Tom & Jerry is a movie about a cat who can’t catch a mouse and a hotel maid who can’t get fired. That’s the whole pitch, and it’s also the problem. Tim Story directs, Kevin Costello writes, and the film runs 101 minutes. The result is a live-action adaptation that mostly forgets why anyone loved the original cartoons in the first place.
The setup is simple. Tom the cat and Jerry the mouse get kicked out of their home and move to a fancy New York hotel. Kayla Forrester, played by Chloë Grace Moretz, is a scrappy employee who will lose her job if she can’t evict Jerry before a high-class wedding at the hotel. Her solution is to hire Tom to get rid of the pesky mouse. That’s the premise, and it should work. It doesn’t.
Trailer, via Warner Bros..
Kayla’s Problem
Kayla is the human throughline, and Moretz sells her desperation well enough. She’s a dead-end worker trying to save her job by doing something she clearly shouldn’t. The film wants you to root for her, and it mostly succeeds at that. But the stakes keep shifting. One minute she’s desperate, the next she’s confident, the next she’s terrified again. The script can’t decide whether she’s a hero or a fool.
Michael Peña plays Terence Mendoza, a character whose purpose is unclear. He’s around, he’s funny in spots, but he’s mostly there to stand next to Kayla and look worried. Colin Jost shows up as Ben, and Rob Delaney appears as Henry Dubros. Neither gets much to do beyond being present. Ken Jeong plays Chef Jackie, Pallavi Sharda plays Preeta, Jordan Bolger plays Cameron, and Patsy Ferran plays Joy the Bell Girl. These are all talented actors in a bad script, and that’s the saddest thing about this film.
The Voices
The voices are a mixed bag. Spike is voiced by Bobby Cannavale, Butch by Nicky Jam, Angel / Devil Tom by Lil Rel Howery, and Lightning by Joey Wells. Cannavale and Howery both bring energy to their roles, but the animation around them is often so thin that their voices sound like they’re talking to empty air. Jam and Wells don’t fare as well. Their characters are minor and their lines are smaller still.
The tagline promises “Best of enemies. Worst of friends.” That’s true of Tom and Jerry, but it’s not the story this film tells. The story is about Kayla and her job. Tom and Jerry are just the tools she uses to solve her problem. The original shorts were about a cat chasing a mouse because that’s what cats do. This version is about a maid who hires a cat to chase a mouse because that’s what her boss told her to do.
Where the Film Goes Wrong
The pacing is the biggest issue. The first half is slow, and the jokes land inconsistently. The second half picks up, but the climax is rushed. The film spends too much time on Kayla’s backstory and not enough on the actual chase. The chase scenes themselves are fine, but they’re too few. A Tom & Jerry movie should be a series of chases. This one isn’t.
The humor leans heavily on physical comedy, which is fine for a cartoon. It’s less fine for a live-action film with animated characters. The jokes about Kayla’s job are the best ones in the film. The jokes about Tom and Jerry are the worst. The film keeps trying to make the cat and mouse relatable, and it fails every time.
The Music
Christopher Lennertz composed the score, and it’s serviceable. It doesn’t add much, but it doesn’t detract either. The soundtrack was released by WaterTower Music on February 12, 2021. It’s a forgettable listen, which is fitting for a forgettable film.
What Works
The film isn’t a total loss. There are a few moments that work. The chemistry between Kayla and Tom is better than expected. Moretz and the cat actor play off each other well, even when the writing isn’t helping them. The wedding scene is a highlight, and the final chase is the best sequence in the film. It’s a shame it’s the last ten minutes of a movie that takes too long to get there.
The film is at its best when it stops explaining itself and starts showing us the chase. The worst moments come when the film explains what’s happening instead of letting us watch it happen. A Tom & Jerry movie should be a series of chases, and this one isn’t.
Ranking the Elements
- The chase sequences — the best parts of the film.
- Kayla’s performance — Moretz is the standout.
- The wedding scene — the film’s emotional peak.
- The voice cast — Cannavale and Howery stand out.
- The music — competent but forgettable.
- The supporting cast — wasted talent.
- The premise — a good idea badly executed.
- The overall tone — inconsistent and unfocused.
Where It Falls Short
The film is a mess of good intentions and poor execution. It wants to honor the characters while updating them for a new generation. It ends up doing neither. The cat and mouse feel like they’re in a different movie from Kayla, and the film can’t decide which story it wants to tell. The result is a movie that’s pleasant to watch in stretches but ultimately forgettable.
The film’s biggest sin is that it doesn’t trust the audience. It explains the rules, it explains the stakes, it explains the jokes. A Tom & Jerry movie should be a series of chases, and this one isn’t. It’s a live-action film that keeps stopping to remind you it’s a cartoon.
The Verdict
Tom & Jerry is a failure of ambition. It wanted to be a classic cartoon for a new era, and it ended up being a middling comedy with a cartoon mouse attached. The chase scenes are fun, the voice cast is game, and the wedding scene lands. But the film is too slow, too unfocused, and too unsure of itself. It’s a film that knows what it wants to be but can’t figure out how to get there.
The film is a disappointment, but it’s not a disaster. It’s a film that could have been great and chose not to be. The talent is there. The premise is there. The potential is there. The execution isn’t.
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