13 Curiosities You Should Know Before Seeing The "Tom & Jerry" Movie

They recently presented the first preview of what will be, the new Tom and Jerry movie, which aims to be released in theaters next year.
"Tom & Jerry" Movie
"Tom & Jerry" Movie


The famous cat and mouse of our childhood, was 80 years on TV, and finally will have a movie that will combine animation, with real actors.

Its protagonist is Chloe Grace Moretz, who will be in charge of getting Jerry out of the hotel where he works, with the help of Tom.

Here are some Tom and Jerry trivia you should know before watching the movie:

Let's Rock and roll.

1. The first episode premiered in 1940, and was nominated for an Oscar for best animated short:


"Tom & Jerry" Movie

This classic drawing was created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, who made the short "The cat earns the shoe" in 1940, thus introducing, for the first time, the famous cat and mouse we met on TV.

This short was nominated for an Oscar for best animated short in 1941, becoming the first episode of the 164 that the series would have.

By the way, the short that won the Oscar was: "The Milky Way", about 3 kittens who are punished without milk before going to sleep, for doing mischief. 

2. "Tom and Jerry" was one of MGM's attempts to compete against Mickey Mouse:


"Tom & Jerry" Movie

Mickey Mouse was one of the best creations of the Walt Disney Company, and therefore MGM did not want to be left behind, they had to create a cartoon that competes against the popular mouse.

Hanna and Barbera had many failed attempts, until finally, an influential producer, seeing the first episode of "Tom and Jerry" sent them a letter asking when the second short would be released.

This letter was reason enough to continue, as not even the MGM studio was excited about the first T&J short.

3. For just one episode, Tom and Jerry spoke fluently:


"Tom & Jerry" Movie

In virtually every episode, Tom and Jerry express themselves with screams of joy or pain, in addition to other familiar noises.

But during episode 10 (1943), "The Lonesome Mouse", (The Lonesome Mouse) both dialogue in a fluid way to pretend that Tom finally catches Jerry.

It also happens in the animated movie, when Tom and Jerry introduce themselves, and both are surprised to have a voice. 

4. Tom could be from the “Russian Blue” cat breed:


"Tom & Jerry" Movie
"Tom & Jerry" Movie

Tom is believed to be a "Russian blue" breed, this is due to his gray-blue coat is very similar to that of the aforementioned breed of cats.

As for its name, it is also believed that it was taken into account because in English, male cats are usually called "tomcat".

5. The original name was "Jasper and Jinx" but thanks to a contest for $ 50 dollars, someone changed it:


"Tom & Jerry" Movie

In the first episode of 1940, the original names of the cat and the mouse were "Jasper and Jinx", but as of the second short, these changed to the names that we all know to this day.

Animator John Carr, along with other MGM employees, were summoned to suggest a change in the definitive names of the cartoon's protagonists.

John, who was the one who came up with the first name, won with "Tom and Jerry" and was awarded $ 50 for his idea.

6. After MGM closed, Hanna and Barbera created their own studio, developing epic cartoons:


"Tom & Jerry" Movie

MGM was forced to close its animation studios in 1957.

Given this, Hanna and Barbera decided to create their own studio, and created great animation classics, such as The Flintstones, Don Gato, Scooby Doo, The Smurfs, as well as others after partner with Cartoon Network.

7. Unlike Jerry, Tom had several changes in his appearance over the years:


"Tom & Jerry" Movie

Jerry's appearance remained quite similar from its first episode, contrary to Tom's appearance, which had some significant changes.

Tom started out as a four-legged and cat-like intelligence, but as the episodes went by, Tom began to walk on two legs and have more human attitudes and thoughts, such as feeling guilty for his actions against Jerry.

8. A total of 13 episodes of Tom and Jerry were nominated for an Oscar, and each episode took weeks to create:


"Tom & Jerry" Movie

A total of 7 episodes were winners of the much prized statuette, the first was the episode "The Yankee Doodle Mouse" in 1943, and the last, 10 years later (1953), "Johann Mouse.

Due to their complex hand-drawn animation with detailed backgrounds, finishing an episode took weeks, and it cost up to $ 50k per episode.

9. Nobody liked that Tom and Jerry become friends, their fans preferred them enemies:


"Tom & Jerry" Movie

Tom and Jerry went through the hands of different directors, the "worst" was Gene Deitch who made 13 episodes, considered "the worst in the history of the series", for their blurred expressions, little music and too many sound effects.

After spending a few years with Chuck Jones (co-creator of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck), he returned to the hands of Hanna and Barbera in 1975, they decided that they would put violence aside (probably due to strict television regulations) to create a friendly version that did not have the success they expected in a total of 38 7-minute shorts.

10. Tom's roar was changed by Chuck Jones:


"Tom & Jerry" Movie

One of the most iconic surprises that Chuck Jones left on Tom was the change of the famous MGM lion for Tom, trying to imitate his roar.

An adorable change that marked an entire generation of cartoon fans. 

11. The animated series was accused of being racist:


"Tom & Jerry" Movie

Mammy Two Shoes, was an obese African American with an exaggerated southern accent, whose face was not seen more than once, and for a brief moment.

The character of Mammy, who was originally thought to be the housekeeper, was criticized for being stereotyped by the creators, and for that reason they had to redesign her, and re-fold her dialogues in old chapters.

His most drastic change came when Chuck changed the character to that of a white, slim-figure woman.

12. Tom and Jerry is the series with the highest number of violent actions per minute:


"Tom & Jerry" Movie

Both Tom and Jerry try to get rid of each other using rifles, axes, hammers, bombs, fire, and well, the list goes on.

For this reason, some chapters have been censored for some years for being considered very extreme or even for representing a bad influence since they appear smoking.

13. An episode shows Tom and Jerry disappointed in love making their! C! D! O:


"Tom & Jerry" Movie

The episode titled "Blue Cat Blues" from 1956 was falsely broadcast as the "last chapter of the series" leaving a sad ending for Tom and Jerry.

And although it was quite crude, because we see a depressed Tom, abandoned by his girlfriend, sitting on the train tracks, then being accompanied by Jerry, who discovers that his girlfriend is cheating on him, we see how the episode ends with the sound of a train approaching them.

This was followed by many more, culminating in 1967, but continued with some specials from 2000 to the present.