Tom and Jerry

animated film series

Tom and Jerry is an American slapstick comedy animated short series and media franchise. The original cartoons were created in 1940, written and directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. It is named after its two main iconic characters: a blue-grey cat named Tom and a brown house mouse named Jerry. Each cartoon shows the two characters getting into comedic fights or chases, in which they often get hurt cartoon-style.

Tom and Jerry
GenreComedy
Slapstick
Adventure
Musical
Fantasy
Sitcom
Created byWilliam Hanna and Joseph Barbera
Developed byCharles A. Nichols (1975-1977)
Don Christensen (1980-1981)
Don Lusk
Paul Sommer
Carl Urbano (1990-1994)
Rob LaDuca
Jeff Davidson (2006-2008)
Darrell Van Citters (2013-2022)
Peter Browngardt (2020)
Nick Jennings (2025-present)
Written byWilliam Hanna and Joseph Barbera
Directed byWilliam Hanna and Joseph Barbera (1940-present)
Gene Deitch (1961-1962)
Chuck Jones (1963-1967)
Various
Voices ofBob Laztny
Jack Sabel
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons18
No. of episodes893 (list of episodes)
Production
ProducersRudolf Ising (1940)
Fred Quimby (1941-1955)
William Hanna and Joseph Barbera (1956-1958)
William L. Snyder (1961-1962)
Chuck Jones (1963-1967)
Sam Register (2005-present)
Various
AnimatorsWang Film Productions
Cuckoo's Nest Studios
Fil-Cartoons
Mr. Big Cartoons
Bardel Entertainment
Baer Animation Company
Koko Enterprises
Seoul Movie Co., Ltd.
Toon City Animation
Yearim Productions
Hanho Heung-Up Company
Rough Draft Studios Korea
Lotto Animation
Renegade Animation
PIP Animation Services Inc.
Slap Happy Cartoons
Digital eMation
Duncan Studio
Running time6-9, 22 minutes
Production companiesMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer Cartoons (1940-1967)
Hanna-Barbera (1958-present)
Rembrandt Films (1961-1962)
Sib Tower 12 Productions (1963-1964)
MGM Animation (1964-1980)
Turner Entertainment
Warner Bros. Animation (2001-present)
Original release
NetworkCBS (1958-1980)
ABC (1975-1991)
Fox Kids (1990-1995)
Cartoon Network (1992-present)
Kids' WB (1996-2008)
HBO Max (2020-present)
YouTube (2017-present)

A total of 114 Tom and Jerry shorts were produced by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio from 1940–1958, starting with Puss Gets the Boot. Seven of these cartoons won an Academy Award for Animated Short Film.

Tom and Jerry still holds the record of the most awards in the Animated Short Film category, which is tied for first place with Walt Disney's musical series, Silly Symphonies.

Later, Gene Deitch in Europe made 13 more cartoons for the series from 1961-1962. Then, Chuck Jones produced 34 more cartoons from 1963–1967. Finally, Hanna-Barbera worked with Warner Brothers Animation to make the last three Tom and Jerry cartoons: The Mansion Cat in 2001, The Karate Guard in 2005, and A Fundraising Adventure in 2014, making a total of 164 shorts and 863 episodes of the franchise, notable companies such as MGM, Hanna-Barbera Prouductions, Filmation, Warner Bros. Animation. Since then, the cartoon characters have made appearances in other media. notable animators like, Tom Ray, Iwao Takamoto, Jaime Diaz, Eddie Fitzgerald, Tom Minton, Charles M. Howell IV, Kent Butterworth, Cliff Voorhees, John Kricfalusi, Paul Sabella, Bill Proctor, Sandy Benenati, David Feiss, Butch Hartman, Scott Jeralds, Dan Haskett, etc. then the Tom and Jerry given rights by MGM in 1940 to 1990, Hanna-Barbera took over the franchise in 1958 to now, and now reinstated owned by Warner Bros. Entertainment in 2000 and Turner in 1986.

Filmography

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The following cartoons won the Academy Award for Animated Short Film:[1]

  • 1943: The Yankee Doodle Mouse!
  • 1944: Mouse Trouble
  • 1945: Quiet Please!
  • 1946: The Cat Concerto
  • 1948: The Little Orphan
  • 1952: The Two Mouseketeers!
  • 1953: Johann Mouse
  • Bob Laztny as Tom
  • Jack Sabel as Jerry

Other media

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The following lists are about the Tom and Jerry numerous media which were not made for the original cartoon series.

Television shows

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The following shows are re-launches of the original Tom and Jerry cartoons:

Spin-offs

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the spin-offs are standalone productions of the original Tom and Jerry related media:

  • Spike and Tyke (1957)
  • Droopy, Master Detective (1993)
  • Tom and Jerry Special Shorts (2021)
  • Tom and Jerry Anime Shorts (2022-present)

Packaged shows and programming blocks

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  • Tom and Jerry (CBS, 1958–1972)
  • Tom and Jerry on BBC One (1967–2000)
  • Tom and Jerry's Fun-house on TBS (1986–1989)
  • Cartoon Network's Tom and Jerry Show (1992–present)
  • Toon In With Me (2021–present)

Television specials

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  • Hanna-Barbera's 50th: A Yabba Dabba Doo Celebration (TNT, 1989)
  • Tom and Jerry: The Mansion Cat (Boomerang, 2001)
  • Tom and Jerry: Santa's Little Helpers (2014)

Theatrical films

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Direct-to-video films

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References

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  1. "Search - Animated Shorts 1943-1957". Ocsars Award Database. Retrieved 17 December 2013.