Tom and Jerry Meet Sherlock Holmes

I haven't seen a cartoon this cartoony in a toons age. It all starts out when Mr. Sherlock Holmes asks Jerry Mouse to fetch his morning paper. Things just naturally escalate into, you guessed it, a Tom and Jerry cartoon. The funny thing is, it makes me laugh. The spirit of the cat and mouse movies of yore is perfectly intact. The first thing that strikes me is how animated it is. There's even some appearances of some Tex Avery characters, and I won't say which ones. Oh, yeah, and Sherlock Holmes does some stuff too. All in all, it's a fun feature, if a little short. I was never much of a Tom and Jerry fan, but I do appreciate the attention to making it a lot like the old cartoons using the new technology.

When I saw the Tom and Jerry marathon on Boomerang last week, I had no idea that there was a Tom and Jerry/Sherlock Holmes movie. And I knew I had to see it, as a great fan of Tom and Jerry and Sherlock Holmes. I was not expecting it to be as good as the original Tom and Jerry cartoons or any of the Sherlock Holmes adaptations with Basil Rathbone or Jeremy Brett, either way it would have been a tall order. And it wasn't. It was too short, the ending felt rushed and I didn't care for the rather deflated character design of Miss Red. However it was a decent movie in my view.

As far as Tom and Jerry movies go it is not as good as their takes on Wizard of Oz or the Nutcracker or Blast off to Mars, but I'd put it on par with Shiver Me Whiskers and Magic Ring and leagues above Fast and the Furry and Tom and Jerry: The Movie. The animation apart from Miss Red is bright and colourful and the character designs are good. The music brings the right amount of snap and energy, while the script is witty and quite intelligent. I loved the story on the whole, it skips along nicely and never felt padded. Not only that, the mystery was a fun and interesting one and on the whole reasonably true to Conan Doyle's writing, and Tom and Jerry's comic and violent shenanigans while not classic status are still very funny. Spike and especially Droopy bring some inspired laughs also. I do agree though that Moriaty, who is still quite fun, is a much cleverer villain than his final plan lets on. Holmes and Watson are not as prominent as Tom and Jerry here, but it was a joy to see them, Holmes is still shrewd and intelligent and Watson while somewhat bumbling is also thoughtful. I did love the Bruce Nigel bit, a reference to Nigel Bruce, the actor who played Watson to Rathbone's Holmes. Tom and Jerry are just great, Jerry is both cruel yet sweet and Tom takes the violence and laughs well, his facial expressions even without saying a word are priceless. Spike and Droopy are also fun especially in the chase of Tom, Jerry and Miss Red and their attempts to catch the villains before the other does. The voice acting I can't fault either, Michael York, John Rhys Davies and Malcolm McDowell are all wonderful.

In conclusion, could have been better with a longer length especially but still a fun decent film that is an interesting watch for anybody into Tom and Jerry, Sherlock Holmes or both. 7/10 Bethany Cox

On a bit of a Sherlock high at the moment, so thought this would be a nice change of pace from all the Rathbone action. Surprisingly, this is both a fine Tom and Jerry cartoon and a decent Sherlock Holmes movie. They don't exactly gel seamlessly together. The film has a bit of mystery and then pauses while Tom and Jerry get up to their usual shenanigans before continuing. This means that the mystery is very simple, with a number of jewel heists and a blackmail scheme becoming connected. The voice cast are superb with York and Rhys-Davies channelling Rathbone and Bruce to a T. McDowell also makes for a good Moriarty. Luckily, neither Tom nor Jerry speaks here. Jerry is Holmes' assistant and is his usual cruel self. Tom and Jerry work well together when they have to, but will one up the other if there's a chance. Slapstick is the main comedic ingredient here, and there is no attempt at making it anything special. The animation is very colourful and it really allowed me to just be absorbed by all around it. I particularly liked how they blended Holmes' London with cartoons without ever addressing the fact. Horny wolves, talking dog policemen, and flying cats all live together in this world. Towards the end it did feel a bit rushed, with Holmes just suddenly thinking of the answer because the plot called for it. Moriarty's final plan was a bit silly for such a genius, which is the only real time it betrayed either one of its sources. A good film that should keep most people entertained.

This is a mish mash of genres and other vintage cartoons styles such as Tex Avery.

In London, a crook is stealing valuable jewels. Spike and Tyke are assigned to guard the valuable Star of Punjab and even that is stolen from under their noses.

Miss Red, the beautiful singer who has the crowd howling is being framed for the crimes.

Sherlock Holmes is on the case and Moriarty is the main suspect.

Tom and Jerry decide to assist Miss Red.

PC Droopy is also on the case of the jewel thief.

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson are second fiddle here.

This is after all a Tom and Jerry cartoon and they get involved in lots of close shaves and shenanigans.

This is a breezy cartoon, there are several homages to cartoons of yesteryear, probably lost on the younger viewers.

This movie's pacing is really good, and I loved that "Bambashoo" song with the umbrella in the middle, which was an actually good song.

The best part however is the climax, which is just way too good, especially with the awesome background music.