Tom and Jerry 1992 vs. 2021 Comparison between the original cartoon and live-action film

Tom and Jerry is a classic animation franchise, an ultimate signature move of the Hann-Barbara Studios, and the most beloved cartoon of several generations. In 2021 we get a chance to see the ultimate reincarnation of the iconic animated characters in a new action film. Creators of this new version promise to keep the main spirit and atmosphere of the world-famous franchise, enrich it with modern animation solutions, and place the habitual characters in territories that have never been available to them before – live action.

How much has changed?

In fact, not so much had changed since the 1940s, when William Hannah and Joseph Barbera created Tom and Jerry, until the latest featured movie, Tom and Jerry: The Movie Flopped was released in 1992. Altogether, the world-famous Cat and Mouse has earned duo 7 Academy Awards for the best animated short film and become a truly iconic animated character. The animation world knows several attempts to repeat their success by copying the original animation’s plot and comic action. Still, only the original Tom and Jerry were indeed written into history books of animation.

No wonder the release of the new version of the franchise with innovative solutions and the modern vision of classic characters seemed pretty controversial today. On the one hand, critics anticipate the new image of the beloved characters enhanced by modern technologies. But at the same time, there is a lot of concern about whether this classic franchise should be placed in current conditions and whether this transformation will go naturally.

Tom and Jerry’s placement in the live-action movie is seen to be the main contraversion, but it is not as innovative a move as some of us may think. In 1988, we already saw “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” – a live-action movie, where cartoon characters existed in the same dimension with live actors and scenery. Later on, “Space Jam”, which was released in 1996, proved that the idea of a combination between classic animation and live-action is a demanded genre among viewers. By the way, “Space Jam” also gets its modernized sequel in the summer of 2021.

So what is so special about the Tom and Jerry live-action movie that raises so much contraversion and concern today?

What has really changed?

The first fundamental change that you may notice in the 2021 version of Tom and Jerry is that today the cat and the mouse are not the main protagonists in the plot. They act more like a team contrasted with a live-action character who represents a pretty stereotypical millennial character. She is the one who will change her journey hand in hand with classic animation characters. Critics’ primary concern about this plot move is that neither the audience that remembers the original Tom and Jerry animation nor the new young viewers may find the story and its development relatable.

By the way, the characters are not that classic also. For the first time in history, Tom and Jerry get new 3D looks, which are supposed to help them fit the real-life scenery. According to the plot, the new movie will not be a sequence of live-action scenes and fully animated episodes like it was, for example, in the “SpongeBob: Sponge Out of Water” released in 2021. The 2021 Tom and Jerry get fully integrated into live-action scenery; therefore, transferring them into 3D animation looks like the best solution. However, the creators decided not to go too deep into anatomical and realistic detailing. Thus Tom and Jerry will preserve most of the looks and anatomies of their classic embodiments, making the atmosphere of the new action movie similar to the one of the “Roger Rabbit” film that we have already mentioned.

Some things remain unchanged

The new movie creators claim that although they are eager to discover new dimensions of the classic animated characters through new technologies and solutions, they still treat the classic franchise’s framework and concept with great respect, doing their best to preserve the very atmosphere of the beloved cartoon.

Even though the 2021 version will introduce numerous new characters that have never appeared in the franchise before, we shall witness some classic, familiar images. The 2021 movie didn’t leave behind such iconic figures like Spike – the vicious bulldog and Butch – the alley cat.

However, the main concern was whether the creators would give voices to the originally mute characters. This time the solution looks pretty elegant as the live-action heroes carry on all the dialogues, so the viewer does not even pay attention to the fact that the animated characters remain mute. Tom does have several lines, but the creators managed to preserve the original franchise’s authenticity by using Tom’s voice fragments from the original animation. By the way, those lines were performed by William Hannah himself. The creators of the 2021 movie also picked up the classic “Angel-Devil” move for Tom, voiced by Lil Rel Howery. Moreover, Tom has a brief singing episode performed by T-Pain.

Spike and Butch do talk in the movie, which corresponds to the original franchise as those characters have never been mute in the classic Hannah-Barbers version. Spike had several episodes when he told off Tom for his misbehaviors and tutored his son – a bulldog puppy Tyke. Butch had several episodes where he was educating Tom and other characters about the romance of stray life. Therefore, those characters’ dialogue doesn’t look unnatural even for the original Tom and Jerry franchise’s ultimate fans.

All in all, we may say that although there is a lot of concern and argument about the new Tom and Jerry live-action film, the creators took the original franchise with great respect and put a lot of effort into preserving the iconic atmosphere and signature moves of the beloved animated characters. Naturally, true appreciators of Hannah-Barbera animation will remain pretty reluctant towards the innovative approach to the classics. Still, critics forecast that the 2021 movie may become an ultimate reincarnation of Tom and Jerry to discover them for the younger auditorium.