TOM & JERRY: THE MOVIE [2020 / 2021] [Blu-ray] [UK Release] Everyone’s Favourite Cat and Mouse Team Bring Their Classic Rivalry in the Animated Comedy Adventure!
One of the most beloved rivalries in history is reignited when Jerry moves into New York City’s finest hotel on the eve of “the wedding of the century,” forcing the event’s desperate planner to hire Tom to get rid of him. The ensuing cat and mouse battle threatens to destroy her career, the wedding and possibly the hotel itself. But soon, an even bigger problem arises: a diabolically ambitious staffer conspiring against all three of them. An eye popping blend of classic animation and live action, Tom and Jerry’s new big creen adventure stakes new ground for the iconic characters and forces them to do the unthinkable... work together to save the day.
FILM FACT: Principal photography began in July 2019 at Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden in Hertfordshire, England. The film was shot by cinematographer Alan Stewart, on the Sony VENICE cinema cameras and Panavision Primo 70 and Primo Artiste Lenses. Animators were present during filming, allowing cast members to improvise while figures of the titular characters were handled by puppeteers. Filming ended before the industry's shutdown in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Animation services were provided by Framestore, who hired 3D animators with a passion for 2D animation for the project. The strategy the animators used was to base the animation off a stylized 3D/CGI VFX modelling medium through a vintage 2D finish by creating innovative rigging, animation techniques used to create 2D animation, and custom tools such as lighting and rendering, resulting in the film's 3D/CGI animation maintaining the look, feel, and spirit of 2D animation, in the vein of the original classic shorts in the 1940’s and 1950’s. The animators also used early Tom and Jerry shorts as reference and inspiration for the animation sequences. Work on the animation was done remotely during the pandemic, with the filmmakers doing creative exploration on certain shots, and finalizing material through production groups.
Cast: Chloë Grace Moretz, Michael Peña, Tomas D. Cat [Himself the Cat], Jerome A. Mouse [Himself the Mouse], Jordan Bolger, Rob Delaney, Patsy Ferran, Pallavi Sharda, Colin Jost, Somi De Souza, Ajay Chhabra, Patrick Poletti, Janis Ahern, Ken Jeong, Camilla Arfwedson, Joe Bone, Edward Judge, Brian Bovell, David Nolan, Jude Coward Nicoll, Christina Chong, Daniel Adegboyega, Craig Stein, Edward Dogliani, Josselyn Ospina-Escobar, Ozuna, Paolo Bonolis, Haley Bishop, Norma Butikofer, Marc Wesley DeHaney, Kerri McLean, Sophie Holland, Joseph Begley, Scott Coker, Joe Buck, Bobby Cannavale [Voice of Spike], Nicky Jam [Voice of Butch], Plastic Cup Boyz [Voice of Alley Cats], Joey Wells [Voice of Lightning], Na'im Lynn [Voice of Meathead], Harry Ratchford [Voice of Topsy], Will 'Spank' Horton [Voice of Ash], Lil Rel Howery [Voice of Angel / Devil Tom], Utkarsh Ambudkar [Voice of Real Estate Rat], Tim Story [Voice of Pigeon Announcer], Jonathan Addis (uncredited), Maria Barr (uncredited), Mel Blanc [Voice of Tom / Jerry] (archive sound) (uncredited), Gianni Calchetti (uncredited), Ewan Callaway (uncredited), Mike Capozzola (uncredited), Wong Charlie (uncredited), Darren Charman (uncredited), Stuart Cooke (uncredited), Nesba Crenshaw (uncredited), Grant Crookes (uncredited), Daniel Eghan (uncredited), Eleanor Fanyinka (uncredited), June Foray [Jerry] (archive sound) (uncredited), William Hanna [Voice of Tom / Jerry] (archive sound) (uncredited), Ty Hurley (uncredited), Joelle Koissi (uncredited), Mervi Koski (uncredited), Nina Kumar (uncredited), Maya Larholm (uncredited), Chelsea Li (uncredited), Patrick Loh (uncredited), Keith Lomas (uncredited), Swaylee Loughnane (uncredited), Tyrone Love (uncredited), Prince Marfo (uncredited), Obie Matthew (uncredited), Doris McCarthy (uncredited), Bradley Wj Miller (uncredited), Sri Moorthy (uncredited), Ekran Mustafa (uncredited), Jamie Neagle (uncredited), Shaun Newnham (uncredited), Shaun Newnham (uncredited), Tina Louise Owens (uncredited), Richard Price (uncredited), Camilla Rutherford (uncredited), Leandra Ryan (uncredited), Bernardo Santos (uncredited), Kemal Shah (uncredited), Joakim Skarli (uncredited), Emily Stevenson (uncredited), Mihai Tuca (uncredited),Keira Whitwell (uncredited), Chris Wilson (uncredited) and Wayne Young (uncredited)
Director: Tim Story
Producers: Adam Goodman, Allison Abbate, Christopher DeFaria (p.g.a), Jesse Ehrman, Sam Register, Steve Harding and Tim Story
Screenplay: William Hanna (based on characters created), Joseph Barbera (based on characters created) and Kevin Costello (written)
Composer: Christopher Lennertz
Costume Design: Alison McCosh
Cinematography: Alan Stewart (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audio: English: Dolby ATMOS
English: 7.1 Dolby TrueHD
English: 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio
English: 5.1 Descriptive Audio
German: 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio
German: 5.1 Descriptive Audio
Italian: 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio
Chinese [Cantonese]: 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio
Chinese [Mandarin]: 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio
Korean: 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio
Danish: 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio
Finnish: 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio
Greek: 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio
Hindi: 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio
Norwegian: 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio
Swedish: 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio
Tamil [Dravidian]: 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio
Telugu [Dravidian]: 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio
English: 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo Audio
Subtitles: English, German, Italian, Chinese [Cantonese], Chinese [Mandarin], Korean, Danish, Finnish, Greek, Norwegian, Swedish, German SDH, Italian SDH, Chinese SDH [Cantonese], Chinese SDH [Mandarin], Korean SDH, Danish SDH, Finnish SDH, Greek SDH, Hindi, Norwegian SDH, Swedish SDH, Tamil [Dravidian] and Telugu [Dravidian]
Running Time: 101 minutes
Region: All Regions
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures / Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: ‘TOM & JERRY: THE MOVIE’ [2021] We’re introduced to Kayla [Chloë Grace Moretz] who is applying for a job at the upper scale Royal Gate Hotel. She is underqualified, but she lies about her credentials and steals a resume. Before long, Kayla gets the job. Her supervisor Terrence [Michael Peña] is a bit suspicious of her, but they have a big fancy wedding fast approaching, so there’s little time to worry too much. If the wedding is a success for the hotel then they will gain massive publicity. We learn that Jerry the mouse resides at the hotel, so Kayla enlists the help of Tom the cat to rid the hotel of this rodent. It’s a simple enough hook, but it works for the film.
Directed by Tim Story from a screenplay written by Kevin Costello. Story does a great job at the helm of Tom & Jerry capturing the heart and style of the iconic duo while trying to do something slightly new with the property to largely enjoyable results. The film also features a cast of some notable talent and includes Chloë Grace Moretz, Michael Peña, Colin Jost, Rob Delaney and Ken Jeong, along with the voice talents of Bobby Cannavale, Lil Rel Howery and more who each offer capable and fittingly goofy performances in their respective roles overall.
‘TOM & JERRY: THE MOVIE’ is a light-hearted and incredibly enjoyable outing with our beloved cat and mouse rivals that merges a live-action world and cast with animated animals (even the causal dog walking past briefly on the street is animated) in a style that seems to be largely inspired by films such as ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit.’ Even while some of the direct interactions between the animated and real life stars seems slightly off on occasion, it still works quite well for the most part and allows a bigger scope and playground for the combative duo Tom & Jerry to wreak havoc. But despite this, I loved all the cartoon animals and especially the two large Elephants, and reminded me of the Disney animated film ‘Dumbo’ and especially when the two Elephants confront Jerry the mouse and causes total havoc and total destruction of the reception room. Also I thought the scene when Tom uses the skateboard to chase after the car and it was so well executed and was also so very clever, as is when the drone has Jerry on it and the white cat is hanging in mid-air, so all in all the animated team did this scene really well and adds a bit of excitement and tension near to the end of the film and again it was so well executed.
It may not get every detail perfect, but in a film with such a carefree style and approach, one can only hope for ample fun and silliness and in that regard Tom & Jerry certainly delivers. I would thoroughly encourage any diehard Tom & Jerry fans to ignore so many of the negative reviews and give this one a fair chance. Granted it probably won’t be going up for best picture at the Oscars, but it does deliver in exactly the manner we would expect and even hope, with plenty of fun, over the top chaos and hilarity that stays largely true to the source material of our stars while at the same time attempting to do something slightly different with the property.
‘TOM & JERRY: THE MOVIE’ is decent family entertainment, but it unfortunately loses a great deal of what made the original Tom & Jerry cartoon shorts so effective. The narrative injects some human characters in order to fill out the story, but in the end, you are left feeling that you want to get back to the main cartoon characters we have known and loved for so long. At least Chloë Grace Moretz and Michael Peña bring some fun energy to their roles that allow their segments to not be a complete drag. By the way, watch end credits to the very end, as you have a nice surprise!
TOM & JERRY: THE MOVIE MUSIC TRACK LIST
DON’T YOU KNOW (Written by Ray Charles) [Performed by T-Pain]
CAN I KICK IT (Written by Lou Reed) [Performed by A Tribe Called Quest]
SOFT SHOE (Written by Eric Reed) [Performed by Eric Reed]
QUESO (Written by Pell and Dave Sitek) [Performed by Pell]
COOL CATZ (Written by Allen Arthur and Keith Justice) [Performed by Allen Arthur and Keith Justice]
DON’T SWEAT THE TECHNIQUE (Written by Eric B. and Rakim) [Performed by Eric B. and Rakim]
JUNGLE (Written by Ted Griggs) [Performed by TedLo]
COME & TALK TO ME (Written by DeVante DeGrate) [Performed by Jodeci]
BOUNCY HOUSE (Written by Jesse Frasure, Ross Golan, Johan Carlsson and Flo Rida) [Performed by Flo Rida]
FREE (Written by Ash Milton and Daniel James) [Performed by Tiggs Da Author]
LET’S GET MARRIED (Written by Brandon Casey, Brian Casey, Jermaine Dupri and Bryan Michael Cox) [Performed by Jagged Edge]
LAAL LAAL AAG HUA (Written by Gulzar) [Performed by Sukhwinder Singh]
SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL (Written by Gordon Groothedde, Jacob Banks, Celetia Martin, Shareen Shabana and Luke Juby) [Performed by Jacob Banks]
SHOWOFF (Written by Keith Justice and Allen Arthur) [Performed by Allen Arthur and Keith Justice]
GOOD THING (Written by Earl St. Clair, Todd Spadafore and Ashley Levy) [Performed by Earl St. Clair]
ROCKET FUEL (Written by Posdnuos, Gary DeCarlo, Paul Leka, Dale Frashuer, Trugoy The Dove and DJ Shadow) [Performed by DJ Shadow featuring De La Soul]
CUT EM IN (Written by Hit-Boy, Dustin James Corbett, Rick Ross, Ryan Martinez, Nicholas Race and Anderson .Paak) [Performed by Anderson .Paak featuring Rick Ross]
* * * * *
Blu-ray Image Quality – Warner Bros. Pictures and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment presents the film ‘TOM & JERRY: THE MOVIE’ with a brilliant 1080p High Definition presentation with the film’s original 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio. The image presentation is a vivid one and looks rather polished in its aesthetic. Details and textures come through quite strong and varied in this sharp and crisp image. The film features some great foreground and background relations with nice pushback and impressive “down the hallway” appearance. The animated characters don’t feel flat and feel three dimensional in the frame. Movements are natural and smooth with no issues regarding motion distortion. Blacks are deep and do well in shadowing and really complimenting and contrasting the colour in the image. No issues with masking or hiding any details. Colours are pretty bold and it carries a nice rustic look. The animated characters look really flashy and slick in their presentation. Skin tones are totally natural and consistent from start to finish. Overall, the film looks incredibly vibrant, with wonderfully complimentary colours to help Tom, Jerry and the rest of the animated gang all pop beautifully when on screen, while also not sticking out like they aren't really part of the world. Even the dark, dingy alleyways are bright and, well, they're still dingy.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – Warner Bros. Pictures and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment brings us the film ‘TOM & JERRY THE MOVIE’ with two options and they are Dolby ATMOS and 7.1 Dolby TrueHD (audio compatible). The 7.1 Dolby TrueHD multichannel sound track is a splendidly aggressive audio experience that always keeps things sounding crisp and clean while repeatedly adding to the overall enjoyment of the viewing experience. It continually takes full advantage of all seven available channels in order to send characters, debris and destruction, along with nature content and plenty more zipping throughout the various speakers at every fitting opportunity, while always making certain that any dialogue or other audio elements that may be occurring simultaneously remain clean and fully audible. From the opening immersion into New York City, the soundscape is set to deliver an expansive experience suitable for a family action film. Sounds are appropriately rendered with precise directionality from the more kinetic action scenes to interpersonal moments of dialogue. Ambient details are plentiful and quite satisfying in the rear and overhead channels. The overhead channels serve to complement the other channels rather than carry the main load, which adds a nice sense of space to the mix. Musical cues and the playful score from Christopher Lennertz envelope the room with a lovely ease. Dialogue is presented perfectly clear without ever being overwhelmed by any of the competing sonic elements. The chaotic altercations and crashes provide an all-encompassing soundscape that kicks in throughout all the speakers. The low end is engaged in a really solid way that will have your couch shaking a bit. The mix offers up the best experience for those with the home theatre system to support it. Overall, this is a magnificent 7.1 Dolby TrueHD (audio compatible) soundtrack that’s a constant treat from start to finish and should thoroughly please every step of the way.
* * * * *
Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Special Feature: Deleted Scenes [2021] [1080p] [1.85:1] [13:34] With this special feature we get an introduction by Tim Story [Director] and explains what each deleted scene is about and why they could not be included in the film and here is what you get to view: Home Destroyed; Job Hopper Task in Park; Tom Hit by Truck; Kayla’s at Sadie’s apartment; Tom on Stilts; Kayla Shown Hotel Room; Tom Dream; Terence in the Car on the Phone to London Hotel; NY Tour / Tom and Jerry Street Portrait and Jackie and Kayla at Cake.
Special Feature: Gag Reel [2021] [1080p] [1.85:1] [3:01] Here we get to view a so called funny gag reel, but to me these sort of thing is only funny to the cast and crew, so personally I recommend you skip this feature, and at the end when the words The End appear, I said to myself thank goodness for that.
Special Feature: Bringing Tom & Jerry to Life [2021] [1080p] [1.85:1 / 1.37:1] [14:11] With this special feature we get another introduction by Tim Story [Director] and wants to show us how Tom & Jerry was brought back to life for the big screen and in a way that has not been shown before, and how everyone in pulled together. We also get to view a multi-faceted piece touching on various aspects of the production, from the cast and crew's shared love of the franchise to storyboarding, green-screening. The cast and crew also discuss bringing these characters to the big screen, their personal relationships with the duo, the legacy that comes with them, and the animation techniques in the film, the performers assembled for the story and more. We also get lots of clips from the original Tom & Jerry cartoons. Contributors include: Chloë Grace Moretz [Kayla], Jordan Bolger [Cameron], Pallavi Sharda [Preeta], Ken Jeong [Chef Jackie], Michael Peña [Terence], Colin Jost [Ben], Christopher DeFaria [Producer], Rob Delaney [Mr. Dubros], Alison McCosh [Costume Designer], Jerry Beck [Animation Historian from www.cartoonbrew.com], Joe Adamson [Film Comedy Historian], Eric Goldberg [Animator of “Tom & Jerry Tales”], Robert Stevenhagen [Head of Story], Aya Suzuki [Story Artist], Dino Athanassiou [Story Artist], Adam Coglan [Pre-Vis Supervisor], Philip Vallentin [Animation Story Artist], Patsy Ferran [“Joy” The Bell Girl], Michael Taibi [Puppeteer] and Daniel Adegboyega [“Gavin” The Doorman].
Special Feature: Tom & Jerry's World [2021] [1080p] [1.85:1] [4:17] Here we get to view a very tongue-in-cheek featurette about working with the two lead "actors," especially at the start we get the JERRY-CAM where we get to see what Tom & Jerry get to view of the world around them, while on the set, because of their height and especially the view you get with the Tom & Jerry skateboarding scene and weaving about the New York traffic chasing after the car. We also get a brief run through how these characters act and the environment working with these animated characters. This is a kind of a “mockumentary” type bonus feature. Contributors include: Alison McCosh [Costume Designer], Christopher DeFaria [Producer], Tim Story [Director], Chloë Grace Moretz [Kayla], Patsy Ferran [“Joy” The Bell Girl], Jordan Bolger [Cameron], Colin Jost [Ben], Pallavi Sharda [Preeta], Ken Jeong [Chef Jackie] and Rob Delaney [Mr. Dubros].
Special Feature: The Feud: #TeamTom vs. #TeamJerry [2021] [1080p] [1.78:1] [4:15] Here we get an in-depth look at the feud between Tom & Jerry, and how Tom always comes off worse, but still carries on chasing Jerry the mouse. People on the cast and crew inform us who their favourite character is, where some support Tom and some support Jerry, but one person only supported Spike. They also are continuing the whole “like they are real actors” gag. Contributors include: Chloë Grace Moretz [Kayla], Pallavi Sharda [Preeta], Rob Delaney [Mr. Dubros], Patsy Ferran [“Joy” The Bell Girl], Roland Traynor [Prop Dresser], Rowena Ladbury [Script Supervisor], Colin Jost [Ben], Jordan Bolger [Cameron], Michael Stevenson [Assistant Director], Michael Peña [Terence], Michael Taibi [Puppeteer], Chelsea Mather [Stunt Performer] and Hazel Keane [On-Set Art Director].
Special Feature: Jerry's "A House For a Mouse" [2021] [1080p] [1.85:1] [3:58] With this special feature, we get a narrated MTV Cribs-style featurette that gives us a quick tour of Jerry's sweet digs within the walls of The Royal Gate Hotel in New York on the 10th floor and is sponsored by A Hunk of Cheese. We also get to see an in-depth look at what items Jerry has furnished his room. This is quite a fun little feature.
Special Feature: The Tom & Jerry Guide to New York City Wildlife [2021] [1080p] [1.85:1] [4:52] Here we get the grand Tour of New York with the help of Tom & Jerry, in between the mayhem these two critters cause. Here we get to view a look at the various critters featured throughout the film with “fun facts” provided via voiceover narration and they are as follows: Columbian Domestica [Feral Pigeon], Rattus Norvegicus [Garden Variety Rat], Sciurus Carolinensis [Squirrels], Loxodonta [Elephant], Pavo Cristatus [Peacock], Panthera Tigris [Tiger], Carassius Auratus [Goldfish], Canis Lupus Familiariis [American Bull Dog], Felis Catus [Domestic Shorthair Cat] and Mus Musculous [House Mouse].
Special Feature: A Scene Comes to Life: Here we get to view two special features and they are as follows:
Scene #1: Ben and Preeta’s Wedding [2021] [1080p] [1.85:1] [5:24] Here we take an in-depth look at the wedding of Ben and Preeta and the elaborate set pieces that comes along with it at The Royal Gate Hotel in New York, plus we get to see behind-the scene filming. But most of all we eventually get to see the total mayhem that happens when the cartoon animals go on a rampage and totally destroys the whole reception area. Contributors include: Colin Jost [Ben], Pallavi Sharda [Preeta], Ron Delaney [Mr. Dubros], Michael Peña [Terence], Chloë Grace Moretz [Kayla] and Ken Jeong].
Scene #2: Animal Lockup [2021] [1080p] [1.78:1] [3:54] Here we have one of the film's only real laughs with a Droopy cameo. We also get to view an in-depth look behind-the-scene at the Animal Lockup, where Tom & Jerry end up after destroying the hotel room. Also take a quick look at the cartoon animals that are in the other cages. We also get to view the storyboard drawings in working out the sequence of events in the scene of the Animal Lockdown. Contributors include: Tim Story [Director], Michael Peña [Terence], Dino Athanassiou [Story Artist] and Robert Stevenhagen [Head of Story].
Finally, this ‘TOM & JERRY: THE MOVIE’ new feature film is a goofy and consistently amusing slapstick adventure with our favourite animated cat and mouse duo, as well as some other familiar animated faces are all thrown together in a live action world and the result may not be cinematic gold, but it sure is a great deal of fun that I wouldn’t overlook if you’re a fan of the legendary duo Tom & Jerry and an adaption of the classic Hanna-Barbera property, which reveals how Tom and Jerry first meet and form their rivalry. The ‘TOM & JERRY: THE MOVIE’ is definitely recommended for all fans of Tom and Jerry along with anyone that enjoys a carefree family film that serves up plenty of fun without ever making the mistake of taking itself too seriously. If this one already has your attention but you missed it during its run in the cinemas, it might be worth renting a copy for one easy-going evening at home when you just want to relax and have fun with a simple and easy-going family comedy that won’t require too much concentration. Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has provided a Blu-ray with a top-notch A/V presentation and a solid array of supplemental features. Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
