Very rarely can a classic piece of media be updated for modern audiences in a way that encapsulates the spirit of the original and remains fresh. Times, and audiences, have changed since cartoon mega power Hanna-Barbera’s feisty feline and his rodent frenemy were at the height of their power in the swinging sixties and history has not been kind to them. Like The Smurfs and Yogi Bear before it, the 2021 reboot of Tom and Jerry is about as obvious a cash-grab as you can get; hurling the anarchic animals into a completely juvenile and nonsensical story with not a moral value in sight. Filled with lame jokes, acting and a hokey animation/live-action style that hasn’t been done well since the glorious days of Looney Tunes: Back in Action (long live Brendan Fraser), there simply aren’t any redeeming factors or reasons for this mess of a movie to exist outside of parents getting some “me time” by dumping their kids in front the TV for two hours.
The setting for the mindless shenanigans is none other than New York City, as we find a jobless Kayla (Chloë Grace Moretz) stealing a resume and impersonating someone else as she interviews for a position at the prestigious Royal Gate Hotel. Much to the chagrin of high-strung events manager Terence (Michael Peña), Kayla is hired by Rob Delaney’s clueless hotel manager and set to task assisting Terence plan the wedding of the century for New York socialite couple Ben (SNL‘s Colin Jost) and Preeta (Pallavi Sharda). Things are thrown into chaos with the arrival of Jerry the Mouse, who has settled on the hotel as his new abode and Kayla is tasked with his removal before the wedding. With her newly stolen job hanging in the balance, Kayla relies on years of predatory evolution and turns to Tom the Cat as the obvious solution to remove Jerry, instead of, you know, exterminators. As the cartoon pair rip the hotel apart and cause havoc on every wedding plan imaginable, Kayla inexplicably decides that she has done a bad thing and sets out to earn her position the right way, by ensuring Ben and Preeta make it to the altar.
If it seems like I’m not giving the film a fair go off the bat let me set the record straight: I loved the Tom and Jerry cartoons growing up. They were a staple on the TV and their unique brand of loud and brash, yet largely silent violence was a constant source of laughs. But this is 2021 and no one, not even myself, was hanging out to see Tom and Jerry fly drones or ride skateboards through New York City. Yes, this is that kind of film, where product placement lies around every corner, so obvious the studio may as well fly a drone into your face – it would be less painful. The drone stuff in particular is so overdone that it is almost all that Colin Jost’s character speaks about, making him sound like one of the ridiculous personalities he would skewer on SNL. I’d like to tell you that there was some kind of a story which these product placement scenes fit into but it almost seems like the film was developed the other way around; a series of scenes bought and paid for by the highest bidder, which needed to be stitched together by some sort of a story. Some bright spark over at Warner Bros realised they were sitting on a couple of bankable characters in Tom and Jerry and here we are: a movie. That isn’t to say it’s a short movie, oh no the film encroaches on an unbearably long two hour mark, complete with an intro featuring a Tribe Called Quest song performed entirely by animated pigeons that lasts almost two minutes.
It truly feels as if Tom and Jerry were an afterthought in a film literally named after them, with barely any screen time at all in-between the half-baked antics of Kayla. Chloë Grace Moretz’ character here is truly awful, a despicable human being who robs another woman of a job she deserves without a care in the world, only stopping to assess her actions after chasing a cat and mouse around a hotel kitchen and through a wedding procession (we’ve all been there). Her character’s motivations are so paper thin and inexplicable that it is impossible to side with her. The bland, painful dialogue does nothing to explain her motivations and the self-assessment she eventually undertakes comes out of nowhere, likely because the writers remembered they couldn’t allow a character in a children’s movie to set a bad example. It may seem like I’m overanalysing for a film about Tom and Jerry but other studios have shown that you can cater to children and adults without pandering and still deliver a coherent and compelling story and characters, just look at Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Michael Peña, to his credit, adds some flavour to his role with solid comedic timing and slapstick comedy that lends itself to the style made famous by the titular duo, but it simply isn’t enough to hold back the tides of blandness that flood the screen. For what it is worth Tom and Jerry do manage to get a couple of solid slapstick gags in, with a scene involving Tom attempting to fly into an open window providing a solid few minutes of chuckles.
Tom and Jerry is the type of lazy studio filmmaking that comes around every now and then when some easy money can be made by playing off established franchises and pummelling audiences with endless product placement. While young children may find some enjoyment to be had with the slapstick shenanigans, most parents and older children will be thoroughly bored by the lack of story and any likeable characters; resulting in a film that is completely and wholly forgettable. In a world where powerhouse animation studios like Disney and LAIKA are releasing thoughtful, gorgeously crafted films aimed at children that constantly raise the bar and also manage to entertain adults, there really is no place for the hackneyed banality of Tom and Jerry.
Tom and Jerry stars Chloë Grace Moretz, Michael Peña, Rob Delaney, Colin Jost, Pallavi Sharda, Patsy Ferran, Jordan Bolger & Ken Jeong – In cinemas now.