Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10
Cast: Chloë Grace Moretz, Michael Peña, Jordan Bolger, Rob Delaney, Patsy Ferran, Pallavi, Colin Just, Somi De Souza, Patrick Poletti, Janis Ahern, Ken Jeong, Camilla Arfwedson, Bobby Cannavale, Nicky Jam, Joey Wells, Harry Ratchford, Will Horton, Na’im Lynn, Lil Rel Howery, Utkarsh Ambudaker, Tim Story, Joe Bone, Edward Judge, Christina Chong, Daniel Adegboyega, Craig Stein, Edward Dogliani.
For anyone over a certain age, Tom and Jerry could be conceivably looked upon as one of the great double acts of the 20th Century.
It is hard train of thought or statement to dismiss when you consider how popular the cartoon creatures drawn and brought to life by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera were for a significant period of time, and despite a certain backlash against cartoon violence in the latter decades of the 20th Century, they are two of the most popular characters to ever find their way to film and television.
If the cartoon violence was punished too severely, then it was only correct that the racial stereotyping that was prevalent in the early cartoons was banished and eradicated from the scenes. The cartoon suffered because of this disgraceful racist overtone.
Yet, the cartoon remained popular, and rightly so, for the humour that carries it is in the realm of the finest slapstick that cinema could provide, and in Tom and Jerry: The Movie, the elements that made the animated shorts such an absolute hit with audiences at the time, returns with vigour, with an energy that arguably was not in evidence as the series attempted many times to capture the spirit of the original run, but failing to land the consistency required to make them truly iconic.
In the mix of live action and animation, the film evolves in such a way that it is a reminder of how inspiring the two art forms can be when placed together, and indeed in Chloë Grace Moretz and Michael Peña’s performances when they are interacting with the cartoon creations, there are moments when you can feel the beauty of intricate style that for many really got going in the epitome of the genre, Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
Slapstick is an underrated artform, it is undervalued in the modern day because it is arguably seen by some as the lowest form of entertainment, vulgar perhaps in some ways, and yet it still finds a way to amuse, to capture the essence of humour; and for that Tom and Jerry: The Movie is a shining gem to which will not lose its value.
Ian D. Hall