Warner Brothers Developing A New Tom And Jerry Movie

Despite the critical drubbings that they took, films like Garfield and Alvin and the Chipmunks, which took classic childhood cartoon characters and inserted CGI versions of them into the real world, still made big bank. Desperately wanting to make too much of a good thing, Warner Brothers is now developing a Tom and Jerry film, which, unlike the disastrous 1992 Tom and Jerry film, will have a CGI version of the cat and mouse doing battle in live-action settings. According to Variety, the movie will be "an origin story that reveals how Tom and Jerry first meet and form their rivalry before getting lost in Chicago and reluctantly working together during an arduous journey home."

I'm not terribly excited about this idea for a couple of reasons. First of all, do we really need to know the origin of Tom and Jerry's rivalry? Isn't it kind of obvious why they would be at odds with each other from the beginning? Secondly, the Homeward Bound-esque element of the plot sounds like it might get in the way of the over-the-top violence that was a hallmark of the original series, which would be a disappointment. These are, after all, the characters whose feud inspired their ultra-violent counterparts, Itchy and Scratchy, on The Simpsons. And finally, do we really need more contemporary actors putting words/voices into the mouths of CGI version of beloved childhood characters (assuming that that's the way they go with this film)?  I vote no, but the American public keeps voting yes with their wallets, so I suppose these films will keep on coming.

Discuss: Is a Tom and Jerry movie a good idea?