‘Tom and Jerry’ bring mayhem to a new live-action movie

Tom and Jerry – the iconic frenemies will be getting an animated hybrid movie. Yes. You heard that right. The unforgettable cat and mouse duo from our childhood will soon be on the big screens. The movie is slated for a theatrical release on March 5, 2021. While some might call it yet another nostalgia card, it will interesting to see whether or not they do justice to the cartoon characters. 

Warner Bros dropped the trailer for the Tom and Jerry Movie on 17th November. The movie is a combination of animation and live-action, like Sonic the Hedgehog (2020). The animation for the cat and mouse will be similar to what we were accustomed to watching as a child. In my opinion, the animation for the movie does work well with the live-action while keeping the classic Tom and Jerry vibes to the character. 

William Hanna, the co-creator of the original Tom and Jerry cartoon will be lending his voice to the movie though archival voice recordings. 

Image: Warner Bros.

Created in 1940, Tom and Jerry will continue their 80-year rivalry on the big screen this time. The film was in development hell for almost a decade, so it will be interesting to see the Tom and Jerry Movie when it finally comes out. The studio went back and forth deciding between a live-action or a full-on animated film, before settling for an amalgamation of both. This combination, according to me, suits the film. As in today’s time and age, it would be difficult to make a feature film about characters that have no verbal communication. 

The trailer sets the precinct that Jerry has taken up residence in New York’s finest hotel and is hampering the staff’s efforts to prepare the ‘wedding of the century’. Kavya (Chloë Grace Moretz) is tasked with getting rid of the mouse. Kavya then hires Tom to hunt Jerry, which unleashes the classic mayhem between the duo.

The trailer has so far received a mixed bag of reactions from fans. Some have lauded the cartoonish animation used for Tom and Jerry. While others have criticised it for missing the slapstick cartoon violence that the show is known for. Few keen-eyed viewers even noticed a scene in the trailer where Jerry was using Apple AirPods as a speaker. Definitely a major flex by the cartoon character.

If you have seen Tom and Jerry (I mean who hasn’t), you know that the winner between the two is almost always Jerry. The trailer does bring back memories to the show and fans have even spotted a couple of homages to the original MGM Cartoon. 

The movie stars Chloë Grace Moretz, Michael Peña, Rob Delaney Colin and Jost Ken Jeong. It will also star Pallavi Sharda, the actress who starred across Ranbir Kapoor in Besharam. The Warner Bros movie will be directed by Tim Story, who has directed the Ride Along film series. 

Watch the full trailer for Tom and Jerry Movie below.