'Tom & Jerry' Review
PG: Cartoon violence, rude humor, and brief language
Runtime: 1 Hr and 40 Minutes
Production Companies: Warner Animation Group
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Director: Tim Story
Writer: Kevin Costello
Cast: Chloë Grace Moretz, Michael Peña, Colin Jost, Rob Delaney, Ken Jeong
Release Date: February 26, 2021
Theatrical & HBO MAX
Jerry moves into New York City's finest hotel on the eve of the wedding of the century, forcing the desperate event planner to hire Tom to get rid of him. As mayhem ensues, the escalating cat-and-mouse battle soon threatens to destroy her career, the wedding, and possibly the hotel itself.
The iconic rivalry between Tom and Jerry has charmed audiences for generations. Some might argue that they were the pioneers of slapstick comedy and violence in animation. For over 80 years, this cat and mouse duo have done it all and then some… all while beating the crap out of each other. They went to Mars, went to Oz, met Willy Wonka, made a T-rated video game, had a TV series where they were kids, and most importantly, they’ve won seven Academy Awards.
As far as full-length theatrical feature films go, the bar was set so low due to the horrible 1992 movie titled Tom and Jerry: The Movie, which is notorious for being the lowest point in the franchise because it broke Tom & Jerry rule #1: DO NOT MAKE THEM TALK. So, a new Tom & Jerry movie was long overdue — one that would honor the legacy of Hanna-Barbera’s iconic creation. With its live-action/CGI hybrid production, not only does this film do the titular duo justice, but it also marks the best Hanna-Barbera film adaptation to date.
The film sets the titular duo in the heart of Manhattan, New York. Tom is an alley cat who dreams of playing the piano and Jerry is browsing through NYC trying to find a new fancy place to call home. When their paths cross in Central Park, their violent cat-and-mouse chase escapades lead them to Kayla (Moretz), a young woman who scams her way into landing a temp job in event planning at one of NYC’s finest hotels on the eve of a celebrity couple’s wedding. Jerry happens to move into the hotel right when Kayla lands her gig. So, instead of stirring up trouble by hiring an exterminator, the hotel hires Tom to evict Jerry and that’s when the fun begins.
With so many live-action/computer-animated hybrid features based on cartoon properties in the past 20 years, audiences had to endure beloved animated characters such as Scooby-Doo, Garfield, Yogi Bear, and Alvin & The Chipmunks donning realistic CG redesigns. The team behind Tom & Jerry boldly steps far away from that, choosing to abide by something closer to what The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle did where they give the classic characters a cel-shaded 3D design. However, they created their own custom tools and techniques to give it its own fast-paced 2D feel. I like the simple decision of having all the animals (not just Tom and Jerry) who inhabit the world be animated so it’s not as confusing as, say, a CG creature amongst real animals.
At first, the animation looks incomplete as far as integrating the animals into the real-world setting. During the early set pieces, Tom and Jerry cause damage and destruction, but they don’t cast shadows amongst the foreground they’re in even prior to the slapstick. But once they sep foot in the hotel where the majority of the film takes place, the budget kicks in and the VFX that integrates Tom, Jerry, and Spike into the world is impressively detailed.
These live-action adaptations often have human actors who are just absolutely terrible in their roles, making the illusion of interaction between them and the CG creatures more difficult to buy into. Who Framed Roger Rabbit and The Paddington movies are absolutely perfect, of course, so they don’t count. The list of actors who are actually good in these movies is minuscule (David Cross in the first three Alvin movies, Hank Azaria in the Smurf movies, Domhnall Gleeson in Peter Rabbit). While nobody in Tom & Jerry reaches that caliber of camp, the majority of the human ensemble is decent. Chloë Grace Moretz is good as a hustler who white-privileges her way to the top of the event planning world, bringing a solid amount of life to her role. The same goes for the supporting cast, composed of Michael Peña who had me laughing ample times as the out-of-touch and rightfully envious deputy manager who watches Kayla rise above him, Rob Delaney as the stern hotel boss, and Ken Jeong as an uptight chef. The film already has a silly, sitcom tone and the performances match it. Granted, the film spends more time on this event planning narrative than the iconic animal duo, but at least the humans aren’t boring to watch.
As far as the slapstick violence goes, the film remains faithful to the energy of Tom & Jerry that hasn’t been captured in a long time. It hallmarks the energy of the duo during their heyday where they take literally any object in their vicinity and use it as a weapon against each other. Every environment is a playground for their brawl. I can’t believe I’m saying this but for a filmmaker like Tim Story, I was genuinely impressed by how much effort went into blocking and choreographing the sequences of cartoon violence and for the most part, a majority of those set pieces work. Tom and Jerry create absolute chaos with their slapstick and it can be anxiety-inducing at times, especially with the plot involving an eventful wedding. This movie is an event planner’s absolute worst nightmare.
For a Tom & Jerry movie, there’s a surprising lack of both Tom and Jerry. There’s a bothersome imbalance regarding the human wedding story while Tom and Jerry are an afterthought. It’s not as jarring as that Tom and Jerry: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory movie but the pair does get overshadowed. Hell, all the recognizable characters are just randomly thrown into the film, providing (outside of fan service) nothing to the plot. Tom’s rival, Butch Cat (voiced by Nicky Jam), just shows up out of nowhere with his street gang, but is left out for a majority of the film. Spike the Dog (voiced by Bobby Cannavale, which is such great casting) is thrown in as the groom’s pet dog who poops a lot. The set pieces where the titular duo brawls are great, but they aren’t enough to compensate for this already oddly lengthy film.
Most of the slapstick humor worked well for me. Most of the jokes outside of that… didn’t. There are plenty of weird sight gags, music cues, and even pop culture references, all trying so desperately to make the property assimilate into the modern age. I want to give Tim Story credit for the effort put into the production, but there are some ambitious choices that don't fit, one being the integration of hip-hop music. The film opens with animated pigeons rapping to A Tribe Called Quest, which becomes a running gag recycled right out of the Peter Rabbit movie. One of the early fight sequences involves more ‘90s hip-hop and while I admire the ambitious choice, which gave me “Little Birdie” from A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving vibes, it just doesn’t fit. It’s like slamming together two pieces from completely different puzzle sets hoping they make something.
While I enjoy the majority of the human cast and their fun, charming performances, there is one major outlier who drags the whole film down whenever he’s onscreen:
Yeah, Colin Jost. Jost portrays Ben, the celebrity groom, and Spike’s owner. The only SNL member in this cast is the worst human actor, which is a shame because everyone else is running circles around him. In a film that’s silly and full of life, he’s the only one who is sleepwalking through this performance as if he doesn’t even wanna be there. His line deliveries are so unconvincing and even when he has to tell a few jokes of his own, they all fall flat. It was such an out-of-body experience seeing one of two dudes who halt my enjoyment of Saturday Night Live with the Weekend Update segment also halt my enjoyment of this kids’ movie about a cat and mouse rivalry. Congrats kids, now you get to dislike Colin Jost too. How did you marry an Oscar-nominated actress and are a regular on SNL, yet you’re the worst thing about a Tom & Jerry movie?
I enjoy Tom & Jerry for what it is. It’s a mindless family film that honors the titular duo whenever they’re beating the crap out of each other. Though it suffers from being one of those studio adaptations that try to make a property hip and modern, it’s far more entertaining than it is unfunny. I had such a good time watching this and I think families would get a kick out of it too.
