This decision attempts to find a happy medium between the real world and the cartoon world for Tom & Jerry. While all other elements maintain their realism, strictly the animals are animated. Later, exterior shots of New York City show regular background extras walking their clearly-animated pets on leashes. From the opening titles, the audience is introduced to this concept via a pigeon singing A Tribe Called Quest's "Can I Kick It".
In fact, the movie justifies this choice by making all the animals in the world of the film into these 2D-cartoonish characters who are lit and shaded in 3D. All Animals Are Cartoons, But Nothing Else isĪvoiding the photorealistic animated look of other live-action/animated hybrids, like Garfield: The Movie (2004) or the Chipmunks films, Tom & Jerry chooses to render its leading cat and mouse in a style much more reminiscent of their cartoon origins. While some of these decisions make sense, others leave audiences scratching their heads while the credits roll, as more unsightly implications present themselves upon further review. In Tom & Jerry (2021), the writers made a few choices to execute this: all animals are cartoon characters, the animals behave as if they are sentient beings, and they can't speak to humans. Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988) had to reconcile the two worlds' logic, as did Space Jam (1996). But integrating these "cartoon world" characters into the "real" world poses some unique challenges. Throughout their history, they've enjoyed the luxury of cartoon logic, amplifying the slapstick comedy for which the duo is so renowned. Related: Tom & Jerry Voice Cast Guide: What The Actors Look Like In Real Life
In the latter part of the 20th century, Tom and Jerry featured in several TV series: The Tom and Jerry Show (1975), The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show (1980–1982), Tom & Jerry Kids (1990–1993), Tom and Jerry Tales (2006–2008), and most recently The Tom and Jerry Show (2014–present). While the film delivers a zany, family-friendly story that's both reminiscent of the classic Tom and Jerry franchise and forward-thinking, it's certainly not without issue.īeginning in 1940, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera built their iconic cat-and-mouse story into a cultural mainstay through short films, television programs, and now two theatrically-released movies. Over the course of a 161-short-film run, Tom and Jerry earned the duo seven Academy Awards for Best Animated Short Film. The famous cat-and-mouse at the center of the story are still animated, but the way in which the humans in the story interact with them raises logical - and even at times ethical - concerns. Tom & Jerry brings the classic Hanna-Barbera cartoon characters into the human world for the first time ever, but in doing so, it calls into question the movie's wonky logic with cartoons.