Tom & Jerry: The Movie opened in theaters and on HBO Max on February 26th. Warner Bros. was kind enough to share a screener with us and sent us a surprise package! Unfortunately that was the same weekend we had record breaking snow here and our package showed up a week late. On the bright side, a cake piñata was perfectly timed for my son’s (very small, family only thanks to the pandemic) birthday celebration!
Before diving into the movie itself, I thought I’d share a bit of our own zany slapstick fun we had with the piñata we were sent (and the comically small mallet included to smash it with).
The piñata included an activity book, stuffed versions of Tom and Jerry, a couple of t-shirts, a bunch of candy (all of the sour variety which just happens to be a favorite in our house), and a bunch of fun New York swag (it’s where the movie takes place).
I loved Tom & Jerry as a kid – their slapstick antics were always a big hit, though my favorite episodes were always the Three Musketeers-styled ones. Fast forward to 2021, and I honestly had no idea if any of our kids had even heard of Tom & Jerry much less would be interested in watching the movie. However, I was pleasantly surprised that not only did they want to watch it, but all four of them stayed for the whole movie (I really can’t stress how much of a rarity this is on our family, especially due to the wide age ranges). They all enjoyed it and are still running around with the stuffies and t-shirts from the piñata.
The overall story of the movie is pretty straightforward – Kayla (played by Moretz) lies her way into a job at a hotel, helping with a big make or break everything celebrity wedding. Jerry has coincidentally taken up residence inside said hotel, and Tom gets enlisted to help Moretz get rid of Jerry. Disaster ensues of course and the only way to resolve everything is for Tom and Jerry to team-up, for the engaged couple to actually communicate with each other about what they want, and for Kayla to confess to her subterfuge.
I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about the mix of animation and live-action, but I think it was done really well. I especially liked that all of the animals in the movie were animated versus mixing animated and real animals. Having Chloë Grace Moretz, Michael Peña, and Ken Jeong (along with the rest of the great cast) also really helped me enjoy the film. I particularly enjoyed some of the nostalgic throwbacks to classic Tom & Jerry bits like Tom as the blind musician busking for change, Tom’s dueling angel and devil conscience, and the storm cloud of fighting and chasing with Tom, Jerry, and Spike. They did an excellent job of even incorporating Peña into one of those whirlwinds.
If you grew up with Tom & Jerry, you’ll very likely enjoy the trip down nostalgia lane, and, clearly, most kids will also enjoy the film. And, after watching the film, if your family is looking for more Tom & Jerry fun, two little web based games were created just for the movie as well! The first is a Match 3 style game and the second is a pinball game, both with a Tom & Jerry theme. Both are cute, easy little browser based games with no login required.
Note: While I was sent this piñata and preview screener of the film, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
