Since its founding in 1957, until it was absorbed by Warner Bros. in the early 2000s, Hanna & Barbera Productions brought some of the most iconic cartoon franchises into the homes of all; it was enough to think of the Flinstones or Scooby Doo, up to more recent productions from the caliber of Cow and Chicken. One of the most representative and iconic is certainly Tom & Jerry which, eighty years after its debut, arrives on the big screen in a production that attempts to combine animation with the real world. Director Tim Story (Known for directing Fantastic 4, Cop on Trial or the last chapter of Shaft), the actors, screenwriters and all the production staff are committed to the arduous task of bringing the animal spirit of the dynamic duo to a new dimension. .
Traveling to the big apple
This is not the very first time that you have tried to transport the cat and the pestiferous mouse in a film, but the first real attempt to combine them with real actors. The story tells of Tom and Jerry who, once they get to New York, they start looking for a place of their own or a way to make a living. Not even five minutes pass from the beginning of the film that the two immediately meet and, due to an unfortunate series of events, they stumble upon the young woman's life. Kayla (played by Chloë Grace Moretz) and that of the prestigious staff Royal Gate Hotel. Fiction definitely wants to be a pretext to create funny gags and situations, but it still remains a focal part of the product and for this reason we prefer not to reveal more information about it. Suffice it to say that right from the start it is easily predictable, not wanting to try to dare in any way and always playing it safe in every single situation.
One of the problems that can be entangled within production is not making it fun or engaging enough film script. Tom and Jerry do not speak as usual, but the remaining animals and people of the world manage to express themselves through very distinct and understandable words. This is where one feels that the production fails the most, trying to bring the viewer closer to gods stereotyped characters who can't really be remembered. In addition, many gags and jokes turn out to be unable to achieve their goal, unable to surprise both the child and the larger audience. Apart from a few rare occasions, it seems that the writer has simply done a homework and nothing more. Fortunately The actors they prove suitable in each of their roles, with interpretations that manage to adjust the general aim. Mind you, we are not talking about anything superlative, but there is a certain interest in bringing this hotel and its inhabitants to the screen. Even the dubbing in other languages it is quite normal, fitting the original script rightly.
A war for the territory
However, the film manages to hit the mark in the parts where Tom & Jerry enter or steal the show. Unlike other films, the manufacturer Christopher DeFaria and the rest of the staff decided not to create some kind of re-design to make all the animals that populate this universe more realistic. Instead, they tried a mixture of the two, by inserting the classic 2D style within purely CGI models. The result is a hybrid that may initially be unsettling, but to which the human eye soon gets used to, thus allowing you to appreciate all its characteristics. The classic splapstick gags offered by the cat and the mouse are still fun today, managing to easily bring a smile without making the two protagonists pronounce any detailed and complicated phrase. Also impressive is the care taken in the way interact with the surrounding environment, demonstrating the concrete effect of their disasters in a more than optimal way. Unfortunately this doesn't always work perfectly, showing less curated and poorly managed scenes than the rest of the package.
The biggest problem with this Tom & Jerry is that the two historical characters they don't look like stars of their film. We are facing one of the most classic problems of this kind of productions, in which we try to give greater prominence to the human component than to the animated one. The right balance is not created between the two elements, thus falling into the most common mistake in which this kind of productions fall. Having said that, it must be said that Tim Story has still managed to direct a product that manages to flow well in almost two hours of duration. A real pity, however, which demonstrates the lack of courage of the production in giving the really central role to the events of the cat and the mouse.
Hunting for mice
Tim Story is not remembered in history for being a superb director, but he has been able to improve his style over time. With Tom & Jerry he proves he knows how to create clean shots and very compact, which do not attempt anything exaggerated showing the action on screen in a clear and concise manner. The dynamics are always very clear, so that both adults and children understand perfectly the unfolding of the events. The costumes they are credible, even if given the current setting we have gone on a far too safe and realistic approach. For some parts the opportunity to create more extravagant outfits was missed, thus emphasizing this absurd world that combines realistic humans and animated animals. Finally, the soundtrack by Christopher Lennertz it proves to be a compact work, perfectly accompanying every single frame of the film on the emotional and comic side.
