Tom and Jerry the Humans have taken over

by Kathia Woods

There have been many dynamic duos in Cinema but very few as long as Tom and Jerry. Debuting in 1940 and created by the iconic William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, they have entertained us for decades. So we fast forward to 2021, and our boys have a new shine to their worn coats. Tom and Jerry find themselves homeless after having demolished their old one due to their fierce rivalry. The two adventurers relocate to New York City. Tom is pretending to be a blind keyboard player, and Jerry is House hunting.

The home search leads Jerry the Mouse to the poshest hotel in New York City, the Royal Gate. The hotel is about to host the biggest lavish wedding, and naturally, the two rivals are smackdown in the commotion. Another lost soul by the name of Kayla joins the duo. Unrelated to our two stars, she, like Tom and Jerry, has been placed out in the street, losing her latest job. She cons her way into getting employment at the Grand Royale just as the hotel is ready to host its biggest event.

Here we have a cunning mouse, a slick cat, and a professional con artist amidst the grandest hotel. What can go wrong? Everything

Let's see; we have a wedding that is allegedly hush hush but keeps getting bigger, two rivals, an unqualified hotel employee, and a hotel manager that doesn't trust said, untrained employee.

The above has the makings of a fun escape; however, Tom and Jerry the film has some flaws. This version of Tom and Jerry is very mature and will leave the younger audience behind. All the animals featured in the movie are animated.

The animation is stellar, and I enjoyed the incorporation of hip-hop music in the opening theme and throughout the film. What's missing from this is fun. The storyline is too severe, and we rarely find ourselves laughing at our dynamic duo—the film centers too much on Kayla (Chloe Moretz) and not enough on Tom and Jerry.

There's much chatter about the wedding but minimal interaction with the engaged couple Preeta (Pallavi Sharda) and Ben (Colin Jost) with the two stars.

Colin Jost, Michael Pena, Ken Jeong, and Pallavi Sharda are all funny people but not in this film, sadly. Moretz and Pena are in half of the scenes, and not once did I find myself laughing. Every time we had moments centered around Tom and Jerry, they were haltered to make room for humans.

Directory Tim Story did his best with a script that was all over the place, making it difficult for us to invest in these characters. Tom and Jerry hold many great childhood memories. Saturday morning cartoons in our pajamas with a big bowl of cereal. We knew the stick, but we watched because it brought joy. This new version will not do the same for the little people in your house. This Tom and Jerry is sadly dull and will make your kids say next. Tom and Jerry had an opportunity to bring our dueling guys in front of a new audience, and with Disney dropping Raya and the Last Dragon next week, there was no room for error. If you want to share the joy of Tom and Jerry, I suggest you show your kids the old school shows because this film may say Tom and Jerry, but sadly, they were pushed to the side for the humans.