So, where does that leave the upcoming movie? Despite casting tons of actors who are very much of-the-moment and rendering the characters in 3D, it feels dated based on that trailer. (Itchy and Scratchy handily parodied this, too.)Īll of which is to say that Tom and Jerry’s era seems to have passed. It may have something to do with the fact nobody particularly cared about those episodes because they are boring. If you don’t remember it or didn’t know that the cat and mouse used to be total pals who did things like fall asleep reading fairy tales together, don’t feel bad: I didn’t either.
There was actually a period where Tom and Jerry left behind their violent ways, after returning to Hanna-Barbera’s stable in the 1970s. Will Freidle, voice of Batman Beyond’s eponymous hero, once explained that the groan you hear after a character survives getting punched by Bane or exploded through a wall is called a “keep-alive,” meant to reassure young viewers that their hero didn’t just get killed by something that would liquefy most humans. You are meant to understand that the characters could die or be severely injured. Kid Cosmic may be lighthearted in general, but the characters are actually afraid of violence. When characters in today’s kid shows fight, hits either don’t land or, when they do, it’s for spectacle and not for laughs. The pure focus on slapstick violence in old Tom and Jerry shorts is just not what shows do anymore, though. I’m sure there are plenty of people somewhere who are ready to argue that the violence on these shows is not realistic, or that it glorifies settling conflict with fists and fireballs. The Legend of Korra, Steven Universe and Infinity Train regularly feature combat and even, occasionally, death. Kid shows are absolutely still violent affairs today, even the ones that are viewed particularly progressively and favorably. What’s remained mostly the same in most incarnations, though, is that they are forever trying to kick the crap out of each other. Over the years the characters became more anthropomorphic, gained and lost various aspects of their character design, and have changed up the sorts of venues where their antagonism takes place-Dietch set at least two of their scraps on stage at musical performances for some reason. The quality of the animation has its peaks and valleys as different production companies, directors and animators get their hands on the property.
Tom the cat wants to kill and/or eat Jerry the mouse, and Jerry generally wants to embarrass and harass Tom.
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Throughout its various different runs in theaters-the first stretch of more than 100 episodes from 1940-1958, plus a 1961 revival by Dietch that was infamously animated in Czechoslovakia and a run by Chuck Jones from 1963 to 1967-the central conceit basically remained the same.
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Tom and Jerry, throughout the years, was one of the only series ever able to occasionally dethrone Disney or Warner Bros. The objects chase around and torment this misanthropic cat until he punts himself back to Earth, glad to once again be under the boot heels of uncaring humanity. There he finds an assortment of animated (as in, autonomous) objects that often form the arsenal of cartoon violence: shovels, pencil sharpeners, diapers and pins. In Tex Avery’s “The Cat That Hated People,” one of the shorts packaged with old Tom and Jerry cartoons, one much-put-upon alley cat gets kicked around, tormented, and literally stepped on by the humans of New York City before availing himself of a rocket to the moon in order to escape the people he vocally despises. I really believe we’re bigoted against cats, as a nation. “Anyone can now enter the lucrative field of animated cartoons with the new Tom and Jerry Cartoon Kit! This kit contains everything needed for quiet, sophisticated humor: One mean, stupid cat one sweet, lovable mouse and assorted deadly weapons.” -“The Tom and Jerry Cartoon Kit,” 1962, directed by Gene Deitch