Tom
and Jerry is
a series of theatrical animated cartoon films created by William Hanna and Joseph
Barbera for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, centering on a
rivalry between a cat (Tom) and a mouse (Jerry) whose chases include slapstick comedy. Hanna and Barbera
ultimately wrote, produced and directed 114 Tom
and Jerry shorts at MGM
cartoon studios in Hollywood from 1940 to 1957. The original series
is notable for having won seven Academy
Awards, tying with Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies as the theatrical animated series with
the most Oscars. A longtime
television staple, Tom and
Jerry has a worldwide
audience and has been recognized as one of the most famous and longest-lived
rivalries in American cinema.
MGM released an additional 13 entries in 1961 produced
by Rembrandt Films led by Gene Deitch in central Europe. Chuck Jones's Sib-Tower 12 Productions produced another 34 entries between
1963–1967, creating a total of 161 theatrical entries.
Tom and Jerry resurfaced in made-for-television
series' produced by Hanna-Barbera
Productions and Filmation Studios starting in the 1970s. The
feature-length film, Tom and
Jerry: The Movie was released
in 1992, and was followed by their first made-for-television short, Tom and Jerry: The Mansion Cat for Boomerang.
The most recent Tom and Jerry theatrical short, The Karate Guard (2005), was written and co-directed by
Barbera.
Time Warner (via
its Turner Entertainment division) currently owns the rights to
Tom and Jerry: Warner Bros. handles distribution. Since the
merger, Turner has produced Tom
and Jerry Tales for The CW's Saturday morning "The CW4Kids" lineup, and
several Tom and Jerry direct-to-video films in collaboration with Warner Bros. Animation.
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