Tom and Jerry
Director: Tim Story
Writer: William Hanna (co-creator), Joseph Barbera (co-creator), Kevin Costello
Starring: Chloe Grace Moretz, Michael Pena, Colin Jost, Ken Jeong, Pallavi Sharda, Rob Delaney, Lil Rel Howry (I don’t even remember him being in this TBH)
Reason for watching: New release
Number of times I’ve watched it: First time viewing
***
Here’s some new information for you. Tom and Jerry first came out in 1940. It received 13 Oscar nominations for Best Animated Short film, and it won SEVEN of those. By comparison, James Bond has had 25 movies and has only ever won four Oscars. Yes I know it was a different time and two VERY different genres (pssst…James Bond is a womanizing asshat and would totally lose a fight with Jerry Mouse). But still, it’s impressive stuff. And the show has to have been quite beloved to have lasted this long and been famous too. But maybe the times have changed, and new stories regarding these beloved cahracters.
Alright, let’s cut to the chase (haha I didn’t even mean to make that pun). Tom and Jerry both find themselves in New York City. However, Tom is stuck on the streets trying to survive while Jerry has found his way into an upscale hotel. In an effort to get off those cruel NYC streets, Tom promises he can catch and get rid of Jerry for new hotel employee Kayla (Chloe Grace Moretz) who is trying to appease her own bosses as well. In the backdrop, the deadline of an upcoming wedding forces Tom and Kayla to get rid of Jerry any way they can. Shenanigans ensue. Blah Blah Blah. The cat and mouse work together and make nice.
First of all, I’ll just get my personal feelings out of the way. Tom may be trying to kill Jerry, but that is the natural order of things. Jerry is a mouse and should know this. Sucks, but you gotta live with it. In response though, Jerry is a monster. He goes so far out of line constantly to harass and embarrass Tom that it becomes almost upsetting. Is it actually upsetting? No. But still. Neither of these guys is the real bad guy, but I’d rather hang out with Tom. Okay, no more personal opinions. Actual critical opinions coming up.
The story is simple enough for a kid’s movie to keep you entertained and at least moderately invested. But the jokes do not land here. The slapstick element is what has always worked for Tom and Jerry, but some of this is pushed aside for the actors here to try to riff off each or read jokes. Most of these jokes, do not land as the cast is not doing the kind of comedic work they are most used to. I know that we have to have human characters to relate to, but it’s similar to the complaints with the 2014 Godzilla movie. We aren’t here for the actors, we wanna see the non-human characters go crazy. And trying to create an emotional connection to these non-animated characters pulls us from the main draw of the movie.
Of course near the end, Tom and Jerry ruin the wedding at the fancy hotel, and they have to work together to save this big marriage that’s happening at the hotel. We have to get redemption for our character’s misdeeds, but I’ll circle back to my original complaint. Why do we need these human characters for us to have an emotional draw? Heck, why do we even need an emotional draw here? Just have Tom and Jerry chase each other for 90 minutes in some kind of competition or due to natural instincts. We do not need to learn some important lesson every time a movie happens. Let them mess around. I promise it’ll be more entertaining.
Look. A kid’s movie is a kid’s movie is a kid’s movie. They are not made to entertain me. They are made to entertain a kid and often young kids, at that. I am clearly not the targeted demographic so their primary goal shouldn’t be to appease me regardless. But if a kid’s movie is made and it can keep me, other adults, or young people entertained and be a good time for two hours or less, then it has exceeded its expectations. And no one is remembered just meeting expectations.
3/10
Until I see another one.