Tom & Jerry (Story) 2021

While it's not entirely necessary to make a feature film about everyone's favorite feuding cat and mouse, Tom & Jerry brings just enough substance to the big screen to make it worth the ride.

It's a little surprising that it took this long for us to get a feature length version of the classic Hanna Barbara Tom & Jerry cartoons. On the other hand, they work so well in short sequences, it is difficult to sustain their level of antics over a 90-minute run time. That is the main downfall of this film, it just can't sustain the typical Tom & Jerry energy throughout the course of the film. That said, I'm not sure it should even try to do that, because then it just becomes a string of gags with little to no plot.

Not that there is much plot here to begin with. The film keeps things simple with Kayla Forrester (Chloë Grace Moretz) faking her way into a job at a prestigious New York hotel on the eve of the wedding of the century between Preeta (Pallavi Sharda) and Ben (Colin Jost). She is assigned to work under the event manager Terence (Michael Peña) who doesn't quite trust her from the beginning. When Jerry shows up in the hotel, Kayla convinces Terence and the hotel manager to "hire" Tom to help find the mouse and get rid of him. Tom & Jerry regular Spike also appears (as Ben's pet dog) along with Preeta's pet cat Toodles Galore just to add to the chaos.

The wedding story line serves to propel the action forward a bit and sets up some of the more hilarious physical comedy of the film. All the animals in the film are animated, while the human characters and settings remain live action. This mix feels right and most of the actors do a passable job of acting against the animated characters, with the best one being Moretz. Kayla even gets a side romance with the hotel bartender while at the same time finding her groove as Preeta's confidante leading up to the wedding.

In the end, this is a fun film, if not terribly engaging cinema. If you have kids and are looking for something new to watch with them, chances are they will love Tom & Jerry. Just don't go in expecting anything more than a longer version of their short cartoons.

6 out of 10​​​​

Tom & Jerry is currently in theatrical release and streaming on HBO Max.

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