Tom and Jerry: The Movie
Tom and Jerry: The Movie | |
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![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Phil Roman |
Written by | Dennis Marks |
Based on | Tom and Jerry by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera |
Produced by | Phil Roman |
Starring | |
Edited by | Tim J. Borquez Timothy Mertens |
Music by | Henry Mancini |
Production companies | |
Distributed by | Miramax Films (original) Warner Bros. Pictures (current) |
Release dates |
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Running time | 84 minutes |
Countries | United States Germany |
Language | English |
Budget | $3.5 million |
Box office | $3.6 million[1] |
Tom and Jerry: The Movie is a 1992 German-American animated musical comedy film featuring the characters Tom and Jerry. Produced and directed by Phil Roman from a screenplay written by Dennis Marks (who also scripted some episodes of Tom & Jerry Kids at the time), the film stars the voices of Richard Kind, Dana Hill (in her final film role), Anndi McAfee, Tony Jay, Rip Taylor, Henry Gibson, Michael Bell, Ed Gilbert, David L. Lander, Howard Morris and Charlotte Rae.
Produced by Turner Pictures and Roman's Film Roman, it is the first theatrical feature-length animated film featuring the cat-and-mouse pair[2] as well as their return to the big screen after 25 years. Although largely mute in the original cartoons, the duo talked extensively in this film. Joseph Barbera, co-founder of Hanna-Barbera Productions and co-creator of Tom and Jerry, served as creative consultant for the film.[2] The film tells the story about Tom and Jerry, who become homeless after their home is wrecked, to which they put their differences aside in order to help a little girl both escape from her child-hating and abusive guardian and find her lost and presumed-dead father.
After having its world premiere in Germany on October 1, 1992, Tom and Jerry: The Movie was released theatrically by Miramax Films and LIVE Entertainment on July 30, 1993 in the United States. The film received predominantly negative reviews for the film's lack of focus along with the use of dialogue for the main characters and musical numbers, although the animation and Mancini's music was positively received. The film was a box office bomb, earning only $3.6 million on a $3.5 million budget.
Plot
Tom's owners are moving to a new house, but he is distracted by his pursuit of Jerry and is left behind by the moving van. Tom chases the van, but is scared away by a bulldog and is forced to stay in the house. The next morning, the house is demolished, leaving both Tom and Jerry homeless. The pair wander the streets until they meet a stray cocker named Puggsy and his flea companion, Frankie. Through introducing themselves, Tom and Jerry discover that they can speak, and they are persuaded to befriend each other to ensure their survival. While Tom and Jerry are sidetracked searching for food, Puggsy and Frankie are captured by dogcatchers. Tom is apprehended by a group of hostile alley cats, until Jerry traps them in the sewer. While walking, Tom and Jerry meet Robyn Starling, an orphan girl who’s mother died when she was a baby and her father recently died in an avalanche during an expedition. Robyn and her family's fortune are in the custody of her greedy guardian Pristine Figg and her lawyer Lickboot, who see Robyn only as a means to keeping their obtained wealth. A local policeman brings Robyn home along with Tom and Jerry.
Figg reluctantly allows Tom and Jerry to stay. However, after a food fight between Tom, Jerry and Figg's obese dog Ferdinand, Figg suggests taking them to a kind man named Dr. Applecheeck who loves animals, which Robyn thinks about. Jerry overhears Figg and Lickboot discussing about a telegram that reveals that Robyn’s father is alive and running his company in Tibet. Jerry tells Tom about this and they attempt to tell Robyn about it, but Figg locks Robyn in her room and takes Tom and Jerry to Dr. Applecheeck, who is revealed to be a cruel animal kidnapper and the employer of the dogcatchers who captured Puggsy and Frankie. Tom and Jerry reunite with Puggsy and Frankie, who suggest using a nearby control panel to open the cages. Tom and Jerry free the captured animals and return to Robyn's home to inform her of her father's survival. Tom, Jerry and Robyn set out to find Robyn’s father on a raft, but the raft is suddenly struck by a ship and they end up separated.
The next day, Figg and Lickboot decide to put a $1 million bounty on Robyn to anyone who can find her, with no promise on paying. Robyn is found and hosted by amusement park manager Captain Kiddie and his first mate Squawk, a parrot puppet. Kiddie is initially friendly with Robyn until he sees Figg's bounty on a milk carton. He traps Robyn on a Ferris wheel and contacts Figg, who leaves with Lickboot and Ferdinand while Applecheeck and the dogcatchers try to beat them there in order to collect the bounty. Tom and Jerry find and free Robyn and trap the dogcatchers on the Ferris wheel right when Figg and Lickboot arrive. They escape in a paddle steamer while Figg, Lickboot, Kiddie and Applecheeck give chase. In the ensuing chase, Applecheeck falls from a bridge and sinks Kiddie's dinghy, while Figg and Lickboot head to the "Robyn's Nest" – a small cabin where Robyn and her father spent their holidays – predicting she will be there.
Tom, Jerry and Robyn arrive at the cabin, but Robyn is apprehended by Figg and Lickboot, who locks Tom and Jerry outside with Ferdinand. During a tussle, an oil lamp is knocked over and starts a fire. While Figg and Lickboot attempt to escape, Tom and Jerry manage to get Robyn safely 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 and sends them away. Robyn's father arrives by helicopter and rescues her, but fail to rescue Tom and Jerry right before the cabin collapses, and they barely survive. Robyn’s father promises to never leave her alone again and Tom and Jerry’s heroics make the paper. The pair begin a new life in Robyn's luxurious villa and return to their old habits.
Voice cast
- Richard Kind as Tom
- Dana Hill as Jerry
- Anndi McAfee as Robyn Starling
- Charlotte Rae as Aunt Pristine Figg
- Tony Jay as Lickboot
- Michael Bell as Ferdinand, Straycatcher #1
- Henry Gibson as Dr. J. Sweetface Applecheek
- Ed Gilbert as Puggsy and Robyn's Father
- David Lander as Frankie Da Flea
- Rip Taylor as Captain Kiddie
- Howard Morris as Squawk
- Sydney Lassick as Straycatcher #2
- Don Messick as Droopy
- Tino Insana as The Patrolman
- B. J. Ward as Tom's Owner
- Greg Burson as Moving Man
- Raymond McLeod as Bulldog, Alleycat #1
- Mitchell D. Moore as Alleycat #2
- Scott Wojahn as Alleycat #3
Production
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 was provided by Kroyer Films.
Music
Musical numbers
- "Friends to the End" – Pugsy, Frankie, Tom, Jerry
- "What Do We Care? (The Alley Cats' Song)" – The Alley Cats
- "Money Is Such a Beautiful Word" – Aunt Figg, Lickboot
- "God's Little Creatures" – Dr. Applecheek
- "I Miss You (Robyn's Song)" – Robyn
- "I've Done It All" – Captain Kiddie, Squawk
- "Finale (Friends to the End)"
- "I Miss You" (End Title) – Stephanie Mills
- "All in How Much We Give" – Stephanie Mills
Soundtrack
Tom and Jerry: The Movie – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | |
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Soundtrack album by Various Artists | |
Released | July 20, 1993 December 11, 2005 (reissued) |
Recorded | 1991 |
Genre | Film soundtrack |
Label | MCA Records (1993) Geffen Records (2005) |
Producer | Henry Mancini Leslie Bricusse |
A soundtrack album was released by MCA Records in 1993 (re-released by Geffen Records in 2005) and included both the songs (music written by Henry Mancini with lyrics by Leslie Bricusse) and score from the film, composed by Henry Mancini.[3] The end credits pop song All in How Much We Give was written by Jody Davidson.
All tracks are written by Henry Mancini
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "All in How Much We Give" (Stephanie Mills) | |
2. | "Friends to the End" (Ed Gilbert, David Lander, Richard Kind, Dana Hill) | |
3. | "What Do We Care? (The Alley Cats' song)" (Raymond McLeod, Michael D. Moore, Scott Wojahn) | |
4. | "God's Little Creatures" (Henry Gibson) | |
5. | "(Money is Such) A Beautiful Word" (Charlotte Rae, Tony Jay) | |
6. | "I Miss You (Robyn's Song)" (Anndi McAfee) | |
7. | "I've Done It All" (Rip Taylor, Howard Morris) | |
8. | "Theme from Tom and Jerry (Main title)" | |
9. | "Homeless" | |
10. | "We Meet Robyn" | |
11. | "Food Fight Polka" | |
12. | "Meet Dr. Applecheek" | |
13. | "Chase" | |
14. | "Escape from the Fire" | |
15. | "Finale (Friends to the End)" | |
16. | "Tom and Jerry Theme (Pop Version)" |
Reception
Critical response
Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 14% approval rating based on 14 reviews.[4]
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."[5] Charles Solomon of the Los Angeles Times panned the film's songs and Phil Roman's direction.[6] 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".[7]
Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert awarded the film "Two Thumbs Down" on their show Siskel & Ebert. Although they praised the animation, look and the truthful art design of the animated shorts, they neither thought that it was a good idea to give dialogue to the two characters, giving lack of more slapstick action from past cartoons and that the story was silly, even considering that the character of Robyn Starling takes most of the attention than the cat and mouse themselves.[8] Conversely, Vincent Canby of The New York Times was more positive in his review by praising Mancini's score and the musical numbers, to which he later went on to say that "[the characters of] Tom and Jerry have charm."[9]
Box office
Tom and Jerry: The Movie opened 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.[1] Ranking number fourteen at the North American box office, the film grossed $3,560,469 worldwide, making it financially unsuccessful.[1][10]
Video games
- A video game based on the film was released for the Sega Master System on October 1, 1992 and Sega Game Gear on July 14, 1993,[11][12] followed by a handheld game by Tiger Electronics released the same year.
- A video game based on the film of same name titled Tom and Jerry: Frantic Antics was released for Game Boy on October 2, 1993[13] and Sega Genesis on December 21, 1993[14][15] by Hi-Tech Expressions and Altron.
Home media
The film was released on VHS and LaserDisc on October 26, 1993 by Family Home Entertainment.[16] The VHS release of the film was reissued on March 2, 1999 and was released on DVD on March 26, 2002 in United States and on September 26, 2008 in Germany[17] by Warner Home Video although despite receiving a UK VHS release from First Independent Films, no Region 2 DVD release is as of yet currently available.[18]
References
- ^ a b c "Tom and Jerry: The Movie". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2020-01-06.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ "Tom and Jerry: The Movie [Original Soundtrack] - Henry Mancini - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic.
- ^ "Tom and Jerry – The Movie". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
- ^ McBride, Joseph (1992-10-02). "Tom and Jerry: The Movie". Variety. Retrieved 2020-01-06.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ 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.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Hinson, Hal (1993-07-30). "Tom and Jerry". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2017-12-01. Retrieved 2011-10-07.
- ^ AtTheMoviesFan1. "Siskel & Ebert: Tom and Jerry: The Movie (Year 1993)". Retrieved 2020-04-02.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ 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.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ 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.
- ^ August/September 1993 (PDF). United States: Sega Visions. 1993. p. 104. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
- ^ "Google Groups". groups.google.com. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
- ^ "Tom and Jerry: Frantic Antics (Game)". Giant Bomb. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
- ^ January 1994 (PDF). United States: GamePro. 199x. p. 64. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
- ^ "Google Groups". groups.google.com. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
- ^ "Tom and Jerry the Movie [VHS] (1993)". amazon.com. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
- ^ "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. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
- ^ "Tom and Jerry – The Movie (1992)". amazon.com. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
Sources
- Beck, Jerry (2005). The Animated Movie Guide. Chicago: Chicago Review Press. ISBN 1-55652-591-5. pp. 284–285.
External links
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- 1992 films
- English-language films
- 1992 animated films
- 1990s buddy comedy films
- 1990s children's comedy films
- 1990s adventure comedy films
- 1990s musical comedy films
- 1990s American animated films
- 1990s children's animated films
- American films
- American buddy comedy films
- American musical comedy films
- American adventure comedy films
- American children's animated comedy films
- American children's animated adventure films
- Animated comedy films
- Animated buddy films
- Animated musical films
- Animated films about cats
- Animated films about friendship
- Animated films about orphans
- Animated films featuring female antagonists
- Tom and Jerry films
- Films directed by Phil Roman
- Films scored by Henry Mancini
- Films about kidnapping
- Films about homelessness
- Films about animal rights
- Films about children
- Films about child abuse
- Films about missing people
- Films set in amusement parks
- Films featuring anthropomorphic mice
- Films adapted into video games
- Film Roman films
- Artisan Entertainment films
- Miramax films
- Miramax animated films
- 1992 comedy films