Tom & Jerry

One of the best things I can say about the Tom and Jerry feature movie, now streaming on HBO Max, is that it isnt wholly terrible. The animation is bright, the human cast delivers enjoyably goofy performances, and the film stays true to the original cartoons roots. It isnt super funny nor creative, but the fun story about a celebrity wedding gone awry and a stuffy New York City hotel that employs a cat to rid them of a mouse problem lays the groundwork for a bit of amusing mayhem.

Blending classic animation with live action, the effects are better than expected. The actors (including Chloë Grace Moretz, Michael Peña, Pallavi Sharda, and Colin Jost) do a great job interacting with their cat and mouse counterparts, and the cartoonish eleme...

The spirit of the old cartoons is nowhere to be seen here, and that's the biggest disappointment. There is certainly enough here to entertain families - albeit probably not the parents - and I can envision this film playing on repeat for certain kids. Alas, for anyone looking to recapture the magic of the cartoons and revisiting some old favourites, it's best to look elsewhere.

• Joel Kalkopf

Read Joel's full article... https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/article/review-tom-and-jerry-a-spiritless-reimagining-of-a-classic-cartoon

Oh, for heaven's sake!! Why? What for? Who on earth ever thought this was a good idea? Those of us who regularly watched the chaotic antics of "Jerry", his arch-nemesis "Tom" and his own persecutor "Spike" know well that these are at their best when delivered as quickly paced, entertaining, five minute bursts of slapstick comedy. This, on the other hand, is a turgid and lacklustre vehicle for Chloë Grace Moretz ("Kayla") to demonstrate that she has a lovely smile but very little else as this nonsense sees her impersonating someone to get a job at an hotel. Here, a celebrity wedding with an Indian theme is set to take place and she is charged with making the wedding of "Ben" (Colin Jost) and "Preeta" (Pallavi Sharda) (or ought that to be Cho...

Well, I don't want to say it's HORRIBLE... but that's about all.

For a Tom and Jerry cartoon, there is very little actual Tom and Jerry and more of the focus is on the live action actors than the animated characters. And that, honestly, is my biggest complaint.

All the rest of it is exactly what one would expect. Especially since Tom and Jerry doesn't lend itself to an actual feature film, at least in length. So the plot is as cliche as you would expect, the only down side is that you expect that cliched plot to focus on the titular characters.