There are some intellectual properties that feel like a rite of passage. It doesn’t matter if you were born in the 1980s, 2000s, or even today. We are forever discovering the iconic properties of generations that have come before us. Every now and then we are even re-imagining them in a new light. Merry Melodies gave us the birth of icons like Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Taz, and Porky Pig among others. Over the years those characters have been experienced through their groundbreaking origins, been to space with Michael Jordan, and even had a reality show tribute in The Looney Tunes Show. Even today, those iconic characters have found new life with the HBO Max series, Looney Toons. The show was one of the service’s launch titles and introduced an entirely new generation to the wacky antics of Bugs and Daffy.
The Muppets is another iconic property that has seen its fair share of evolution and interruptions. Here are puppets that started out as a variety show, a format they have since returned to last year in The Muppets Now on Disney+. Over the years they have been used to adapt multiple notable stories including A Christmas Carol, Treasure Island, and The Wizard of Oz. They have been animated and imagined as babies. They have been to space and have given us a meta experience twice. Thanks to services like Disney+, these puppets are making an entirely new generation to laugh and fall in love with Kermit, Ms. Piggy, Animal, and others.
In the same vein as the former, Tom and Jerry is another iconic show that has seen its fair share of life and interruptions. The cat and mouse rivalry has been in over 150 plus shorts since their creation by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera in 1940. They have headlined a plethora of movies. They have even adapted their fair share of worthy titles, but they are back on the big screen for the first time in nearly 30 years. This version of the duo depicts the story of a down on her luck girl (Chloe Grace Mortez) who lies her way into a high profile hotel job. The hotel is hosting the wedding of the century with a young power couple (Colin Jost, Pallavi Sharda). Mortez is tasked with the assignment of hunting down the hotel rat, who is none other than Jerry, alongside Tom. The movie has an unnecessarily complex narrative for something that literally boils down to a cat and mouse chasing one another in an environment where they are not welcome.
Tom and Jerry has many offenses against it. Perhaps the biggest issue of the film is that we are presented with characters that we are given zero reasons as to why they should appeal to us. Jost and Sharda have zero chemistry. Jost, in particular, should probably stick to Saturday Night Live. He might have a career following in the footsteps of Jon Stewart but certainly not scripted acting. Jost has no demonstration of emotion. His acting is wooden and he’s far from alone. It feels like every performance in the film is in one of two camps. They are either overacting and trying to breathe life into the camp of Tom and Jerry, or they are like Jost and are just wooden.
It feels like this movie is lost and unsure of what it hopes to accomplish. My guess is that Warner Brothers didn’t want us to forget about Tom and Jerry so they made this movie to make the duo more relevant. Much like their last outing on the big screen, this movie spends too much of its time feeling like a 90 minute version of one of their shorts. But this time it’s those around the cat and mouse that feel underdeveloped. Despite the problems of the movie, the animation is simply stunning. The blend of modern day three-dimensional animation with the classic two-dimensional animation gives the film a unique look. Visually this movie is nothing short of stunning. People don’t watch movies for visuals alone. We watch them to be entertained.
Tom and Jerry is a bland excuse for entertainment. The majority of the jokes are stale and outdated. One could argue that Michael Pena is the villain of the story. He comes across as the aforementioned overacting but worse than that he is 100% predictable in nearly every action he takes. Tom and Jerry is not only boring but also predictable and is filled with moments that are bottom line cliche. Surprisingly enough, our two main stars actually have character. Tom is merely looking for his big break playing the piano, while Jerry is merely looking for a home. It’s these kinds of events that make the characters interesting. It’s a shame the film does little to nothing with it.
Overall, Tom and Jerry is an insult to the classic Hanna Barbera creation. This film is 100 minutes that feels more like 5 hours through outdated jokes, wooden acting, terrible writing, and the list goes on. The film will no doubt delight children but will make the rest of us want to claw our eyes out. The villain is predictable, overacted, and embodies every cliche possible. Tom and Jerry need a good loving home after this rough outing.
RORSCHACH RATING:
Mental Health Moment: Michael Pena is probably the closest character we have to a villain. There’s a scene early in the movie when Pena is showing Mortez around the hotel. He is introducing all of the staff to her. He comes to quite possibly one of my favorite characters in the movie who is Joy the Bell Girl, played by Patsy Ferran. She’s kind of quirky and weird but hey who isn’t. When Pena introduces her to both Mortez and the audience he says: “that’s Joy the Bell Girl. She’s useless.”
Throughout the entire film those words stuck with me like a freshly inked tattoo. No one on the face of this world is useless. That’s not an identity that someone can possibly possess. Sure, you might not be the best at something, but rest assured you do have value. Every breath you breathe is proof of that. Every moment you wake up the world is speaking volumes of that very truth. I get it, you’re not always going to feel like that’s the truth. Write down your worth on an index card and hang it on a mirror or somewhere that you’ll see it every day. Say it until you believe it. You’re not useless. Thank you for existing.
If you or someone you know is reading this right now and struggling with suicide, depression, addiction, or self-harm - please reach out. Comment, message, or tweet at us. Go to victimsandvillains.net/hope for more resources. Call the suicide lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. Text "HELP" to 741-741. There is hope & you DO have so much value and worth!
Victims and Villains is written (and produced) by Josh "Captain Nostalgia" Burkey and others, and edited by Cam Smith. Music by Mallory Johnson and others. Tom and Jerry is property of Warner Brothers Pictures. We do not own nor claim any rights.
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