Tom & Jerry: The Movie Blu Ray Review (Warner Bros)

Tom & Jerry (aKa Tom & Jerry: The Movie) is a 2021 comedy film produced and directed by Tim Story (Barbershop, Fantastic Four/Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Ride Along 1/2, Raxi, and Shaft). It’s based on the iconic cartoon characters created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. It was written by Kevin Costello (Brigsby Bear and Jean-Claude Van Johnson). It was produced by Christopher DeFaria (Mad Max: Fury Road, Sucker Punch, Looney Tunes: Back in Action, Tremors II: Aftershocks, Amityville 1992: It’s About Time, and Amityville: A New Generation). It was released in theaters and HBO Max at the same time. The budget was $79 million and it grossed $121.4 million at the box office!!!! Tom, who dreams of becoming a pianist plays in Central Park while his longtime nemesis Jerry looks for a new home. After Tom’s keyboard is destroyed in a fight, he chases Jerry but bumps into Kayla Forester (played by: Chloë Grace Moretz from Kick-Ass 1/2, The Addams Family, Greta, and Suspiria). Looking for a position at New York’s fanciest hotel, the Royal Gate, Kayla presents a stolen resume as her own and is hired to help set up a high-profile wedding under Terence’s (played by: Michael Peña from Dora and the Lost City of Gold, The Mule, Ant-Man 1/2, and Crash) supervision. Jerry takes refuge into the hotel, while Tom comes up with various strategies to enter the hotel to get Jerry.  Local celebrities Preeta Mehta (played by: Pallavi Sharda from The One, Les Norton, and Pulse) and her fiancé Ben (played by: Colin Jost from Saturday Night Live and Coming 2 America) arrive. Kayla offers to help catch Jerry to impress management, she struggles so she gets help from Tom. Jerry steals Preeta’s ring and uses it as leverage against the hotel. Terence gets demoted after Tom and Jerry cause chaos there. Kayla gets promoted and gets his job. Can she pull it off after faking everything else before???? Tom & Jerry is officially the worst movie that I’ve reviewed and seen this year so far. I was shocked how bad this turned out. I am a huge fan of the classic  Tom & Jerry cartoons but this one doesn’t even come close to those. The script is really bad and it tries too hard to be funny. Almost none of it works and it falls flat besides a few select moments. The story and concept here is just not interesting at all. It feels like filler just to include the iconic Tom & Jerry characters. Chloë Grace Moretz and Michael Peña are the two best things about this disappointing production. They try their hardest to make this decent for what it is. Pallavi Sharda and Colin Jost have one of the worst chemistries that I’ve ever seen in a film before. They do not fit as a couple at all and it’s painfully obvious. The supporting cast had a few familiar faces/voices that included Jordan Bolger (Peaky Blinders), Ken Jeong (The Hangover Trilogy), Bobby Cannavale (The Jesus Rolls), and Lil Rel Howery (Judas and the Black Messiah, Good Boys, and Tag). I will say that animation is top notch and it has great production design. Director Tim Story has done some solid stuff in the past but this one feels rushed and doesn’t really have an identity for most of it’s running time. It’s very random and awkward, I will never watch this one again. Let’s talk about the high definition presentation from Warner Bros! This 1080p (1.85:1) transfer looks fantastic on blu ray, the animation and locations really shine here. It has a few different audio options which includes English: Dolby Atmos, English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1, French: Dolby Digital 5.1, and Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 on the disc. This one sounds great and it’s one of the better non 4K releases that really kick in for your home system. All of the dialogue is crystal clear, the slapstick madness is elevated and the music has a killer boost to it. It has English SDH, French, and Spanish subtitles. I didn’t like this movie at all but this is an impressive technical home video release!!!! Let’s discuss the special features from Warner Bros! 10 “Deleted Scenes” that run almost 14 minutes with comments from director Tim Story. A little over 3 minute “Gag Reel”. “Bringing Tom & Jerry to Life” is a little over 14 minutes. It has interviews with the cast and crew from the production. They show their appreciation for the classic cartoon and characters. They point Easter eggs from the film. It shows them putting together stuff on the green screen for the movie. “Tom & Jerry’s World” is a little over 4 minutes. They chat about working the iconic duo for this feature. They show love to the famous rivals of cartoon. “The Feud: #TeamTom vs. #TeamJerry” is a little over 4 minutes. The cast and crew pick a side from these animated enemies. The almost 4 minute “Jerry’s A House For a Mouse” has a cribs vibe to it. It shows the location for the movie plus more. “The Tom & Jerry Guide to New York City Wildlife” is almost 5 minutes. It focuses on the other animals from the film. “Inside the Wedding of Ben and Preeta” is a little over 5 minutes. This whole story plus the two characters involved are a big part of why this didn’t work but this focuses on all that. It could have been so much better if they had better casting and writing for this aspect of the movie. “A Scene Comes to Life” is a little over 9 minutes.  It highlights two scenes from here and gives you an inside look for them. This one is really cool, probably the best extra on the disc. It comes with a slipcover and a digital code. It’s available everywhere right now!!!!