Tom Cat

Thomas "Tom" Cat is the main character of the Tom and Jerry animated franchise, playing both the antagonist and protagonist, depending on the plot. Tom was introduced as a character in a theatrical short series, with his first appearance in Puss Gets the Boot, and subsequently appeared in other media, such as TV series and direct-to-video films. Tom is a mostly silent character, who was originally performed by William Hanna and Clarence Nash, before only Hanna's was used, which is still in use today long after his passing. His most notable speaking role occurred in Tom and Jerry: The Movie, in which his voice came out from Richard Kind's.

Tom's goal in life is to catch Jerry Mouse, usually for the sake of tormenting or getting rid of him, but sometimes it appears to be the thrill of the chase. While on other occasions, they're bosom buddies. Again, this all depends on the plot.

Character description
Tom is a sly and cunning cat that constantly chases after Jerry; which he sees as a threat, and is sometimes a task given by his human owners. He is usually, but not always, potrayed as having a comfortable and pampered life, and generally acts as an aggresive bully to Jerry. Sometimes, Tom's obsession with chasing him gets to the point where he enjoys it. Although he has his own brutish qualities, he is also a klutz with a lack of commonsense and is usually the one defeated (or rarely, killed) in many of Jerry's victories. The two usually go by a set of tricks in their chases, but the chances of them winning vary depending on the situation. His tactics of catching Jerry involve him setting up a trap and his own stealth, although these prove to be inefficient due either to Jerry getting the upper hand of the situation or Tom's ineptitude.

Despite his determination with chasing the mouse, both Tom and Jerry have a friendship that rivals their violent nature, and they even have their own sympathy towards one another. In some cases, Tom does not start the conflict, only trying to protect his home, doing his job, or other things. In other times, he also joins sides with Jerry to resolve a problematic situation.

Tom's personality has also changed over the years. In his debut, he was a normal cat who stood on four legs. He slowly became completely bipedal over the course of his next few appearances, however, and has shown to have human-like intelligence.

Tom is a bluish-grey cat with white fur covering his belly, mouth, hands, feet and tail. He has yellow and green eyes and has a patch of white fur found in between them. He also has thick, black eyebrows.

Tom rarely speaks, relying on a range of vocal effects to express his emotions; many of which are made up of painful yells and screams.

TV series

 * The Tom & Jerry Show (1975)
 * The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show
 * Tom & Jerry Kids
 * The Powerpuff Girls
 * 1.8B "Ice Sore" (mentioned)
 * Tom and Jerry Tales
 * The Tom and Jerry Show (2014)
 * Tom and Jerry in New York
 * Tomut Jelly
 * 1.1 "Party Time"
 * 1.2 "Rainbow Candy Shop"
 * Tom and Jerry (2023)

Movies

 * Anchors Aweigh
 * Dangerous When Wet
 * Tom and Jerry: The Movie
 * Tom and Jerry: The Magic Ring
 * Tom and Jerry: Blast Off to Mars
 * Tom and Jerry: The Fast and the Furry
 * Tom and Jerry: Shiver Me Whiskers
 * Tom and Jerry: A Nutcracker Tale
 * Tom and Jerry Meet Sherlock Holmes
 * Tom and Jerry & The Wizard of Oz
 * Tom and Jerry: Robin Hood and His Merry Mouse
 * Tom and Jerry's Giant Adventure
 * Tom and Jerry: The Lost Dragon
 * Tom and Jerry: Spy Quest
 * Tom and Jerry: Back to Oz
 * Tom and Jerry: Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
 * Tom & Jerry
 * Tom and Jerry Cowboy Up
 * Tom and Jerry: Snowman's Land

Specials

 * Hanna-Barbera's 50th: A Yabba Dabba Doo Celebration (no lines)
 * Tom and Jerry: Santa's Little Helpers

Shorts

 * Tom and Jerry
 * The Mansion Cat

Comics

 * The Flash/Speed Buggy Special (alternate cover)

Video games

 * Tom and Jerry: Santa's Little Helpers
 * MultiVersus

Stage performances

 * Tom and Jerry ~Yume yo Mou Ichido~

In popular culture

 * In "Many Happy Returns," an episode of the British sitcom Mind Your Language, Ali says that TV shows a lot of violence, as he is seeing someone drowned, shot, and having their head chopped off, which all came out of watching Tom and Jerry.
 * In The Simpsons, Bart and Lisa regularly watch The Itchy & Scratchy Show.
 * In the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles episode "Rondo in New York," Bebop and Rocksteady watch a cartoon similar to Tom and Jerry named "Cheezy and Sleazy," to which the latter says that it's his favorite cartoon.
 * In the Full House episode, Danny tries to impress Lisa by making her guess who he is doing an impression, which is supposed to be Jerry saying, "Stop chasing me, ya mean cat!" But not only does Jerry not talk (usually), but Danny also mistakingly calls him Tom, which he is corrected on both accounts by Joey.
 * In the Cowboy Bebop episode "Waltz For Venus," while Spike and Maya board a shuttle flight to Venus to catch a trio of hijackers, a Tom and Jerry-esque cartoon plays as an in-flight movie.
 * Tom and Jerry are a question in The Yes! No! Game by Paul Lamond Games.
 * In the Outnumbered episode "The Long Night," a police officer told the Brockmans that their neighbor had hit her husband over the head with a frying pan which he knows "sounds a bit Tom and Jerry."
 * In the American Dad! episode "Merlot Down Dirty Shame," Roger mentions "Tom and Jerry" as a spa package.
 * In the Family Guy episode "Valentine's Day in Quahog," Peter and Lois spend the day in bed during Valentine's Day, which includes watching the final episode of Tom and Jerry, in which Tom hires an exterminator to get rid of Jerry. The exterminator asks Tom what he wants to be done with the body of Jerry, but Tom doesn't care about that part, Jerry can be thrown in the garbage for all he cares, but Tom does show some interest in keeping one of Jerry's oversized mallets.
 * In series 21, episode 12 of Antiques Road Trip, Phil asks Tim what famous double act they would be together, with Tim answering Tom and Jerry.

The Fairly OddParents

 * Channel Chasers (part 2): Timmy, Cosmo, Wanda, and Future Timmy travel into a parody of Tom and Jerry called Ted & Jimmy, with Timmy and the fairies in the role of Jerry and Vicky in the role of Tom.
 * "Mice Capades:" Timmy, Cosmo, and Poof tuned in to see Sleazy and Cheezy!, When it's over, the impressionable baby Poof sees the animosity between Vicky and Timmy as a means of continuing watching Sleazy and Cheezy!, so he transforms them into his very own Sleazy and Cheezy/Tom and Jerry.