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{{Short description|1992 American animated film}}
{{Cleanup|date=January 2008}}
{{About|the 1992 film|the 2021 film with these characters|Tom & Jerry (2021 American film)|the video game|Tom and Jerry: The Movie (video game)}}
{{Unreferenced|date=May 2008}}
{{Infobox Film | {{Infobox film
name = Tom and Jerry: The Movie | | name = Tom and Jerry: The Movie
image = Tom and Jerry - The Movie Poster.png | | image = Tom and Jerry - The Movie Poster.png
caption = Theatrical release poster | | caption = Theatrical release poster
director = ] | | director = ]
producer = ] | | producer = Phil Roman
writer = Dennis Marks | | screenplay = ]
thanks to = ] and ] (creators of the characters) | based_on = {{Based on|'']''|] and ]}}
music = ] | | starring = {{Plainlist|
* ]
starring = ]<br>]<br>]<br>]<br>]<br>]<br>]<br>]<br>]<br>]<br>]<br>]<br>]<br>]<br>]<br>]<br>]<br>] |
* ]
distributor = ]<br>]<br>]<br>WMG (Worldwide Release)<br>] (VHS Release)<br>] (2002 DVD Release)<br>] (2007 Video release)
* ]
|
* ]
released = ] (original release)<br>July 30, 1993 |
* ]
runtime = 84 minutes |
* ]
language = ] |
* ]
budget = $3.5 million|
* ]
gross = $3,560,469|
* ]
|}}
* ]
'''''Tom and Jerry: The Movie''''' is a 1993 ] ] film produced and directed by ] starring '']'' and the only feature to be theatrically released worldwide, although '']'' was theatrically released in select cities of the United States by ]. ] and ] provided the voices of the duo, respectively. The characters' co-creator and Hanna's partner, ] served as creative consultant for the picture.
* ]
}}
| music = ]
| editing = Tim J. Borquez<br />Timothy Mertens
| studio = {{Plainlist|
* ]
* ]
* WMG Film
* ]{{efn|Animation outsourced to ], ] and ].}}
}}
| distributor = {{Plainlist|
* ] (United States)
* Turner Pictures Worldwide Distribution (International)
}}
| released = {{Film date|1992|10|1|Germany|1993|7|30|United States}}
| runtime = 84 minutes
| country = United States
| language = English
| budget = $3.5 million
| gross = $3.6 million<ref name="boxoffice" />
}}
'''''Tom and Jerry: The Movie''''' is a 1992 American ] ] ] based on the characters '']'' created by ] and ]. It was produced and directed by ], with a screenplay written by ], who also scripted some episodes of the then-airing '']'' television series. It features original songs written by ] and ] and a score also composed by Mancini. The film stars the voices of ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ].


It is the first theatrical feature-length animated film featuring the titular characters,<ref name="JBarberaTJMovie">{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/mylifeintoonsfro00barb|title=My Life in 'Toons: From Flatbush to Bedrock in Under a Century|last=Barbera|first=Joseph|publisher=Turner Publishing|year=1994|isbn=1-57036-042-1|location=Atlanta, GA|pages=–239|oclc=30032166|author-link=Joseph Barbera|url-access=registration}}</ref> as well as the first piece of theatrically released of Tom and Jerry media in 25 years. Although largely mute in the ], Tom and Jerry are given extensive spoken dialogue for the only time to date. Joseph Barbera, co-founder of ] and co-creator of the original ''Tom and Jerry'' short films, served as the film's ].<ref name="JBarberaTJMovie" /> The film tells the story about an eight-year-old girl named Robyn Starling, who enlists Tom and Jerry's help to escape from her abusive aunt and reunite with her lost and presumed-dead father.
==Plot==
Set in 1993, the pair are both together with their owners as they are about to move to a new home. The moving van is at their old house waiting, and Tom overdoses in the back of the car. However when he notices Jerry, he puts him on a stick, and Jerry, noticing no escape and knowing that he will fly, he grabs hold of Tom's whiskers so they fly together into the garden. Jerry quickly dashes into his mousehole and locks the door, Tom nailing wooden planks on the door. Tom leaves the house, but it's too late: The owners have left. When Tom tries to get in the moving car, he ends up with a bulldog and ties up his ears so he cannot see. Tom runs into the house for safety and stays there for the night. The next day, Tom notices that the house is being destroyed by a demolition crew. He manages to escape but realizes he couldn't just leave Jerry goes back and saves him. The two manage to survive, but now they're homeless. Then they meet a dog named Puggsy and his friend Frankie Da Flea that tries to teach Tom and Jerry to be friends. At this point, something changes in the world of Tom and Jerry. They both start to talk. Then they all agree to have a 'feast' at their place and Puggsy makes a 'buffet' by collecting leftovers in the bin. When Puggsy's tray is crammed, a dogcatcher captures Puggsy and Frankie and lock them in their car.


Following its ] in ] on October 1, 1992, ''Tom and Jerry: The Movie'' was released theatrically in the United States on July 30, 1993, by ]. The film underperformed at the box office, earning $3.6 million on a $3.5 million budget, and received largely negative reviews.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.stevepulaski.com/2021/05/16/tom-and-jerry-the-movie-1992-review/|title = Tom and Jerry: The Movie (1992) &#124; Steve Pulaski| date=16 May 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/30/movies/review-film-about-a-cat-and-mouse-who-make-sweet-music.html | title=Review/Film; About a Cat and Mouse Who Make Sweet Music | newspaper=The New York Times | date=30 July 1993 | last1=Canby | first1=Vincent }}</ref>
Tom and Jerry then meet an eight-year old girl named Robyn Starling,whose mother died of pneumonia when she was a baby and is left behind with her horrid and evil guardian Aunt Figg when her dad goes away to Tibet. Robyn runs away after her locket is thrown out the window and that's how she began to run. Jerry said to her that if she runs, her things won't be with her but Robyn said to them that Aunt Figg may seem sweet but ''"she's mean, real mean".''


== Plot ==
Cut to Aunt Figg crying in the house, scared of losing Robyn. With the help of her sinister lawyer, Lickboot, and her overweight dachshund, Ferdinand, she releases a reward of $1,000,000 for the return of Robyn, who they wish to sell for a ransom, engulfed by love of money. Robyn is recaptured, but manages to escape yet again, after Tom and Jerry are kidnapped by Dr. Applecheek and are sent to a city pound where animals are abused. At this point, everybody is looking for the million dollar girl, and Aunt Figg and Lickboot manage to get to Robyn's escape destination first. What was planned as another capture fails, and it only worsens the situation when an oil lamp is knocked on the floor. As the house goes up in flames, luckily Robyn's father arrives and rescues them. Tom and Jerry are taken to a new home where they both promise not to trick each other ever again. But the pair have soon reverted back to their old ways, and the movie finishes with a fun, loving classic scene of Tom chasing Jerry into the distance in their new home.
A cat named ] and his owners move to a new house, but he is distracted by his pursuit of a mouse named ] and is left behind by the moving van. Tom chases the van, but is attacked by a ] and forced to hide in the empty house. The next morning, the house is demolished, leaving Tom and Jerry homeless and wandering the streets until they meet a ] named Puggsy and his flea companion, Frankie. Upon introducing themselves, Tom and Jerry, discovering they can both speak, are persuaded to befriend each other to survive, but when Jerry accepts to be Tom's friend, Tom disagrees, leaving Jerry to do the same. While Tom and Jerry search for food, Puggsy and Frankie are captured by dogcatchers, and when Tom is confronted by a hostile group of singing alley cats, Jerry traps them in a sewer. Tom and Jerry soon meet Robyn Starling, a young runaway girl whose widowed father was supposedly killed in an ] during an expedition in ], while her mother had died when she was just a baby. Robyn and her family's fortune were put in the custody of her wicked guardian "Aunt" Pristine Figg and her lawyer Lickboot, who see Robyn only as a means to keep their obtained wealth. A local police officer finds and brings Robyn, Tom, and Jerry back to her home.


Figg reluctantly allows Tom and Jerry to stay, but the pair's food fight with Figg's morbidly ] ]-riding ] Ferdinand and their discovery of a telegram confirming the survival of Robyn's father convinces Figg to send them to the sadistic animal trafficker Dr. Applecheek. His public persona as a kind animal lover allows Figg to falsely assure Robyn as she locks her in the attic to prevent her from learning of her father's survival. Tom and Jerry reunite with Puggsy and Frankie, who suggest using a nearby control panel to release the cages, freeing all the captured animals. Tom and Jerry return to Robyn and inform her of her father's survival. The three set out on a raft to find Robyn's father, but the raft is suddenly struck and split by a ship and separating them. Meanwhile, in Tibet, Robyn's father is alerted of his daughter's situation and flies back to America to find her.
==Reaction==
===Critical reception===
''Tom and Jerry: The Movie'' received extremely negative reviews from critics and audiences alike at the time of its release. It had no connection to the continuity of the original 114 shorts (including the 2005 short, '']'') whatsoever. It is the only adaptation where the two continuously speak, in contrast with other adaptations (except for Jerry's speaking voice in the duo's appearance in '']''). ] ranks it as "Rotten" with only 17% percent of reviews being positive. ] gave a negative review of the movie for the way that Tom and Jerry talk and the horrible musical numbers.


The next day, Figg and Lickboot place a bogus $1 million bounty on Robyn that they have no intent on paying. Robyn is found and hosted by ] manager Captain Kiddie and his parrot puppet Squawk. Kiddie and Squawk are initially accommodating to Robyn until they see Figg's bounty on a milk carton, whereupon they detain Robyn on a Ferris wheel and contact Figg. Applecheek and his dogcatchers also learn of the bounty and attempt to collect it before Figg's arrival. Tom and Jerry manage to find and rescue Robyn, trap the dogcatchers and escape in a ] with Figg, Lickboot, Ferdinand, Kiddie and Squawk, and Applecheek in hot pursuit. Applecheek falls from a bridge and sinks Kiddie and Squawk's ], while Figg, Lickboot and Ferdinand head to "Robyn's Nest" – a small cabin where Robyn and her father spent their summers – predicting that she will hide there.
===Box office performance===
The film made $3,560,469 at the box office, a very substandard amount, largely due to the fact that it was released in direct competition with '']'', '']'' and '']'' . However the film was made on a budget of only $3.5 million, which makes it only a moderate box office loss. Today, this motion picture is seen as some sort of ''Tom and Jerry'' special, as in many parts of the world it is played amongst other films or episodes randomly.


At the cabin, Tom, Jerry and Robyn are ambushed by Figg, Lickboot and Ferdinand. Robyn is angry that Aunt Figg has lied to her and, furthermore, refuses to listen and refuses to return to her, but during a brief clash, an oil lamp is knocked over and starts a fire. While Figg, Lickboot and Ferdinand attempt to escape, Tom and Jerry save Robyn and then take refuge on the roof. Figg and Lickboot manage to vacate the cabin, but stumble on Ferdinand's skateboard and crash onto the paddle steamer, which sails out of control down the river. Robyn's father arrives by helicopter and rescues her, while Tom and Jerry barely manage to survive the cabin's collapse. The pair begin a new life in Robyn's luxurious villa and return to their old habits.
==Credits==
===Cast===
*] as '''Tom'''
*] as '''Jerry'''
*] as '''Robyn Starling'''
*] as '''"Aunt" Pristine Figg'''
*] as '''Dr. J. "Sweetface" Applecheek'''
*] as '''Puggsy''' and '''Mr. Starling'''
*] as '''Frankie DaFlea'''
*] as '''Lickboot'''
*] as '''Captain Kiddie'''
*] as '''Squawk'''
*] as '''Ferdinand''' and '''Straycatcher #1'''
*] as '''Straycatcher #2'''
*Raymond McLeod as '''Alleycat #1'''
*] as '''Alleycat #2'''
*Scott Wojahn as '''Alleycat #3'''
*] as '''Droopy'''
*] as Woman's Voice
*] as Moving Man


===Crew=== == Voice cast ==
*Produced and Directed by: ] * ] as ]
* ] as ]
*Co-Producer: Bill Schultz
* ] as Robyn Starling
*Written by: Dennis Marks
* ] as Aunt Pristine Figg
*Excutive Producers: Roger Mayer, Jack Petrik, Hans Brockmann and Justin Ackerman
* ] as Lickboot
*Based upon characters created by: ] and ]
* ] as Ferdinand and Straycatcher 1
*Creative Consultant: Joseph Barbera
*Music by: ] * ] as Dr. Applecheek
* ] as Puggsy, Mr. Starling
*Lyrics by: Leslie Bricusse
* ] as Frankie da Flea
*Music Supervisor: Sharon Boyle
* ] as Captain Kiddie
* ] as Squawk
* ] as Straycatcher 2
* ] as ]
* ] as Police Officer
* ] as Tom's Owner
* ] as Moving Man
* Raymond McLeod as Bulldog
* Raymond McLeod, Mitchell D. Moore and Scott Wojahn as Alleycats


==Trivia== == Production ==
=== Development ===
{{Trivia|date=November 2008}}
There were numerous attempts to make a ''Tom and Jerry'' feature film, primarily in the 1970s after the successful reruns of the original cartoons and the airings of the new TV animated versions (although there have been debatable possibilities of making attempts in the golden age of cartoons). ], who previously worked on his take on the characters in his studio ], wanted to make a ''Tom and Jerry'' film but later dropped the idea due to not finding a suitable script to work with.
*This is Tom and Jerry's first feature-length motion picture in 53 years.
*According to one of the movie's animators, it was released in ] in 1992 and domestically in 1993.
*Chuck Jones was set to make a Tom and Jerry film in the 1970s, but eventually pulled out after being unable to find a suitable script.
*Many other Tom and Jerry characters from the classic one-hundred and fourteen cartoons were not featured in the movie, another aspect contributing to the negative reaction of the film.
*Some scenes in the picture follow the formula of the original 1940-58 shorts.
*The train at the end of the film resembles ].
*The computer animation in the film was done by Kroyer Films, the creators of the ] film, '']''.
*When Tom and Jerry introduce themselves to Puggsy and Frankie, they realize that they can talk. However, they have talked to each other many times before, most notably in '']'', which features the most dialogue ever spoken by the two in a short.
*There is very little fighting and violence between Tom and Jerry aside from the opening credits, the beginning, and a little bit at the very end. Also when Tom gets sliced into pieces in the opening credits, blood is clearly visible.
*This movie is criticized by original fans of Tom and Jerry.
*Despite negative reviews of the movie the soundtrack of the film was given mixed reviews because of the score provided by Henry Mancini.


Among the attempts (with Jones involved) was when ] wanted to make the feature in live-action with ] (one of the writers who wrote '']'') to write the screenplay and for ] and ] to star as the duo, but sometime later, the project was shelved.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/TJNewman/mode/2up|title=Tom and Jerry (Live-Action Screenplay, 1979)|date=June 1979}}</ref>
==Sources==

* ] (2005). ''The Animated Movie Guide''. Chicago: Chicago Review Press. ISBN 1-55652-591-5. pp. 284-285.
In the late 1980s, ] and his company ] managed to revive the attempts of making an animated film featuring the duo after his experience in directing animated television specials based the ], as well as his love for the original ''Tom and Jerry'' cartoons. The project would become Film Roman's first theatrically released animated film and Roman's second directorial role for a such a film after '']''. One creative liberty with the source material made during production was to give Tom & Jerry fluent dialogue, believing that audiences would feel bored or uninterested if the pair were mute for the entire film.
==External links==

*
In the early development of the script by Dennis Marks, some of its dialogue and actions in other scenes, including the main characters talking throughout at the beginning before encountering Puggsy and Frankie, had to be taken out. Originally, a comedic sequence before the further events of the duo talking was drafted as a prologue and homage to the original cartoons before the credits, but it was later decided to drop the idea and it was partially replaced by the animated slapstick scenes during the credits for the sake of moving forward with the story.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://tuckerstoryboards007.blogspot.com/2014/02/tom-jerry-movie-unseen-opening-sequence.html|title=Keith Tucker's Tom & Jerry Storyboards: Tom & Jerry the Movie-Unseen Opening Sequence!|date=16 February 2014}}</ref>
* {{imdb title|id=0105616|title=Tom and Jerry: The Movie}}

*
=== Animation ===
Animators on ''Tom and Jerry: The Movie'' include Eric Thomas, Art Roman, Doug Frankel, Tony Fucile, ], Leslie Gorin, ], Brian Robert Hogan, Gabi Payn, ] and Arnie Wong. Some animation was outsourced to ] in ], where James Miko and Aundre Knutson served as supervising directors. Additional animation was provided by ] and ]. The ] for the vehicles was provided by ].

== Music ==
{{Infobox album
| name = Tom and Jerry: The Movie – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
| type = Soundtrack
| artist = Various Artists
| cover =
| alt =
| released = July 20, 1993 <br />December 11, 2005 (reissued)
| recorded = 1991
| venue =
| studio =
| genre = {{hlist|]|]}}
| length =
| label = ] <small>MCAC/MCAD-10721</small> <br />] (France) <br />Music Marketing ApS (Denmark)
| producer = ] <br />]
| prev_title =
| prev_year =
| next_title =
| next_year =
}}
During production, after witnessing the successful start of the ], the crew decided to make the film a musical and hired Oscar-winning composers ] and ] to write the musical numbers after their work another film, '']'', with a touch of melodic structure reminiscent to the classic golden age of movie musicals, especially the ones from MGM like '']'' and '']'', and with help from music students at Roger Williams University. Original songs performed in the film include "Friends to the End", "What Do We Care? (The Alley Cats' Song)", "(Money is Such) A Beautiful Word", "God's Little Creatures", "I Miss You (Robyn's Song)", "I've Done It All", and "All in How Much We Give".

A soundtrack album was released by ] in 1993 and included both the songs and score from the film, composed by ].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/tom-and-jerry-the-movie-original-soundtrack-mw0000619678|title=Tom and Jerry: The Movie - Henry Mancini - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic|website=AllMusic}}</ref> The end credits has a pop version of "I Miss You" (the song Robyn sings), this time sung by ], which does not appear on the film's soundtrack release, followed by "All in How Much We Give" also sung by Stephanie Mills.

=== Songs ===
Original songs performed in the film include:

{{track listing
| all_writing =
| all_lyrics =
| all_music =
| extra_column = Performer(s)

| title1 = Friends to the End
| extra1 = ], ], ] & ]

| title2 = What Do We Care? (The Alley Cats' Song)
| extra2 = Raymond McLeod, Michael D. Moore & Scott Wojahn

| title3 = (Money is Such) A Beautiful Word
| extra3 = ] & ]

| title4 = God's Little Creatures
| extra4 = ]

| title5 = I Miss You (Robyn's Song)
| extra5 = ]

| title6 = I've Done It All
| extra6 = ] & ]
| title7 = I Miss You (End Title)
| extra7 = ]
| title8 = All in How Much We Give
| extra8 = ]
}}

== Reception ==
=== Critical response ===
The film received generally negative reviews from critics. Review aggregation website ] gives the film a 14% approval rating based on 14 reviews, with an average score of 3.4/10.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/tom_and_jerry_the_movie|title=Tom and Jerry – The Movie|work=]|publisher=]|access-date=September 11, 2017}}</ref> Audiences polled by ] gave the film an average grade of "A-" on an A+ to F scale.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cinemascore.com|title=Find CinemaScore|format=Type "Tom & Jerry The Movie" in the search box|publisher=]|access-date=September 28, 2022}}</ref>

Joseph McBride of '']'' gave the film a negative review, saying that "''Tom and Jerry Talk'' won't go down in film history as a slogan to rival '']''."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/1992/film/reviews/tom-and-jerry-the-movie-1200430861/|title=Tom and Jerry: The Movie|last=McBride|first=Joseph|date=1992-10-02|website=Variety|language=en|access-date=2020-01-06}}</ref> Charles Solomon of the '']'' panned the film's songs and Phil Roman's direction.<ref name="LA Times">{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-07-30-ca-18331-story.html|title=MOVIE REVIEW: 'Tom and Jerry': A Bland Cat-and-Mouse Chase: The formulaic story feels like a rerun and borrows characters from many other classics.|last=Solomon|first=Charles|date=1993-07-30|work=]|access-date=2011-10-07}}</ref> Hal Hinson of '']'' criticized the dialogue between the cat and mouse and said that the voices "don't fit the characters". Hinson also complained that the musical numbers are "as forgettable as they are intolerably bouncy and upbeat".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/tomandjerryghinson_a0a83d.htm|title=Tom and Jerry|last=Hinson|first=Hal|date=1993-07-30|newspaper=]|access-date=2011-10-07|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201023653/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/tomandjerryghinson_a0a83d.htm|archive-date=2017-12-01}}</ref>

] and ] gave the film two thumbs down on '']''. Although they praised the animation style for its faithfulness to the theatrical shorts, neither thought that it was a good idea to give dialogue to the two characters with Ebert stating that by making the duo talk "the movie loses the pure comedy of the cartoon shorts where everything depended on situation and action." Additionally, they felt that the film suffered from a lack of slapstick action compared to the shorts, and criticized the story for giving the character of Robyn Starling more screen time than the titular characters.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WEQlGwcOLg |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211213/1WEQlGwcOLg| archive-date=2021-12-13 |url-status=live|title=Siskel & Ebert: Tom and Jerry: The Movie (Year 1993)|author=AtTheMoviesFan1|access-date=2020-04-02}}{{cbignore}}</ref> ] of '']'' was more positive in his review; he praised Mancini's score and the musical numbers, and felt that " Tom and Jerry have charm."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/30/movies/review-film-about-a-cat-and-mouse-who-make-sweet-music.html|title=Review/Film; About a Cat And Mouse Who Make Sweet Music|last=Canby|first=Vincent|date=1993-07-30|work=The New York Times|access-date=2011-10-07|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|author-link=Vincent Canby}}</ref>

=== Box office ===
''Tom and Jerry: The Movie'' released theatrically on July 30, 1993 in the ] and ] alongside '']'', '']'' and '']''.<ref name="boxoffice">{{Cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl930579969/weekend/|title=Tom and Jerry: The Movie|website=Box Office Mojo|access-date=2020-01-06}}</ref> Ranking number fourteen at the North American box office, the film grossed $3,560,469 worldwide.<ref name="boxoffice" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-01-04-ca-8386-story.html|title=It's Tough to Stay Afloat in the Film-Cartoon Biz : Movies: Disney's hits prove that it can be done, but other firms lack marketing savvy and a competitive product, animators say.|last=Solomon|first=Charles|date=1994-01-04|work=]|access-date=2012-05-29}}</ref>

== Video games ==
A ] was released for the ] on October 1, 1992 and ] on July 14, 1993,<ref>{{Cite book |title=August/September 1993 |date=1993 |publisher=Sega Visions |location=United States |page=104 |url=https://retrocdn.net/images/6/69/SegaVisions_US_14.pdf |access-date=6 September 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Google Groups |url=https://groups.google.com/forum/?nomobile=true#!search/game$20gear$201993%7Csort:relevance/rec.games.video/WHAcjQspD44/BO-x3oTKoNcJ |website=groups.google.com |access-date=25 December 2019}}</ref> followed by a handheld version by ]. A second game ''Tom and Jerry: Frantic Antics'' was released for Game Boy on October 2, 1993<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tom and Jerry: Frantic Antics (Game) |url=https://www.giantbomb.com/tom-and-jerry-frantic-antics/3030-21353/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140223151358/http://www.giantbomb.com/tom-and-jerry-frantic-antics/3030-21353/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=23 February 2014 |website=Giant Bomb |access-date=6 September 2019 |language=en}}</ref> and Sega Genesis on December 21, 1993<ref>{{Cite book |title=January 1994 |date=199x |publisher=GamePro |location=United States |page=64 |url=https://retrocdn.net/images/e/ec/GamePro_US_054.pdf |access-date=6 September 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Google Groups |url=https://groups.google.com/forum/?nomobile=true#!search/Tom$20and$20Jerry$20frantic$20antics$201993/rec.games.video.sega/vle2JMv4xzU/0DFrhM-_TTQJ |website=groups.google.com |access-date=25 December 2019}}</ref> by Hi-Tech Expressions and Altron.

== Home media ==
The film was released on ] and ] on October 26, 1993 by ].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Tom and Jerry the Movie (1993)|asin=630291700X}}</ref> The VHS release of the film was re-issued by ] under their ] label on March 2, 1999. The film was also released on ] on March 26, 2002 in United States and on September 26, 2008 in Germany<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tom und Jerry - Der Film: Amazon.de: Phil Roman, Janet Hirshenson, Richard Kind, Dennis Marks, Justin Ackerman, Bill Schultz, Jane Jenkins, Hans Brockmann, Dana Hill, Roger Mussenden, Anndi McAfee, Jack Petrik, Tony Jay, Rip Taylor, Henry Gibson, Michael Bell, Don Messick, David L. Lander, Charlotte Rae, Howard Morris, Henry Mancini: Amazon.de |url=https://www.amazon.de/Tom-Jerry-Film-Phil-Roman/dp/B001C9I8O8/ |website=www.amazon.de |date=26 September 2008 |access-date=28 September 2019}}</ref> by Warner Home Video. Despite receiving a VHS release from First Independent Films, the film is yet to have an official region 2 DVD release in the United Kingdom. The film became available on HBO Max in a digitally-remastered widescreen format on July 1, 2020,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Williams |first1=Janice |title=What's coming to HBO Max in July 2020? Full list of releases |url=https://www.newsweek.com/hbo-max-july-releases-2020-1513700 |access-date=15 August 2020 |work=Newsweek |date=28 June 2020 }}</ref> but was removed in the United States following the streaming service's ] rebrand.

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

=== Sources ===
* ] (2005). ''The Animated Movie Guide''. Chicago: Chicago Review Press. {{ISBN|1-55652-591-5}}. pp.&nbsp;284–285.

== External links ==
{{wikiquote}}
* {{Official website}}
* at the ]
* {{IMDb title|105616}}
* {{Rotten Tomatoes|tom_and_jerry_the_movie}}


{{Tom and Jerry}} {{Tom and Jerry}}
{{Film Roman}}
{{H-B films}}
{{Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer theatrical animated features}}


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Latest revision as of 22:35, 27 December 2024

1992 American animated film This article is about the 1992 film. For the 2021 film with these characters, see Tom & Jerry (2021 American film). For the video game, see Tom and Jerry: The Movie (video game).
Tom and Jerry: The Movie
Theatrical release poster
Directed byPhil Roman
Screenplay byDennis Marks
Based onTom and Jerry
by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera
Produced byPhil Roman
Starring
Edited byTim J. Borquez
Timothy Mertens
Music byHenry Mancini
Production
companies
Distributed by
  • Miramax Films (United States)
  • Turner Pictures Worldwide Distribution (International)
Release dates
  • October 1, 1992 (1992-10-01) (Germany)
  • July 30, 1993 (1993-07-30) (United States)
Running time84 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$3.5 million
Box office$3.6 million

Tom and Jerry: The Movie is a 1992 American animated musical comedy film based on the characters Tom and Jerry created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. It was produced and directed by Phil Roman, with a screenplay written by Dennis Marks, who also scripted some episodes of the then-airing Tom & Jerry Kids television series. It features original songs written by Henry Mancini and Leslie Bricusse and a score also composed by Mancini. The film stars the voices of Richard Kind, Dana Hill, Anndi McAfee, Tony Jay, Rip Taylor, Henry Gibson, Michael Bell, Ed Gilbert, David L. Lander, Howard Morris, and Charlotte Rae.

It is the first theatrical feature-length animated film featuring the titular characters, as well as the first piece of theatrically released of Tom and Jerry media in 25 years. Although largely mute in the original cartoons, Tom and Jerry are given extensive spoken dialogue for the only time to date. Joseph Barbera, co-founder of Hanna-Barbera Productions and co-creator of the original Tom and Jerry short films, served as the film's creative consultant. The film tells the story about an eight-year-old girl named Robyn Starling, who enlists Tom and Jerry's help to escape from her abusive aunt and reunite with her lost and presumed-dead father.

Following its premiere in Germany on October 1, 1992, Tom and Jerry: The Movie was released theatrically in the United States on July 30, 1993, by Miramax Films. The film underperformed at the box office, earning $3.6 million on a $3.5 million budget, and received largely negative reviews.

Plot

A cat named Tom and his owners move to a new house, but he is distracted by his pursuit of a mouse named Jerry and is left behind by the moving van. Tom chases the van, but is attacked by a bulldog and forced to hide in the empty house. The next morning, the house is demolished, leaving Tom and Jerry homeless and wandering the streets until they meet a stray dog named Puggsy and his flea companion, Frankie. Upon introducing themselves, Tom and Jerry, discovering they can both speak, are persuaded to befriend each other to survive, but when Jerry accepts to be Tom's friend, Tom disagrees, leaving Jerry to do the same. While Tom and Jerry search for food, Puggsy and Frankie are captured by dogcatchers, and when Tom is confronted by a hostile group of singing alley cats, Jerry traps them in a sewer. Tom and Jerry soon meet Robyn Starling, a young runaway girl whose widowed father was supposedly killed in an avalanche during an expedition in Tibet, while her mother had died when she was just a baby. Robyn and her family's fortune were put in the custody of her wicked guardian "Aunt" Pristine Figg and her lawyer Lickboot, who see Robyn only as a means to keep their obtained wealth. A local police officer finds and brings Robyn, Tom, and Jerry back to her home.

Figg reluctantly allows Tom and Jerry to stay, but the pair's food fight with Figg's morbidly obese skateboard-riding dachshund Ferdinand and their discovery of a telegram confirming the survival of Robyn's father convinces Figg to send them to the sadistic animal trafficker Dr. Applecheek. His public persona as a kind animal lover allows Figg to falsely assure Robyn as she locks her in the attic to prevent her from learning of her father's survival. Tom and Jerry reunite with Puggsy and Frankie, who suggest using a nearby control panel to release the cages, freeing all the captured animals. Tom and Jerry return to Robyn and inform her of her father's survival. The three set out on a raft to find Robyn's father, but the raft is suddenly struck and split by a ship and separating them. Meanwhile, in Tibet, Robyn's father is alerted of his daughter's situation and flies back to America to find her.

The next day, Figg and Lickboot place a bogus $1 million bounty on Robyn that they have no intent on paying. Robyn is found and hosted by amusement park manager Captain Kiddie and his parrot puppet Squawk. Kiddie and Squawk are initially accommodating to Robyn until they see Figg's bounty on a milk carton, whereupon they detain Robyn on a Ferris wheel and contact Figg. Applecheek and his dogcatchers also learn of the bounty and attempt to collect it before Figg's arrival. Tom and Jerry manage to find and rescue Robyn, trap the dogcatchers and escape in a paddle steamer with Figg, Lickboot, Ferdinand, Kiddie and Squawk, and Applecheek in hot pursuit. Applecheek falls from a bridge and sinks Kiddie and Squawk's dinghy, while Figg, Lickboot and Ferdinand head to "Robyn's Nest" – a small cabin where Robyn and her father spent their summers – predicting that she will hide there.

At the cabin, Tom, Jerry and Robyn are ambushed by Figg, Lickboot and Ferdinand. Robyn is angry that Aunt Figg has lied to her and, furthermore, refuses to listen and refuses to return to her, but during a brief clash, an oil lamp is knocked over and starts a fire. While Figg, Lickboot and Ferdinand attempt to escape, Tom and Jerry save Robyn and then take refuge on the roof. Figg and Lickboot manage to vacate the cabin, but stumble on Ferdinand's skateboard and crash onto the paddle steamer, which sails out of control down the river. Robyn's father arrives by helicopter and rescues her, while Tom and Jerry barely manage to survive the cabin's collapse. The pair begin a new life in Robyn's luxurious villa and return to their old habits.

Voice cast

Production

Development

There were numerous attempts to make a Tom and Jerry feature film, primarily in the 1970s after the successful reruns of the original cartoons and the airings of the new TV animated versions (although there have been debatable possibilities of making attempts in the golden age of cartoons). Chuck Jones, who previously worked on his take on the characters in his studio MGM Animation/Visual Arts, wanted to make a Tom and Jerry film but later dropped the idea due to not finding a suitable script to work with.

Among the attempts (with Jones involved) was when MGM wanted to make the feature in live-action with David Newman (one of the writers who wrote Bonnie and Clyde) to write the screenplay and for Dustin Hoffman and Chevy Chase to star as the duo, but sometime later, the project was shelved.

In the late 1980s, Phil Roman and his company Film Roman managed to revive the attempts of making an animated film featuring the duo after his experience in directing animated television specials based the Garfield comic strip, as well as his love for the original Tom and Jerry cartoons. The project would become Film Roman's first theatrically released animated film and Roman's second directorial role for a such a film after Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown. One creative liberty with the source material made during production was to give Tom & Jerry fluent dialogue, believing that audiences would feel bored or uninterested if the pair were mute for the entire film.

In the early development of the script by Dennis Marks, some of its dialogue and actions in other scenes, including the main characters talking throughout at the beginning before encountering Puggsy and Frankie, had to be taken out. Originally, a comedic sequence before the further events of the duo talking was drafted as a prologue and homage to the original cartoons before the credits, but it was later decided to drop the idea and it was partially replaced by the animated slapstick scenes during the credits for the sake of moving forward with the story.

Animation

Animators on Tom and Jerry: The Movie include Eric Thomas, Art Roman, Doug Frankel, Tony Fucile, Steven E. Gordon, Leslie Gorin, Dan Haskett, Brian Robert Hogan, Gabi Payn, Irven Spence and Arnie Wong. Some animation was outsourced to Wang Film Productions in Taiwan, where James Miko and Aundre Knutson served as supervising directors. Additional animation was provided by The Baer Animation Company and Creative Capers Cartoons. The computer animation for the vehicles was provided by Kroyer Films.

Music

Tom and Jerry: The Movie – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Soundtrack album by Various Artists
ReleasedJuly 20, 1993
December 11, 2005 (reissued)
Recorded1991
Genre
LabelMCA MCAC/MCAD-10721
EMI (France)
Music Marketing ApS (Denmark)
ProducerHenry Mancini
Leslie Bricusse

During production, after witnessing the successful start of the Disney Renaissance, the crew decided to make the film a musical and hired Oscar-winning composers Henry Mancini and Leslie Bricusse to write the musical numbers after their work another film, Victor/Victoria, with a touch of melodic structure reminiscent to the classic golden age of movie musicals, especially the ones from MGM like The Wizard of Oz and Singin' in the Rain, and with help from music students at Roger Williams University. Original songs performed in the film include "Friends to the End", "What Do We Care? (The Alley Cats' Song)", "(Money is Such) A Beautiful Word", "God's Little Creatures", "I Miss You (Robyn's Song)", "I've Done It All", and "All in How Much We Give".

A soundtrack album was released by MCA Records in 1993 and included both the songs and score from the film, composed by Henry Mancini. The end credits has a pop version of "I Miss You" (the song Robyn sings), this time sung by Stephanie Mills, which does not appear on the film's soundtrack release, followed by "All in How Much We Give" also sung by Stephanie Mills.

Songs

Original songs performed in the film include:

No.TitlePerformer(s)Length
1."Friends to the End"Richard Kind, Dana Hill, Ed Gilbert & David Lander 
2."What Do We Care? (The Alley Cats' Song)"Raymond McLeod, Michael D. Moore & Scott Wojahn 
3."(Money is Such) A Beautiful Word"Charlotte Rae & Tony Jay 
4."God's Little Creatures"Henry Gibson 
5."I Miss You (Robyn's Song)"Anndi McAfee 
6."I've Done It All"Rip Taylor & Howard Morris 
7."I Miss You (End Title)"Stephanie Mills 
8."All in How Much We Give"Stephanie Mills 

Reception

Critical response

The film received generally negative reviews from critics. Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 14% approval rating based on 14 reviews, with an average score of 3.4/10. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A-" on an A+ to F scale.

Joseph McBride of Variety gave the film a negative review, saying that "Tom and Jerry Talk won't go down in film history as a slogan to rival Garbo Talks." Charles Solomon of the Los Angeles Times panned the film's songs and Phil Roman's direction. Hal Hinson of The Washington Post criticized the dialogue between the cat and mouse and said that the voices "don't fit the characters". Hinson also complained that the musical numbers are "as forgettable as they are intolerably bouncy and upbeat".

Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert gave the film two thumbs down on Siskel & Ebert. Although they praised the animation style for its faithfulness to the theatrical shorts, neither thought that it was a good idea to give dialogue to the two characters with Ebert stating that by making the duo talk "the movie loses the pure comedy of the cartoon shorts where everything depended on situation and action." Additionally, they felt that the film suffered from a lack of slapstick action compared to the shorts, and criticized the story for giving the character of Robyn Starling more screen time than the titular characters. Vincent Canby of The New York Times was more positive in his review; he praised Mancini's score and the musical numbers, and felt that " Tom and Jerry have charm."

Box office

Tom and Jerry: The Movie released theatrically on July 30, 1993 in the United States and Canada alongside Rising Sun, Robin Hood: Men in Tights and So I Married an Axe Murderer. Ranking number fourteen at the North American box office, the film grossed $3,560,469 worldwide.

Video games

A video game based on the movie was released for the Master System on October 1, 1992 and Game Gear on July 14, 1993, followed by a handheld version by Tiger Electronics. A second game Tom and Jerry: Frantic Antics was released for Game Boy on October 2, 1993 and Sega Genesis on December 21, 1993 by Hi-Tech Expressions and Altron.

Home media

The film was released on VHS and LaserDisc on October 26, 1993 by Family Home Entertainment. The VHS release of the film was re-issued by Warner Home Video under their Warner Bros. Family Entertainment label on March 2, 1999. The film was also released on DVD on March 26, 2002 in United States and on September 26, 2008 in Germany by Warner Home Video. Despite receiving a VHS release from First Independent Films, the film is yet to have an official region 2 DVD release in the United Kingdom. The film became available on HBO Max in a digitally-remastered widescreen format on July 1, 2020, but was removed in the United States following the streaming service's Max rebrand.

Notes

  1. Animation outsourced to Wang Film Productions, The Baer Animation Company and Creative Capers Cartoons.

References

  1. ^ "Tom and Jerry: The Movie". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2020-01-06.
  2. ^ Barbera, Joseph (1994). My Life in 'Toons: From Flatbush to Bedrock in Under a Century. Atlanta, GA: Turner Publishing. pp. 234–239. ISBN 1-57036-042-1. OCLC 30032166.
  3. "Tom and Jerry: The Movie (1992) | Steve Pulaski". 16 May 2021.
  4. Canby, Vincent (30 July 1993). "Review/Film; About a Cat and Mouse Who Make Sweet Music". The New York Times.
  5. "Tom and Jerry (Live-Action Screenplay, 1979)". June 1979.
  6. "Keith Tucker's Tom & Jerry Storyboards: Tom & Jerry the Movie-Unseen Opening Sequence!". 16 February 2014.
  7. "Tom and Jerry: The Movie [Original Soundtrack] - Henry Mancini - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic.
  8. "Tom and Jerry – The Movie". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
  9. "Find CinemaScore" (Type "Tom & Jerry The Movie" in the search box). CinemaScore. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
  10. McBride, Joseph (1992-10-02). "Tom and Jerry: The Movie". Variety. Retrieved 2020-01-06.
  11. Solomon, Charles (1993-07-30). "MOVIE REVIEW: 'Tom and Jerry': A Bland Cat-and-Mouse Chase: The formulaic story feels like a rerun and borrows characters from many other classics". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2011-10-07.
  12. Hinson, Hal (1993-07-30). "Tom and Jerry". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2017-12-01. Retrieved 2011-10-07.
  13. AtTheMoviesFan1. "Siskel & Ebert: Tom and Jerry: The Movie (Year 1993)". Archived from the original on 2021-12-13. Retrieved 2020-04-02.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  14. Canby, Vincent (1993-07-30). "Review/Film; About a Cat And Mouse Who Make Sweet Music". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2011-10-07.
  15. Solomon, Charles (1994-01-04). "It's Tough to Stay Afloat in the Film-Cartoon Biz : Movies: Disney's hits prove that it can be done, but other firms lack marketing savvy and a competitive product, animators say". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-05-29.
  16. August/September 1993 (PDF). United States: Sega Visions. 1993. p. 104. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
  17. "Google Groups". groups.google.com. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
  18. "Tom and Jerry: Frantic Antics (Game)". Giant Bomb. Archived from the original on 23 February 2014. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
  19. January 1994 (PDF). United States: GamePro. 199x. p. 64. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
  20. "Google Groups". groups.google.com. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
  21. Tom and Jerry the Movie (1993). ASIN 630291700X.
  22. "Tom und Jerry - Der Film: Amazon.de: Phil Roman, Janet Hirshenson, Richard Kind, Dennis Marks, Justin Ackerman, Bill Schultz, Jane Jenkins, Hans Brockmann, Dana Hill, Roger Mussenden, Anndi McAfee, Jack Petrik, Tony Jay, Rip Taylor, Henry Gibson, Michael Bell, Don Messick, David L. Lander, Charlotte Rae, Howard Morris, Henry Mancini: Amazon.de". www.amazon.de. 26 September 2008. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  23. Williams, Janice (28 June 2020). "What's coming to HBO Max in July 2020? Full list of releases". Newsweek. Retrieved 15 August 2020.

Sources

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