Tom and Jerry & The Wizard of Oz

TOM AND JERRY & THE WIZARD OF OZ ORIGINAL MOVIE [2011] [Blu-ray + DVD Digital Copy] [USA Release] Tom and Jerry Animated Musical Fantasy!

Tom and Jerry are not in Kansas anymore . . . They’re off to see the Wizard, the wonderful Wizard of Oz! Tom and Jerry soars over the rainbow and travel down the yellow brick road in this all-new animated retelling of the classic tale. You’ll see your favourite characters: Dorothy, Toto, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, the Lion, the Wicked Witch of the West, the Wizard, the Munchkins and more.

You’ll hear many of your favourite songs, including “Over the Rainbow.” And you’ll laugh at the antics of your favourite cat and mouse as they get twisted up in a twister, go paw-to-paw against flying monkeys and storm the Wicked Witch’s castle in a heroic attempt to get Dorothy and Toto and themselves safely back to Kansas. After all, there’s no place like home!

Voice Cast: Grey DeLisle [Dorothy], Nikki Yanofsky [Singing voice of Dorothy], Joe Alaskey [The Wizard of Oz, Butch and Droopy], Michael Gough [The Scarecrow], Rob Paulsen [The Tin Man], Todd Stashwick [The Cowardly Lion], Frances Conroy [Auntie Em and Glinda], Laraine Newman [The Wicked Witch of the West], Stephen Root [Uncle Henry and The Crow], Kath Soucie [Tuffy The Munchkin Mouse], Billy West [Tom The Cat voice) (uncredited) and Bob Bergen [Jerry The Mouse voice] (uncredited)

Directors: Spike Brandt and Tony Cervone

Producers: Alan Burnett, Judge Plummer, Sam Register, Spike Brandt and Tony Cervone

Screenplay: Gene Grillo

Composer: Michael Tavera

Image Resolution: 1080p

Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1

Audio: English: 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio
French: 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio
Spanish: 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio
Português: 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio
English: 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo Audio

Subtitles: English SDG, French, Spanish and Português

Running Time: 59 minutes

Region: Blu-ray: All Regions and DVD: NTSC

Number of discs: 2

Studio: Turner Entertainment Co. / Warner Bros. Animation

Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: ‘TOM AND JERRY & THE WIZARD OF OZ ORIGINAL MOVIE’ is a 2011 direct-to-video animated film starring Tom and Jerry, and produced by the Warner Bros. Animation. The animated film is a remake of the M-G-M 1939 classic film ‘The Wizard of Oz’ with the addition of Tom and Jerry, who would originally debut in the series for their M-G-M cartoon films a year later, and now incorporating them into this animated film as major supporting characters. Droopy and Butch also cameo as minor antagonists. Move over Munchkins! Tom and Jerry have landed in the magical Land of Oz and are gearing up for an unforgettable adventure along with Dorothy, Toto and other beloved characters in the ‘TOM AND JERRY & THE WIZARD OF OZ ORIGINAL MOVIE’ animated film.

Kansas farm girl Dorothy Gale owns a pet cat named Tom and a pet mouse named Jerry. Tom and Jerry's rivalry gets in the way of the Gales' farm work. But they work together to rescue Dorothy when she topples off the pigsty fence railing and into the pigsty. Since Tom and Jerry are very good at looking after Dorothy and this usually keeps the rivalry out of the way, Auntie Em asks Tom and Jerry to promise her they'd put their rivalry aside and work together to protect Dorothy.

At first, Tom and Jerry are reluctant, but they really don't want Dorothy to get hurt, so they agree to be friends and keep an eye on her. But when the wicked Miss Gulch comes to take the dog Toto away to have him put to sleep, Tom and Jerry work together to follow Miss Gulch and to save Toto the dog and in doing so is recreating the original M-G-M 1939 classic film scenario in this really beautiful classic animation film with the infusion of Tom and Jerry to aid Dorothy along her journey. This new animated film literally picks up where the last one left off and then fully realizes a new adventure, including familiar locations, costumes, characters and even songs.

In this fun and unique story, Tom and Jerry are twisted up into a powerful tornado, and Dorothy, Toto, Tom, and Jerry are too late to join Dorothy's family in the storm cellar. Dorothy goes inside the house to find Auntie Em and Uncle Henry. Tom and Jerry try to make as much noise as they can to get Auntie Em and Uncle Henry to hear them, but the twister gets closer. Tom and Jerry get knocked out when trying to get inside the house, and they are twisted up in a twister, soar over the rainbow and down the yellow brick road, where they encounter some of the legendary story's most cherished characters in the Land of Oz.

They meet Tuffy the Munchkin Mouse, and he explains what happened when he, the other Munchkins, and Glinda the Good Witch of the North met Dorothy after she killed the Wicked Witch of the East. As Tom and Jerry skip down the Yellow Brick Road, Tuffy warns them not to follow Dorothy. Tom goes along with this, but Jerry reminds him that they promised they'd keep Dorothy out of danger. Tuffy asks if he can go. Tom laughs at how small Tuffy is, but Tuffy is very insecure about his size, so he decides to ask the Wizard of Oz to make him big.

Tom and Jerry team up with Tuffy, and they catch up with Dorothy, who has also made new friends on her way to see the Wizard and ask him to send her home. But they need to watch out for the Wicked Witch of the West, who's angry with Dorothy for killing the Wicked Witch of the East and Tom and Jerry for saving Dorothy from having her Ruby Slippers taken away.

There is something sacred about the original M-G-M 1939 classic film and to some purist thinks the concept of doing a direct sequel of an animate film almost sacrilegious, but produced by Warner Bros Animation, and taking full advantage of the Oscar-winning music score, it is like a total dream come true and stepping back into the fantasy the original M-G-M 1939 classic film ‘The Wizard of Oz’ vision and in a way only the Warner Bros Animation could do. The vocal artist talents pay homage to the iconic cast and new characters, featuring the celebrity voices of Jason Alexander, Andrea Martin, Frances Conroy and Broadway’s James Monroe Iglehart. What is more, for the faithful fans out there of L. Frank Baum’s Wizard of Oz books, the new evil in Oz is loosely based on his work.

The greatest highlight is seeing a fully realised production of “The Jitterbug,” a song originally written for the M-G-M 1939 classic film ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ which was deleted from the Judy Garland film. It is wonderfully used in this animated film with great delight. The new songs are true to the spirit of the originals. Especially great is Dorothy’s new Kansas tune, “There’s No Place Like Home.” The inclusion of Tom and Jerry never distracts from the main plot or other characters. There is an option to view the film with Kansas scenes in sepia tone and in doing so allowing for a closer-to-the-classic film experience. So all in all it is a charming fun return to the Land of Oz that we all want to escape to and thanks to the creative minds of Warner Bros Animation, now we can!

TOM AND JERRY & THE WIZARD OF OZ ORIGINAL MOVIE MUSIC TRACK LIST

OVER THE RAINBOW (Written by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg) [Performed by Nikki Yanofsky]

WE’RE OFF TO SEE THE WIZARD (The Wonderful Wizard of Oz) (Written by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg) [Performed by Michael Gough, Rob Paulsen, Kath Soucie, Todd Stashwick and Nikki Yanofsky]

IF I ONLY HAD THE HEIGHT (Written by Harold Arlen, Gene Grillo and E.Y. Harburg) [Performed by Kath Soucie]

OPTIMISTIC VOICES (Written by Harold Arlen, Herbert Stothart and E.Y. Harburg) [Performed by Jeanette Olsson, Bobbi Page and Wendy Wagner]

THE MERRY OLD LAND OF OZ (Written by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg) [Performed by Joe Alaskey, Frances Conroy, Michael Gough, Rob Paulsen, Stephen Root, Kath Soucie, Todd Stashwick and Nikki Yanofsky]

IF I ONLY HAD A BRAIN (Written by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg) [Performed by Michael Gough]

IF I ONLY HAD A HEART (Written by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg) [Performed by Rob Paulsen]

IF I ONLY HAD THE NERVE (Written by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg) [Performed by Todd Stashwick]

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Blu-ray Image Quality – Once again Warner Home Video brings you this Blu-ray disc in a fantastic 1080p image presentation that is 100% crisp and colourful, that sometimes have the colours bursting out of the screen and you also get wonderful crisp and stunning colourful images as well. What are also outstanding are the lovely vibrant reds, suitably witch like greens, stormy greys, vivid blues, inky blacks abound, and contrast and clarity is 100% spot on. The brilliant animators work is particularly refined and every last flick of their pens with their CGI computer generated touch is as sharp as it should be. So all in all a good effort all round.

Blu-ray Audio Quality – Warner Home Video brings you a fantastic 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound experience, that is bright and lively, and when you get to hear Tom and Jerry being tossed around too and fro, throughout storm and tornado, you feel you are with them in all the excitement. Dialogue is crystal clear and neatly positioned with your centre speaker, and the sound effects are very effective, especially with all your speakers working, you have a few standout brilliant moments. On top of all that, the animated film music does a really fine job and is very immersive, and with some nice directional flourishes that keeps things exciting at times throughout the animated film, a handful of hearty loud boom sounds make their presence known now and again to great effect. What is also brilliant is there is some nice directional flourishes that keep things exciting, a handful of hearty booms make their presence known, an there is a decent amount of whirlwind fun sounds to be had by all. So once again, a good effort all round.

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Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:

Special Feature: Tom and Jerry and the Science of Oz [2011] [1080p] [1.78:1] [6:48] Learn How a Hot Air Balloon Works, How to Make a Tornado in a bottle and other cool Family-Friendly Activities. Here we are introduced to David Lovering who invites us into his laboratory, who also informs us that he is a personal friend to Tom and Jerry, who informed David Lovering of their wonderful trip the magical Land of Oz and of all their exciting adventures that experienced. We also get introduced to David Lovering’s assistant Ryan, and here they demonstrate three key experiments that appeared in the animated film, and they ask children to be supervised by their parents when carrying out the following experiments. The first experiment is how to make an “IDEAL RAINBOW,” and they inform us that all you need is a half-filled glass bowel of water, a small mirror, a torch, a piece of black card, a piece of white card, a pair of scissors, a roll of cellophane tape, and a piece of chalk. Then they proceed to put everything together to show you how the experiment works to produce an artificial rainbow. The next experiment is entitled “TORNADO in a BOTTLE,” and they inform us you need two lark transparent plastic bottles, a small washer, so black tape, and some blue coloured liquid, they then proceed to show you how to create your own home made tornado experiment works. The final experiment is entitled “AT HOME: Hot Air Balloon,” and here they inform us that all you need is a small clear glass bottle and you fill the bottom with either some rocks or coins, next you need a small balloon, a cooking saucepan that they fill with hot water and then proceed to show you how the experiment works. As the special feature comes to an end, the two people hope you have learned a lot from these three experiments, and that there is still a lot of magic out there in the world.

Special Feature: Tom and Jerry & The Wizard of Oz Classic Style [2011] [1080p] [1.78:1] [59:12] Experience another Full-Length Version of the animated film, especially with a Sepia image tone at Opening of the film and at the very end of the animated film, like you experienced in the original 1939 film ‘The Wizard of Oz.’

DVD Trailers: Here you get to view seven individual trailers, two you get to view when the Blu-ray disc loads up and the other five are found in the special features menu and they are as follows: SCOOBY-DOO! LEGENDS OF THE PHANTOSAUR ORIGINAL MOVIE [2011] [1080i] [1.37:1] [00:58]. SCOOBY-DOO! MYSTERY INCORPORATED [2011] [1080p] [1.78:1] [00:44]. Tom and Jerry Meet Sherlock Holmes [2010] [1080i] [1.37:1] [00:31]. Happiness is . . . Peanuts: Snoopy’s Adventure [2011] [1080i] [1.33:1] [1:01]. LEGO Battles: Ninjago [2011] [1080i] [1.37:1] [1:01]. The Looney Tunes Show [2011] [1080i] [1.37:1] [1:00]. HAPPY FEET TWO: The Video Game [2011] [1080i] [1.37:1] [1:00].

Finally, with the ‘TOM AND JERRY & THE WIZARD OF OZ ORIGINAL MOVIE’ Blu-ray disc is of course a crossover animated film in homage to the 1939 film ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ and especially by the classic Hanna-Barbera duo Tom and Jerry end up in the story with Dorothy and eventually landing over the rainbow in the magical Land of Oz. Like all Tom and Jerry cartoons, you can expect loads of slapstick, cartoon violence, and especially with a bit of added creepiness thrown in for good measure. There are plenty of scenes that will be familiar that you viewed in the 1939 original Technicolor film and it is wonderfully crisp colourful animation that is extremely very well-done and can be appreciated by all age groups. For anyone that has wanted to introduce their children to the magic of the 1939 film ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ but has worried about the darker aspect of the film, as per example with the evil Wicked Witch of the West, whereas this animated cartoon version is a great deal of fun and frolics and especially with loads of fun filled laugh a minute slapstick, that everyone will thoroughly enjoy. Highly Recommended!

Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado 
Le Cinema Paradiso 
United Kingdom