Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		1.5

Tom & Jerry: The Movie Blu-ray Movie Review

The last gasp of a creatively dead franchise?

Reviewed by Randy Miller III May 20, 2021

Let's face it: Tom and Jerry hasn't been funny in at least 50 years. Their early days at Hanna-Barbera in the 1940s and 50s were the stuff of legend: wonderfully animated ultra-violent cartoons with terrific music and flawless comic timing. The mid-to-late-decade Cinemascope material? Good, not great. T&J took another detour during the 1960s courtesy of Gene Deitch and Chuck Jones; these shorts ranged from odd to passable, and it's been mostly downhill ever since. I've barely batted an eye at all that direct-to-video filler, most of which just slapped the once-beloved cat and mouse duo onto existing properties like Robin Hood, The Nutcracker, and The Wizard of Oz. But I'd choose any of those over 2021's blandly-titled and formless Tom and Jerry: The Movie (not to be confused with the 1993 film of the same name), a dull-as-dishwater attempt to drag this tired franchise hissing and squeaking into the 21st century.

Conceived and half-heartedly presented as an origin story for the duo, Tom and Jerry: The Movie drops our combatants smack-dab into Manhattan, where Jerry casts the first stone by upstaging Tom during a musical performance for spare change... even breaking his keyboard in the process. Asshole. The ensuing chase leads them to a posh hotel called The Royal Gate, where street-smart Kayla Forester (Chloë Grace Moretz) outwits prospective new hire Linda Perrybottom (Camilla Arfwedson) by, uh, stealing her resume to score the job. The manager, Mr. Dubros (Rob Delaney) is impressed with Kayla's fake credentials but event manager Terence (Michael Peña) is much less receptive... especially since the hotel's gearing up for a big Instagram celebrity wedding of young couple Ben (Colin Jost) and Preeta (Pallavi Sharda). Naturally, the discovery of Jerry doesn't sit well with The Royal Gate's staff, prompting Kayla to enlist Tom's help in catching him. But things don't go well with the mouse hunt or the wedding, thanks to Ben's flair for the dramatic when all Preeta really wants is a simple ceremony that costs, like, one million dollars instead of three.

The result is an entirely forgettable and watered-down adventure that sits somewhere between those direct-to-video T&J movies and a Disney Channel-grade romantic comedy. Most of the human characters are unlikable... and even they upstage Tom and Jerry themselves, who usually just make a lot of background noise. It's fitfully entertaining and barely funny at best, and some of its only decent moments are just visual gags listed wholesale from the duo's early years; even depressed Tom from "Blue Cat Blues" makes an appearance, showing that the animators were at least aware of deep cuts while, again, bringing almost nothing new to the table. But at this point, should they? The last five decades (if not more) have taught us that Tom and Jerry, whose core cat-and-mouse formula should be universal and enduring, has consistently failed to hold the same weight as those dynamite H-B shorts and should probably just be left alone at this point. Just give us the long-overdue sequel to 2011's Golden Collection and we'll be happy, thanks.

But nope, here's a toothless, phoned-in movie saddled with a Blu-ray only release that, to its credit, at least serves up a solid enough A/V presentation and even a decent collection of lightweight but appreciated bonus features. But that begs the question: where was this thoughtful attention to detail when the script was being written?

For a slightly warmer take on the film, check out Brian Orndorf's theatrical review.

Tom & Jerry: The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

I'm a little torn on Tom and Jerry: The Movie's visual style, a fusion of 3-D rendered animal characters dropped into a live-action world; if you squint, it looks like hand-drawn cel animation à la Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Sadly, the result isn't even as seamless as that almost 35 year-old film (!) -- Tom, Jerry, Spike, Toodles, and every other animal usually looks too flat and brightly-colored for the effect to really work. There are exceptions, such as during rainstorms when characters' wet fur adds a nice textural element... but more often than not, it's not a very convincing illusion.

But enough about subjective visual preferences. How's the transfer look? For the most part, it's a perfectly capable effort that, despite the lack of a 4K option (doubly disappointing, since the film seems to have an HDR-ready palette), absolutely bursts with color and a respectable amount of fine detail. Wide shots of the city and bustling interiors look fantastic with plenty of depth, from the ornate hotel interiors to Ben and Preeta's two separate weddings with all their colorful decorations and outfits. As mentioned earlier, the 'toons are rendered crisply and, despite my reservations about their integration into the real world, it's a bit more tolerable by the end of the film and, in some applications, actually works well enough. As usual, the dual-layered disc is well-authored and runs at a high bit rate, with very few traces of compression artifacts or banding. And while I'd have loved to see what it looked like with a true 4K release, this isn't too bad of a substitute... but it's a sad trend for the studio, and one that I hope isn't continued.

Tom & Jerry: The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Unlike my quibbles with the film's visual style (which didn't affect its video rating, of course), I have basically no qualms about the default Dolby Atmos mix which, as always, folds down into a Dolby TrueHD 7.1 track if your receiver doesn't support the format. This film has no shortage of bustling locales and they're replicated nicely with excellent channel separation, panning effects, and careful leveling that ensures the mostly front-loaded main dialogue doesn't get drowned out. Height channels are put to good use during exterior shots as well as scenes prominently featuring the dynamic duo... especially Jerry, as his small stature all but ensures there's lots going on overhead. Chase scenes are another standout, including a third-act race with loads of traffic whizzing by. The music cues are strong without overpowering and include a surprisingly wide variety of artists including A Tribe Called Quest, DJ Shadow, Eric B. and Rakim, and Eric Reed. Overall, it's a very strong mix that I wish happened to a better movie.

Tom & Jerry: The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in an eco-friendly keepcase with poster-themed art, a matching slipcover, and a Digital Copy redemption slip. The bonus features are pretty middle-of-the-road, but at least multiple subjects are covered.

• Deleted Scenes (13:34 total) - Ten short scenes, including an alternate opening, are presented in various stages of completion and prefaced by a few brief comments by director Tim Story.

• Gag Reel (3:01)

• Bringing Tom & Jerry to Life (14:11) - A multi-part piece touching on various aspects of the production, from the cast and crew's shared love of the franchise to storyboarding, green-screening, and Easter eggs.

• Tom & Jerry's World (4:17) - A tongue-in-cheek featurette about working with the two lead "actors".

• The Feud: #TeamTom vs. #TeamJerry (4:15) - A running tally of cast and crew preferences.

• Jerry's "A House For a Mouse" (3:58) - This narrated MTV Cribs-style featurette gives us a quick tour of Jerry's sweet digs within the walls of The Royal Gate.

• The Tom & Jerry Guide to New York City Wildlife (4:52) - A look at the film's other animated animals.

• Inside the Wedding of Ben and Preeta (5:24) - Meh.

• A Scene Comes to Life (9:05 total) - A look at the construction of two scenes: "Ben and Preeta's Wedding" and "Animal Lock-Up" (seen below), which has one of the film's only real laughs with a Droopy cameo.

Tom & Jerry: The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Tim Story's Tom and Jerry: The Movie feels like a film made entirely by committee. Like most modern T&J productions, it tries desperately to re-create that old Hanna-Barbera magic but doesn't, diluting the potency further by loading its main story with unlikable humans and a weak script. It's one of the least essential franchise relaunch attempts in recent memory (along with this) and yet another reminder that America's once-beloved cat-and-mouse duo should probably just stop trying. Just enjoy their glory days and be happy. Warner Bros.' Blu-ray-only at least serves up a great A/V presentation and a few extras... but with a main feature this weak, it doesn't matter much.