Once upon a time there was a cat. His name was Tom. Some people in an animation studio thought it would be a good idea to put him together with a mouse. After an exhaustive search on several continents, they found a young aspiring rodential star named Jerry. Thanks to centuries of biological history, one intended to kill the other, but even the suits had to admit: these two had crazy chemistry together. After an experimental short film in the early 1940s was completed, they signed an exclusive contract. For almost two decades, they created a double act that made them famous. Fame, fortune and Oscars (seven of them) followed. The same thing happened with the scandal – cases with little stars and spouses, disagreements with the law, being called to the House’s Non-American Activities Committee, an unpleasant addiction to painkillers and catnip – and, finally, a mutual feeling of roughness. But, like so many comics pairs from the mid-20th century, Tom and Jerry knew that their whole was greater than the sum of its parts. That ampersand between their names was the key to their continued success.
Even so, in 1958, none of the mammals spoke to each other. Crew members and entertainers got used to the icy silences that permeate the cartoon scenes. Finally, through their respective advertisers, the cat and mouse announced that they were breaking up. Several solo films, a Colgate-sponsored variety show for Jerry, and several competing calypso albums followed, all received with public indifference or utter scorn. Occasional meetings have followed over the years, including a good season in the late sixties. But for many of his fans, it looked like they were just going through the “I’ll-make-you-bite-your-own-tail” movement – and-then-you’ll-see-a-halo-of-stars. The emotion was gone.
However, endless repetitions of those old drawings, fan meetings (who can forget those annual TomCon events?) And the Nostalgia Industrial Complex have kept the names of Thomas Cat and Jerry S. Mouse alive over the years. And even though it had been a long time since the two worked together, AT & T / WarnerMedia / HBO / GloboChem executives needed new intellectual properties to defend themselves in the name of content – and that team of feline rodents used to be a big success with children, right?
Watch Tom and Jerry: Cat v. Mouse on HBO Max here
After closing deals between the two parties, a new film starring Tom and Jerry received the go-ahead. A script, for want of a better word, was written and rewritten and rewritten and rewritten again. A director was needed and, after seeing the 2019 sequel, restart Stem, the constituted powers knew that Tim Story was the right man for the job. Chloë Grace Moretz would play the human role, a young girl named Kayla who got a job at a five-star hotel over the weekend before a celebrity couple was about to get married there. (Having lost a bet with God, SNL(Colin Jost was cast as the male half of the couple). Michael Peña, Ken Jeong and Rob Delaney were cast to star. After the dust settled in weeks of long and torturous negotiations, Rob Delaney’s Mustache also joined the project.
So there they were, together again, the cat and the mouse, trying to resurrect the old magic. (They cannot continue. They he must (continue.) Some of your old friends, especially Spike, the Bulldog, were also pulled out of retirement. There would be some modern touches, of course – listen to those pigeons singing “Can I Kick It?” From A Tribe Called Quest !!! – and, in the name of corporate synergy, a reference to the years 1989 bat Man movie. A group of urban cartoon cats would provide what executives said was “flavor”. Excavations in the pretentious hospitality industry, the excess of showbiz and the aspirations of the millennium generation would also add necessary social commentary. A skateboard would have Wi-Fi, and when someone asks why a skateboard needs access to the Internet, someone else replies, “Why not Fi?”
Still, no one was coming to Tom and Jerry for none of that. They would be appearing for the names in the title. And behold, the duo brought all the tested and proven pieces, from mallet blows to the head (and other parts of the body too!) To revealing skeletal electrocutions for one half of the pair exploring the other’s eternal love for cheese. The steam came out of the ears. The jaw dropped and made ajomp“sound. The two chased each other through the alleys of New York City and through the corridors and in” animal tornadoes “, each game of cat versus mouse more manic than the last. No one wanted to tell them that everything seemed a little forced, especially fans – after all, shouldn’t it be enough to see these anthropomorphic animals beating themselves to the sound of old-school hip-hop cuts? something to watch so they could go to the other room and drink in peace?
In the end, everyone got what they wanted, right? The corporate entity had something to put on its cable channel. Several animators and technicians got jobs. The actors received checks. The cat and mouse had to relive their glory days one last time, and no one called them Itchy or Scratchy, not once. Late capitalism marked another point at its head. As for the viewers, well … whoever won in the endless rotation of inter-species baffles, we all lose. OK, now it’s over. What else is connected?