Guess who’s moving to New York City? Tom and Jerry! Tom is hoping his pian0 playing skills will get him a little spending money. Jerry is looking to retire somewhere with a nice little mouse house and access to a full kitchen. A great view would be nice too.
Synopsis
Tom and Jerry aren’t the only ones in the Big Apple looking to take a bite. Kayla (Choe Grace Moretz) is struggling to find her way into the big city. The three find themselves at the center of a wedding at one of New York’s finest Hotels. Jerry moves in, Tom is hired to get rid of him. Soon all anarchy breaks loose and the wedding is threaten by the cat and mouse carnage. The fighting begins to threaten Kayla’s career and may even be the end of the hotel.
Review
The film opens with a flyover New York City. One thing that I think that always makes a movie is a good soundtrack. That opening song is “Can I Kick It?” by A Tribe Called Quest’s. Right there I knew this wasn’t going to be like the Tom and Jerry I grew up with. The blend of live-action and animation is now a familiar tune to us. Beauty and the Beast has really been the only live-action film I have enjoyed. I’m not a big fan of these reboots and blends. Tom and Jerry just barely make the cut for me with the blend. I knew it would be different and was prepared for it.
My Expectations
As a fan of the Fantastic Four directed by Tim Story I was hoping for a little bit more. He attempts to recreate some of the iconic scenes from the original cartoon series. Such as Tom getting hit on face with hot ironing box, Tom planning the piano and Jerry troubling him, and Tom turning into a flying bat.
Don’t get me wrong, there are several instances where the classic slapstick humor hits it out of the park. That left me pining for more moments that way. Here’s my thing: the story is bogged down with the human characters. The focus needed to be more on Tom and Jerry. I don’t have a problem with the human characters. Kayla, played by Chloe Grace Moretz, shines in the role. Michael Pena was my favorite. His expressions were point on in the comedy. It didn’t matter if it was just his expression, the way he spoke his lines, or both; he made me laugh. There wasn’t much to the movie but the cast was overall fun to watch.
Conclusion
Reboots are big in the film industry lately; trying to pull in a younger generation to the oldies but goodies. In the end, I wish the movie was only about Tom and Jerry. A little less wedding and hotel business and more Cat-n-Mouse chase. The storyline wasn’t really kid-friendly when it came to the human character stories. My little man looked up and watched every time there was a fight but that was about it. The slapstick-nature is fun for the whole family. Young kids will probably get a kick out of this film. Us adults will be left a little disappointed. In the end, it will accomplish its goal. Maybe we will get lucky and get more animated Tom and Jerry. I give the movie a B- and put it in my cute box.
Mamma, Mimi, Michele, call out any one of those names and I will answer. There are several hats on my shelf. My passions are photography, being outside, movies, tv, pop culture and anything haunted or spooky. People are my other interest, I love meeting new people and socializing. When I lived in Savannah GA I worked as a tour guide both haunted and historical tours. I met people from all over the world, that was the best part of the job. All of this I can write about too, that’s the beauty of being a writer.
