Photo Credit: Dawn.com
The new Tom & Jerry movie just released this past week in theaters and on HBO Max, just another in a long line of simultaneous theatrical-and-streaming releases that Warner Bros is planning for this year, as the pandemic continues throughout the world.
The film is based on the old-time cartoon featuring a cat-and-mouse duo who cause mischief everywhere. I have mixed feelings about it. On one hand, there are obvious issues such as the interaction between the human actors, which is boring and definitely takes away from the movie, especially when they have to try to carry the film in the moments when the cat and mouse aren’t present.
The lineup includes good actors like Colin Jost, Chloe Grace Moretz, Michael Pena, and Ken Jeong, especially Moretz and Pena. However in the end, the conversations between them don’t include funny enough lines to get laughs. The characters, also, aren’t developed well-enough to engage one in the human storyline that’s better off left in the background, while the real stars of the show do their thing.
I don’t think the actors are necessarily to blame for this. To me, the script just doesn’t give them enough comedic material to work with, and that’s why the moments with the human characters fail, in my opinion. There are some moments where the people can be funny, but, overall, the movie suffers when Tom and Jerry aren’t taking up the attention.
However, when our favorite cat-and-mouse duo do take up the screen, it is definitely funny. The regular slapstick they take part in, while not as fast as their old cartoon, did make me laugh. That’s just the comedic genius that is Tom and Jerry. There is just something so bizarrely funny about watching a cartoon cat get hurt in hilarious situations at the hands of a sly, conniving cartoon mouse. Also, the slapstick keeps in tone with the cartoon, as their antics interrupt whatever the humans are doing, and make chaos, as well.
Of course, Tom and Jerry aren’t alone in the cartoon hijinks, as notable characters from the original cartoon like Spike, Toots, and Droopy make appearances to help add to the nostalgia. Spike the dog, in particular, who is voiced by Bobby Cannavale, adds to the fun in scenes with Tom and Jerry (and even without, at times), as he frequently gets involved in the battles between the two, inadvertently helping Jerry by beating up Tom and adding to the comedy. Also, the fact that he is voiced by Cannavale helps, too.
So, overall, while this probably isn’t the best version of Tom & Jerry out there, I do feel that when the duo are actually allowed to go through their antics, there is enough material to satisfy casual fans who don’t watch the cartoon all the time, but still find enjoyment out of it, like myself. However, for more die-hard fans of the original source material, this may not be for them.
