Tom and Jerry Special Shorts is an American animated television series of shorts based on Tom and Jerry that premiered and ended on HBO Max on February 20, 2021, making it the shortest lived of any Tom and Jerry related shows.[1] The series is developed by Peter Browngardt and produced by Warner Bros. Animation. The shorts featured the archived uncredited voices of William Hanna alongside Andrew Dickman.
| Tom and Jerry Special Shorts | |
|---|---|
| Genre | |
| Based on | Tom and Jerry by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera |
| Developed by | Peter Browngardt |
| Written by |
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| Directed by |
|
| Voices of |
|
| Music by |
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| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of episodes | 2 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Producers |
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| Editor | Nick Simotas |
| Running time | 4–5 minutes |
| Production companies | Turner Entertainment Co. Warner Bros. Animation |
| Original release | |
| Network | HBO Max |
| Release | February 20, 2021 |
| Related | |
| The Tom and Jerry Show (2014–21) Tom and Jerry in New York (2021) | |
The shorts are featured in the style of Looney Tunes Cartoons, another short series developed by Browngardt.[2]
Cast and characters
editMain
edit- William Hanna (voice recordings) and Andrew Dickman as:
- Tom Cat: Tom is variously depicted as a house cat doing his job, and a victim of Jerry's tricks, sometimes within the same short.[a]
- Jerry Mouse: Jerry lives in the same house as Tom's owners, allowing chaos and destruction to ensue while he and Tom fight.[a]
Notable guest stars
edit- Keone Young as Sushi Chef: Appearing in "On a Roll", the character is a simple chef that was cooking food and notices Jerry stealing some of his sushi, leading to Tom being ordered to get that mouse.
Episodes
edit| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Storyboard by | Music by | Original release date | Prod. code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "On a Roll" | Kenny Pittenger | Andrew Dickman, Kenny Pittenger, Johnny Ryan and Jacob Fleisher | Andrew Dickman | Joshua Moshier | February 20, 2021 | 121 |
|
In Japan, the local Sushi Chef with Tom notice Jerry scurrying around the Chef's restaurant. In order to earn Chef's keep, Tom determines to catch the sushi-stealing mouse. | |||||||
| 2 | "The House That Cat Built" | David Gemmill | Ryan Khatam, Mike Ruocco, David Gemmill, Johnny Ryan and Jacob Fleisher | Ryan Khatam and Mike Ruocco | Carl Johnson | February 20, 2021 | 123 |
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Following Tom's extra-deluxe, extra-large cat castle destroying a "Hole Sweet Hole" portrait in Jerry's house, Jerry invades the castle. Tom becomes determined to get Jerry out of his own luxury. | |||||||
Production and reception
edit
In February 2021, the shorts debuted on HBO Max with no prior announcement. According to Andrew Dickman, the series was worked on the crews spare time while on the production of Looney Tunes Cartoons.[3] Thought to be promotional marketing for the Tom & Jerry film, the shorts received positive reception from fans and critics.[4][1]
FR Dougal of CartoonMilk, an animation critic and a self-described lifelong Tom and Jerry fan, gave the shorts a negative review. Despite praising their art style's reminiscence of the mid-1940s character designs and numerous gags, he criticized the shorts' character animation, music, and inconsistent sound design, including the overuse of the William Hanna Tom scream.[5]
Removal from HBO Max
editOne month after the series' release, it temporarily left the service.[6] The reason of the removal from HBO Max was unknown, but it was eventually re-added in July 2021.[7] The series was no longer listed as its own program, but as two extras on the page for the Tom & Jerry film. When HBO Max rebranded to Max the shorts were removed again and have yet to reappear.
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ a b As with The Tom and Jerry Show (2014) and other Tom and Jerry television series, Hanna and Barbara's voices are archived following their death. They also aren't credited for their performances.
References
edit- ^ a b Anderson, Qyrese (February 21, 2021). "New 'Tom and Jerry' Shorts are streaming on HBO Max". Rotoscopers. Archived from the original on February 21, 2021. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
- ^ Ito, Robert (2020-05-29). "Bugs Bunny Is Back, and So Is the 'Looney Tunes' Mayhem". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-07-15.
- ^ @AWDtwit (2021-02-20). "Finally I can talk about the Tom & Jerry shorts that myself , @AGuyWhoDraws and @timetravelnow worked on between ou…" (Tweet). Retrieved 2021-12-24 – via Twitter.
- ^ "r/HBOMAX - HBO Max has removed the Tom and Jerry Special Shorts, two new Tom and Jerry cartoons done by the crew of the Max Original Looney Tunes Cartoons. These shorts were exclusive to the service, and cannot be legally viewed anywhere else". reddit. 29 March 2021. Retrieved 2021-07-15.
- ^ "Tom & Jerry Special Shorts: They're Not For Me". 10 June 2021.
- ^ Cartoon Crave [@thecartooncrave] (March 29, 2021). "HBO Max has recently removed 'Tom and Jerry Special Shorts'" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Watch Tom and Jerry Special Shorts - Stream TV Shows". HBO Max. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
