Tom & Jerry: The Movie (2021) [Blu-Ray]

Director: Tim Story

Cast: Chloë Grace Moretz, Michael Peña, Colin Jost

Release Date: May 18, 2021

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Film Rating: 6.5/10
Disc Rating: 8/10

Synopsis:

One of the most beloved rivalries in history is reignited when Jerry moves into New York City’s finest hotel on the eve of “the wedding of the century,” forcing the event’s desperate planner to hire Tom to get rid of him, in director Tim Story’s “Tom and Jerry.” The ensuing cat and mouse battle threatens to destroy her career, the wedding and possibly the hotel itself. But soon, an even bigger problem arises: a diabolically ambitious staffer conspiring against all three of them.

Please Note: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Post. The opinions I share are my own.

One of the most legendary rivalries in history comes to life in the new ‘Tom & Jerry’ movie which sees our favorite cat and mouse duo making their way into one of New York’s fanciest hotels which causes a whole new set of problems for the staff who are currently trying to plan for the biggest social event in recent memory, a massive wedding they have the honor of hosting. The chaos begins to unfold after Jerry moves into a cozy mouse sized suite at the hotel which leads to complaints and the staff hiring Tom to get him out by any means necessary. As the pair gets into their usual shenanigans, chaos (and plenty of hilarity) quickly ensues only leading to even more trouble and destruction engulfing the prestigious property.

Directed by Tim Story (Ride Along, Barbershop) from a screenplay written by Kevin Costello (Brigsby Bear), Story does a great job at the helm of ‘Tom & Jerry’ capturing the heart and style of the iconic duo while trying to do something slightly new with the property to largely enjoyable results. The film also features a cast with some notable talent and includes Chloë Grace Moretz (Shadow in the Cloud), Michael Peña (Ant-Man), Colin Jost (Coming 2 America), Rob Delaney (Deadpool 2) and Ken Jeong (My Spy) along with the voice talents of Bobby Cannavale, Lil Rel Howery and more who each offer capable and fittingly goofy performances in their respective roles overall.

The new ‘Tom & Jerry’ movie is a lighthearted and incredibly enjoyable outing with our beloved cat and mouse rivals that merges a live-action world and cast with animated animals (even the causal dog walking past briefly on the street is animated) in a style that seems to be largely inspired by films such as ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit’. Even while some of the direct interactions between the animated and real life stars seems slightly off on occasion, it works quite well for the most part and allows a bigger scope and playground for the combative duo to wreak havoc. It may not get every detail perfect, but in a film with such a carefree style and approach, one can only hope for ample fun and silliness and in that regard ‘Tom & Jerry’ certainly delivers. I would thoroughly encourage any diehard Tom and Jerry fans to ignore so many of the negative reviews and give this one a fair chance. Granted it probably won’t be going up for best picture at the Oscars, but it does deliver in exactly the manner we would expect (and even hope) with plenty of fun, over the top chaos and hilarity that stays largely true to the source material of our stars while at the same time attempting to do something slightly different with the property.

Overall, this new ‘Tom & Jerry’ feature film is a goofy and consistently amusing slapstick adventure with our favorite animated cat and mouse (as well as some other familiar animated faces) thrown into a live action world and the result may not be cinematic gold, but it sure is a great deal of fun that I wouldn’t overlook if you’re a fan of the legendary duo. The new ‘Tom & Jerry’ movie is definitely recommended for fans of Tom and Jerry along with anyone that enjoys a carefree family film that serves up plenty of fun without ever making the mistake of taking itself too seriously. If this one already has your attention but you missed it during its run in theaters and on HBO Max, it should at least be worth renting a copy one easygoing evening at home when you just want to relax and have fun with a simple and easygoing family comedy that won’t require too much concentration.

VIDEO:

The Blu-ray release of ‘Tom & Jerry: The Movie’ features a full 1080p High Definition presentation with the film’s original 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks wonderful as a whole and offers a sharp, clean and vibrantly colored presentation from start to finish that never suffers from any unexpected issues or problems along the way. It holds up beautifully even during the darkly lit, fast moving and heavily populated moments, never resulting in anything occurring onscreen becoming negatively affected, let alone rendered indiscernible. Overall, this is a fantastic high definition video presentation that should easily thrill fans of the film as well as first time viewers.

AUDIO:

The Blu-ray release features a Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 channel compatible) soundtrack. Please note that this review pertains solely to the Dolby TrueHD 7.1 audio presentation. This multichannel soundtrack is a splendidly aggressive auditory experience that always keeps things sounding crisp and clean while repeatedly adding to the overall enjoyment of the viewing experience. It continually takes full advantage of all seven available channels in order to send characters, debris and destruction, along with nature content and plenty more zipping throughout the various speakers at every fitting opportunity, while always making certain that any dialogue or other audio elements that may be occurring simultaneously remain clean and fully audible. Overall, this is a magnificent Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible) soundtrack that’s a constant treat from start to finish and should thoroughly please every step of the way.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The Blu-ray release of ‘Tom & Jerry: The Movie’ includes a nice helping of fun extras for fans of all ages. Included on the release is a collection of ‘Deleted Scenes’ from the movie with introductions by Director Tim Story (running approximately 13 minutes in length altogether), along with a ‘Gag Reel’ (running approximately 3 minutes) and various Behind the Scenes Featurettes and fun videos. They include ‘Bringing Tom & Jerry To Life’ (approximately 14 minutes), ‘Tom & Jerry’s World’ (4 minutes), ‘The Feud: #TeamTom vs. #TeamJerry’ (4 minutes), ‘Jerry’s “A House For A Mouse”’ (4 minutes), ‘The Tom & Jerry Guide To New York City Wildlife’ (5 minutes), ‘Inside The Wedding of Ben and Preeta’ (5 minutes) and ‘A Scene Comes To Life’ which explores the process of bringing 2 key scenes in the film to life: ‘Scene #1 – Ben and Preeta’s Wedding’ (5 minutes) and ‘Scene #2 – Animal Lockup’ (4 minutes).

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray and resized. They will additionally suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on this Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

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Film Rating: 6.5/10
Disc Rating: 8/10

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‘Tom & Jerry’; The New Movie is Now Available to Own on Blu-ray, DVD & Digital from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment

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