Tom & Jerry (2021 film) facts for kids

Tom & Jerry
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Tim Story
Produced by	Chris DeFaria
Written by	Kevin Costello
Starring	Chloë Grace Moretz Michael Peña Colin Jost Rob Delaney Ken Jeong
Music by	Christopher Lennertz
Cinematography	Alan Stewart
Editing by	Peter S. Elliot
Studio	Warner Animation Group The Story Company
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures
Release date(s)	February 26, 2021 (2021-02-26)
Running time	101 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$79 million
Money made	$85.6 million

Tom & Jerry (released in some countries as Tom & Jerry: The Movie) is a 2021 American live-action/computer-animated slapstick comedy film based on the titular cartoon characters and animated theatrical short film series of the same name created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, produced by the Warner Animation Group and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is the second theatrical film based on the characters following 1992's Tom and Jerry: The Movie. The film follows Jerry taking refuge in a fancy hotel, which has a young employee named Kayla (Chloë Grace Moretz) getting a job there and teaming up with Tom to exterminate him before an important wedding arrives, until the cat and mouse put their differences aside to prevent their battle from ruining their own dream hotel, its planned wedding, and her career.

The film is directed by Tim Story and written by Kevin Costello. It stars Chloë Grace Moretz, Michael Peña, Colin Jost, Rob Delaney, and Ken Jeong in live-action roles, with Nicky Jam, Bobby Cannavale, and Lil Rel Howery in voice roles. The titular characters are voiced by William Hanna, Mel Blanc, and June Foray via archival recordings, alongside Frank Welker, Kaiji Tang and André Sogliuzzo, even though they are listed as themselves in the credits. Originally announced as a live-action/computer-animated film in 2009, the film languished in development hell for several years. Plans eventually shifted to producing an entirely animated film, in the same vein as the original theatrical shorts, in 2015. The film again became a live-action/animated hybrid in 2018, with animation produced by the Warner Animation Group, and filming beginning in 2019.

Tom & Jerry was theatrically released by Warner Bros. Pictures in the United States on February 26, 2021, along with a one-month simultaneous streaming release on HBO Max. The film received generally negative-to-mixed reviews from critics and has grossed $85 million worldwide, making it the eighth highest-grossing film of 2021.

Plot

In Manhattan, Tom Cat, who dreams of becoming a pianist, plays in Central Park, while his longtime rival Jerry Mouse is in search of a new home. During one of Tom's performances, Jerry picks a fight with him which ends with Tom's keyboard destroyed, followed by a chase.

Kayla Forester, a street-smart young woman doing odd jobs while living by her wits, ends up bumping into Tom while he is chasing Jerry. Looking for a position at New York's fanciest hotel, the Royal Gate, Kayla is tasked with helping event manager Terence Mendoza to set up a high-profile wedding, after presenting a stolen resume as her own. At the same time, Jerry takes up residence at the hotel, where his regular shenanigans involve stealing food and items to ramp up his new lifestyle.

Preeta Mehta and her fiancé Ben, along with their pets Spike and Toots, arrive at the hotel, where they are met by Kayla and Terence, who both greet them, unaware of Jerry stealing from Preeta's handbag. As the couple is escorted to their rooms, Jerry's presence is made known, which puts the wedding and the hotel itself at risk. Kayla offers to help catch Jerry without anyone knowing, which impresses Henry Dubros, the hotel's general manager. In her failed pursuit to catch Jerry, Kayla befriends a bartender named Cameron. Meanwhile, a depressed Tom falls into despair, until he notices Jerry inside one of the hotel rooms. An enraged Tom goes after him, leading to the pair fighting and destroying the whole room. Kayla comes to check, due to noise complaints. She befriends Tom, and, persuades Dubros on hiring him to catch Jerry, despite Terence's disagreement.

After many failed attempts, Tom designs a big mouse trap and finally succeeds in getting Jerry out of the hotel. Meanwhile, Kayla learns from Preeta that her engagement ring is missing and offers to help without Ben knowing, sparking a friendship between the two. Preeta also reveals that Ben hasn’t been listening to her ideas about the wedding and has ordered various animals. Learning that Tom has gotten rid of Jerry, Kayla and Tom celebrate with Cameron, with Tom playing a song on the piano to impress Toots. However, Jerry returns and reveals to Kayla that he had Preeta's ring with him and agrees to give it back to her, if she lets him stay. Before Kayla can agree, Terence returns from walking Spike. Jerry hides in Kayla's coat pocket, sparking a chase during which Spike, Tom, and Jerry demolish the hotel lobby.

Terence is put on leave, while Kayla takes over as event manager, for returning the ring stolen by Jerry. To prevent any more of Tom and Jerry's shenanigans risking the wedding, and, thus her job as well as Tom and Jerry's own chances of wanting to live in the hotel, Kayla tells them that they have to get along and spend the whole next day far away from the hotel, if they want to stay, to which they agree. Tom and Jerry bond during their trip, but are taken to a pet compound, after they inadvertently disrupt a baseball game.

A vengeful Terence separately visits Tom and Jerry in their cell and secretly tells lies to Tom about Jerry and Jerry about Tom (behind their backs), angering them both. At the start of the wedding, Terence incites Tom and Jerry to fight, which ultimately results in the rest of the hotel getting wrecked, the wedding ruined, and Kayla leaving in shame, while Tom is physically kicked out by Terence.

Knowing that it is their fault the wedding was ruined, Tom and Jerry finally put their differences aside and convince Kayla, the hotel crew and a reluctant Terence to work together and fix up everything. They pursue Preeta on an electric skateboard and aerial drone and lure her to Ben, which results in the wedding being held at Central Park, better than originally planned. Ben apologizes to Preeta and admits that he was only trying to impress her and her father and he got carried away, while Kayla, along with Linda Perrybottom, the woman from which she took the resume, get jobs at the hotel. As the film ends (with Tom pulling a curtain featuring the classic "The End" headline from the cartoons), the wedding continues, until a mishap caused by Jerry reignites his longtime cat-and-mouse battle with Tom.

In a post-credits scene, Ben finds he is being charged full-price for both weddings, thinking it's a joke. Mr. Dubros though tells him that Terence crunched some numbers, then leaves along with Terence. Ben stares with bewilderment.

Cast

• Chloë Grace Moretz as Kayla Forester, a young employee of the Royal Gate Hotel and a wedding planner who hires Tom to remove Jerry before the wedding.
• Michael Peña as Terence Mendoza, the scheming event manager of the Royal Gate Hotel and Kayla's boss.
• Colin Jost as Ben, the groom of the wedding the Royal Gate Hotel is planning and hosting. Ben is also the owner of Spike.
• Rob Delaney as Henry Dubros, the wealthy general manager and owner of the Royal Gate Hotel.
• Ken Jeong as Chef Jackie, a chef, and baker at the Royal Gate Hotel.
• Pallavi Sharda as Preeta, the bride of the wedding and Ben's fiancée. Preeta is also the owner of Toodles "Toots" Galore.
• Jordan Bolger as Cameron, a bartender at the Royal Gate Hotel.
• Patsy Ferran as Joy the Bell Girl, an awkward Royal Gate Hotel bellhop.
• Daniel Adegboyega as Gavin, the doorman of the Royal Gate Hotel.
• Christina Chong as Lola, one of the receptionists at the Royal Gate Hotel
• Ajay Chhabra as Mr. Mehta, the father of Preeta
• Somi De Souza as Mrs. Mehta, the mother of Preeta
• Camilla Arfwedson as Linda Perrybottom
• Ozuna as Wedding Staff Member
• Paolo Bonolis as Wedding Guest

Voice cast

• William Hanna, Mel Blanc, June Foray (via archival audio recordings), Frank Welker,, Kaiji Tang and André Sogliuzzo as:
  • Tom, a stray tuxedo cat and Jerry's rival hired by Kayla to get rid of him. He is also a professional piano player. Tom is listed in the credits as "Himself".
    • T-Pain as Tom's singing voice (archive recording)
  • Jerry, a mischievous house mouse and Tom's rival who has taken up residence at the hotel. Jerry is listed in the credits as "Himself".
• Nicky Jam as Butch, a disgruntled black alley cat who is the leader of a gang of alley cats in Manhattan and regularly antagonizes Tom.
• Bobby Cannavale as Spike, a brutish yet goofy American Bulldog who dislikes Tom and is also Ben's family pet.
• Lil Rel Howery as Tom's shoulder devil and angel.
• The Plastic Cup Boyz:
  • Joey Wells as Lightning, an orange alley cat who is a member of Butch's gang.
  • Harry Ratchford as Topsy, a gray/beige kitten who is a member of Butch's gang.
  • Na'im Lynn as Meathead, a brown alley cat sporting a red toupee who is a member of Butch's gang.
  • Spank Horton as Ash, a lanky brown/beige alley cat who is a member of Butch's gang.
• Utkarsh Ambudkar as Real Estate Rat.
• Tim Story as Pigeon Announcer.
• Ben Shephard and Kate Garraway as Cecil and Malcolm, two elephants at Ben and Preeta's wedding.

Additionally, Goldie the Goldfish and Toodles "Toots" Galore also appear in silent roles. Droopy and Screwy Squirrel also appear in brief cameos.

See also

In Spanish: Tom & Jerry (película de 2021) para niños