Classic Cartoon characters Tom and Jerry are back in this new mixed animation/live action movie. Similar to Space Jam and Who Framed the Roger Rabbit? the animation is hand-drawn, not CGI.
Tom and Jerry are both trying to stay at a fancy hotel in New York City after having a hard time in the city. Kayla (Chloe Grace Moretz) is temporary hotel employee who is trying to get a permanent job. But to do so, she has to help pull of an over-the-top wedding for two famous people (played by Colin Jost and Pallavi Sharda). Tom and Jerry cause issues at the hotel and during the wedding with all their fighting and antics. Kayla tries to contain them both. Then in the end (this is a spoiler but also so obvious it’s in the trailer) Tom, Jerry, and Kayla have to team up to save the wedding.
The plot isn’t the point of the movie. It’s showing Tom and Jerry’s slapstick rivalry. And there are number of good gags and jokes in it. Tom and Jerry are both engaging characters, even if they aren’t as memorable as a Bugs Bunny or a Mickey Mouse. But we keep coming back to the boring couple, and every time it feels like the movie is pretending the plot is important. It’s like when a Marx Bros. movies had romantic subplots that kept dragging down their movies until they finally just ditched them (not that this is anywhere near as fun as a Marx Bros. movie).
All animals in the movie are animated, which is a good choice. They can do bigger gags than with actual animals, and they all seem to have more personality than if they were CGI. Why there are rapping/singing pigeons who serve as a sort of Greek chorus throughout the movie I can’t tell you.
Casting Moretz and Michael Pena in the lead human roles was also the right move. They both have naturally over-expressive faces that fit in well with the animation.
The few times the movie tries to have the drawn Tom and Jerry play off a live human it’s disappointing. The gags are mild and not nearly as interactive as scenes from Space Jam or Who Framed Roger Rabbit?.
One thing I want to mention is how the movie treats race. There are interracial romances, friendships, and even rivalries in this movie and race never comes up. The tension is simply made by how the characters treat and react to each other. It would be nice if the real world was more like that.
Is this movie a classic like Who Framed Roger Rabbit?. Definitely not. Does it have potential to be a touchstone movie for a certain age group like Space Jam? Again, Probably not. But it is a decent hour and half of kids entertainment that your kids will be laughing at sometimes. So, I’m rating this an HBO Now.