’s good and evil conscience make appearances. The slapstick is a mirror representation of the source and can even be pretty funny. One scene in particular I enjoyed was Toots absolutely destroying Jerry, but her owner stops her before she can do any serious damage. I was surprised to see the use of Spike and Butch in the film. I fully expected Tom & Jerry being the only characters there with the others being planned for a possible sequel. There’s even a cool cameo by Droopy. I commend the writers and team for showing fans some love with a near full roster of the franchise’s mainstay roster.

THE BAD: Tom & Jerry is incredibly fast paced. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing in of itself the reunion the two have is way too quick for two beings attempting to distance themselves from one another. There’s also certain points in the film where it makes you think that this is their initial meeting with each other like during the electric piano duel where Tom and Jerry just casually come back into their lives. Another thing that I didn’t necessarily think was bad just rather odd is the placement of the music. No hyperbole, there’s a mainstream song being played like every 10-20 minutes. It doesn’t really take way from the film it was just super weird. Also it is a bit mindboggling to have a film called “Tom and Jerry” with limited use of Tom & Jerry in it. This may have been due to the limited budget ($38.8 Million), but it doesn’t take away from the fact that they should have been the stars of the film. The human characters for as much time as they take up don’t really make much of an impact when compared to Tom & Jerry’s lack of use. Jerry is also a huge prick in this movie from start to finish. This of course could be said with the shorts and TV series as well though.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Tom & Jerry’s first foray into live-action isn’t as bad as it could be. And as we’ve seen with Western live-action cartoon adaptations is that it can ALWAYS be worse. Which is why it’s a shame that the film contains the few issues it does, but they’re glaring enough that it ultimate hurts it’s potential. For what it’s worth I think Tom & Jerry is a rare case where a sequel if warranted could actually be genuinely good. The tools are clearly there for an entertaining movie experience. The experience just kind of implodes on it’s own momentum. Otaku Dome gives Tom and Jerry the Movie a 60 out of 100.