The Tom and Jerry Show is an American animated comedy television series produced by Warner Bros. Animation and Turner Entertainment Co., and animated by Renegade Animation. Based on the characters and theatrical cartoons created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, the series premiered on Teletoon in Canada on March 1, 2014, and on Cartoon Network in the United States on April 9, 2014. It also aired on Boomerang in the U.S., which became its primary network starting in 2017.
The fourth season premiered on February 1, 2021, on Boomerang SVOD and the Cartoon Network app, while the fifth season was released on the Cartoon Network app and Boomerang on February 1 and 15, 2021, respectively. The fifth season was later removed from the service.
Following the conclusion of the series, HBO Max launched Tom and Jerry Special Shorts and Tom and Jerry in New York, the latter debuting on July 1, 2021.
Contents
Plot
The series follows the comedic rivalry between Tom and Jerry, with various scenarios throughout its run. In a typical modern-day urban setting, Tom's attempts to catch Jerry lead to numerous antics. The show also features Tom and Jerry in different roles, including working as detectives in Tolucaville, Tom as a butler in a Downton Abbey-style estate, and various other settings, such as a farm and a Transylvanian environment.
Characters
Main
Tom Cat – A hapless, navy blue tuxedo cat who clashes with Jerry.
Jerry Mouse – A clever brown mouse who usually clashes with and outsmarts Tom.
Spike Bulldog – A bad-tempered tan bulldog whom Tom and Jerry are frequently at odds with. However, he and Tom seem to be somewhat more friendly to each other this series onwards, and the former is more aware of Jerry's participation in provoking his anger, despite retaining their friendship. He is also Tyke's father.
Tyke Bulldog – A tan bulldog puppy who is Spike's son.
Tuffy Mouse – A young grey mouse who wears a diaper and is Jerry's nephew.
Butch Cat – A black alley cat who lives on the street and is Tom's friend.
Little Quacker – A young yellow duck who is a good friend to Jerry.
Recurring
Meathead Cat – A brown alley cat who is friends with Butch.
Toots (credited as "Toodles Galore") – A female yellow cat with a blue bow on her head who is Tom's on-and-off girlfriend. Tom and Butch often compete for her affections.
Chérie – A female mouse with a blue bow around her neck who is Jerry's girlfriend.
Muscles - Who is Jerry's cousin and a mouse with incredible strength.
Uncle Pecos - Who is Jerry's cowboyish uncle.
New characters
Rick and Ginger – The owners of Tom and Spike, who are a married couple. Rick favors Spike while Ginger favors Tom, although they each both equally appreciate one pet over the other.
Hildie and Beatie – Two witches living with Tom and Jerry, in a haunted house.
Newt – An orange Triton which uses an eyepatch. He also lives in the house of the two witches.
Napoleon – A grey rat who is a friend of Jerry. He lives in Dr. Bigby's scientific laboratory.
Hamster – A clever, yet unnamed hamster who also lives in Bigby's laboratory.
Dr. Bigby – A scientist working in a peculiar laboratory. He is also the owner of Jerry, Napoleon, Hamster, and Bot.
Uncle Harry - A Hawaiian mouse who is Jerry and Tuffy's uncle in the episode "Say Uncle".
Doofy - A young light brown mouse and is Tuffy's cousin.
Rutger, Rolf, and Rudy – A trio of loud German grey mice introduced in season 3, who live in Catsylvania.
Cates – The top butler and boss of Tom in the Downton Abbey manor.
Maude – A farmer.
Production
The Tom and Jerry Show was initially announced as a series of 26 episodes, each comprising two 11-minute segments, intended to air on Cartoon Network and remain faithful to the original theatrical shorts. The premiere, originally set for 2013, was delayed to April 9, 2014.
From the second season, the show underwent a retooling of its art style and adjusted the segment length to 7 minutes to better align with the original MGM shorts. As a result, episodes feature three segments instead of two.
Produced by Warner Bros. Animationand Renegade Animation. the series is presented in a 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio and animated by Renegade Animation, PiP Animation Services, Slap Happy Cartoons and Top Draw Animation (seasons 2–3 only) using Adobe Flash. The sound design was done by Rich Danhakl at Advantage Audio and composer Dan Blessinger.
Broadcast
The Tom and Jerry Show premiered on March 1, 2014, on Teletoon in Canada, and on April 9, 2014, on Cartoon Network in the United States. It subsequently premiered on Cartoon Network in Australia on May 5, 2014. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, the series began airing on Boomerang on April 12, 2014, and later on CITV starting in 2016. In India, it premiered on Cartoon Network on April 21, 2014, and was later rebroadcast with Hindi dialogue on November 14, 2020. In the United States, Boomerang began airing the series on January 5, 2015. In Indonesia, it was broadcast on GTV beginning February 13, 2017, and on RCTI starting August 13, 2017. In China, it has aired on China Central Television.
Home media
Reception
The series has received generally mixed reviews, with criticism directed at a lack of innovation compared to previous iterations of the franchise.
