Tom and Jerry: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
Tom and Jerry: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory | |
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Directed by | Spike Brandt |
Written by | Gene Grillo |
Based on | |
Produced by |
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Starring |
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Edited by |
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Music by | Michael Tavera Walter Scharf (original themes) Robby Merkin (musical director) |
Production companies |
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Distributed by | Warner Bros. Home Entertainment |
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Running time | 79 minutes[2] |
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Language | English |
Tom and Jerry: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is a 2017 American animated direct-to-video musical fantasy comedy film starring the cat-and-mouse duo Tom and Jerry. Produced by Warner Bros. Animation[3][4] and Turner Entertainment Co., it is the first Tom and Jerry direct-to-video film to be distributed by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment internationally and is also the final Tom and Jerry direct-to-video film to be involved with Warner Bros. Animation's founder Hal Geer, who died on January 26, 2017. The film is an animated adaptation of the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (which in turn is based on the book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl) with the addition of Tom and Jerry as characters and seen through their point of view. This Tom and Jerry direct-to-video film is also dedicated to the late actor Gene Wilder, who died on August 29, 2016.
The film was released via digital media on June 27, 2017, and released on home media on July 11, 2017.[5][6]
Plot
Tom and Jerry chase each other all over town while searching for food until Jerry disappears with a group of children who go to Bill's Candy Shop. The shop owner gives the children free candy while Tom and Jerry continue their antics in the shop. Charlie Bucket, a poor paperboy, stops Tom from eating Jerry and befriends them by offering them a loaf of bread. While Charlie rushes home to his widowed mother and bedridden grandparents, Tom and Jerry steal a box of Wonka Bars from the shop. Grandpa Joe reveals to Charlie that Willy Wonka locked his famous chocolate factory because other candy makers, including rival Arthur Slugworth, sent in spies to steal his recipes. Wonka disappeared, but for three years resumed selling candy; the origin of Wonka's labor force is unknown. Tom and Jerry arrive at Charlie's home with the box of Wonka Bars, but Charlie convinces the two that stealing is wrong and they should return the box.
The next day, Wonka announces that he hid five "Golden Tickets" in Wonka Bars. Finders of the tickets will receive a factory tour and a lifetime supply of chocolate. Four of the tickets are found by Augustus Gloop, a gluttonous boy; Veruca Salt, a spoiled girl; Violet Beauregarde, a gum-chewing girl; and Mike Teavee, a television-obsessed boy. As each winner is announced on television, a man whispers to them. Charlie opens one Wonka Bar, but finds no Golden Ticket and loses hope. The newspapers announce the fifth ticket was found by a millionaire in Paraguay named Alberto Minoleta (who is played by Droopy).
Tom and Jerry earn a dollar coin by recycling milk bottles, but lose it in a gutter after fighting over it. Charlie finds the coin and uses it to buy a Wonka Bar for Grandpa Joe. The television news reveals that Droopy has been arrested for forging his ticket; when Charlie opens the Wonka Bar, he finds the fifth Golden Ticket. While rushing home, he is confronted by the same man seen whispering to the other winners, who introduces himself as Slugworth and offers to pay for a sample of Wonka's latest creation, the Everlasting Gobstopper. Charlie returns home with the Golden Ticket and chooses Grandpa Joe as his chaperone. The next day, Tom and Jerry rush to the factory with the Golden Ticket that Grandpa Joe forgot. Once the children enter the factory, the movie plays in the same order of the source material with the occasional interjection of Tom and Jerry interacting with the factory.
Once only Charlie and Grandpa Joe remain, Wonka dismisses them without the promised chocolate. A small Oompa-Loompa named Tuffy warns Charlie that Slugworth and Spike have stolen a Gobstopper and are on their way out of the factory. Following a fight in the Wonkavision Room, Charlie stops Slugworth. After this, Charlie and Grandpa Joe confront Wonka on the end of the tour. Wonka coldly explains that they violated the contract by stealing Fizzy Lifting Drinks and allowing Tom and Jerry into the factory and therefore will receive nothing. Infuriated at this, Grandpa Joe attempts to protest but Wonka angrily demands them all to leave at once. Grandpa Joe then suggests to Charlie that he should give Slugworth the Gobstopper, but Charlie returns the candy to Wonka. Because of this, Wonka declares Charlie the winner. He reveals that Slugworth is really "Mr. Wilkinson", an employee of his, and the offer to buy the Gobstopper was a morality test which only Charlie passed. The trio and Tuffy enter the "Wonkavator", a multi-directional glass elevator that flies out of the factory. Tom and Jerry shrink Wilkinson and Spike for the troubles they put them through the film and use Fizzy Lifting Drinks to catch up with the others. Soaring over the city, Wonka reveals that his actual prize is the factory; Wonka created the contest to find a worthy heir and Charlie and his family can immediately move in, including Tom and Jerry.
Voice cast
- Spike Brandt as Tom Cat, Jerry Mouse (both uncredited) and Spike
- JP Karliak as Willy Wonka
- Jess Harnell as Grandpa Joe, Bill the Candy Shop owner and Mr. Beauregarde
- Lincoln Melcher as Charlie Bucket
- Mick Wingert as Mr. Slugworth / Mr. Wilkinson
- Lori Alan as Mrs. Teavee
- Jeff Bergman as Droopy, American Reporter
- Rachel Butera as Augustus Gloop, Winkelmann
- Kate Higgins as Mrs. Bucket
- Dallas Lovato as Violet Beauregarde
- Emily O'Brien as Veruca Salt
- Sean Schemmel as Henry Salt, Mr. Turkentine
- Kath Soucie as Tuffy
- Jim Ward as Anchorman, German Reporter
- Audrey Wasilewski as Mrs. Gloop
- Lauren Weisman as Mike Teavee
Reception
The film was met with overwhelmingly negative reviews, with some critics questioning its existence.[1][3][4][6][7] Ryan Scott of Movieweb described it as "just the latest in a long line of these uncalled for mashups."[5] Beth Elderkin of Gizmodo wrote: "Tom and Jerry: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is not just stupid, it's insulting. It's a cheap mockbuster with a cat and mouse artlessly, needlessly inserted."[8]
References
- ^ a b "'Tom and Jerry: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory' Trailer Confuses the Internet". Collider.
- ^ Amazon.com link
- ^ a b Heritage, Stuart (April 21, 2017). "How to ruin other classic movies by inserting Tom and Jerry". The Guardian. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
- ^ a b "Tom & Jerry continue to decimate cinema with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory movie". Polygon.
- ^ a b "Willy Wonka Gets a Tom and Jerry Remake and It Looks Awful". MovieWeb.
- ^ a b "WB Will Stick Tom & Jerry Into Anything, Including 'Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory'". Cartoon Brew.
- ^ "Tom and Jerry Should Not Meet Willy Wonka in a Feature Film. It Is an Abomination". Jezebel.
- ^ Elderkin, Beth (July 2, 2017). "My Mad Descent Into the Hellish Void That Is Tom and Jerry: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory". Gizmodo. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
External links
- 2017 films
- English-language films
- 2017 animated films
- 2017 direct-to-video films
- 2010s fantasy-comedy films
- 2010s children's comedy films
- 2010s musical comedy films
- 2010s American animated films
- American films
- American children's animated comedy films
- American children's animated fantasy films
- American children's fantasy films
- American fantasy adventure films
- American fantasy-comedy films
- American musical comedy films
- American musical fantasy films
- Animated comedy films
- Animated musical films
- Animated films based on children's books
- Animated films based on novels
- Animated crossover films
- Films about children
- Films about food and drink
- Films based on British novels
- Films based on works by Roald Dahl
- Films directed by Spike Brandt
- Films featuring anthropomorphic characters
- Tom and Jerry films
- Willy Wonka
- Warner Bros. Animation animated films
- Warner Bros. direct-to-video animated films
- 2010s musical fantasy films
- 2017 comedy films