Tom Cat

Tom Cat
	;
Species:	Cat
Gender:	Male
Affiliation:	Jerry Mouse; Mammy Two Shoes; Butch; George; Joan; Robyn Starling
Occupation:	Inventor
Goals:	To catch Jerry
Other relative(s):	Cousin, George
Marital status:	Single
First appearance:	T&J: Puss Gets the Boot (1940)
Played by:	William Hanna; Clarence Nash (1940-43); Mel Blanc (1963-67); Frank Welker (1990-93, 2002); Richard Kind (1992); Bill Kopp (2005); Don Brown (2006-08); Eric Bauza (2022)
	; Gene Deitch's Tom.
	; Chuck Jones's Tom.
	; The Tom & Jerry Show
	; Tom & Jerry Kids
	; The Mansion Cat
	File:Tales Tom.png; Tom and Jerry Tales
	; The Tom and Jerry Show
	File:2021 Movie Tom.png; Tom & Jerry
	; Tomut Jelly
	; Tom and Jerry

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, usually for the sake of using his cruel acts to tormenting, getting rid of him, or wanting to eat him. On other occasions, they are bosom buddies who are willing to work together on any issue.

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 masters. 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) most 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 close friendship that rivals their violent tendencies, and would even have their own sympathy towards one another on occasion. 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 problem.

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

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.

Appearances

Video games

Stage performances

Tom and Jerry ~Yume yo Mou Ichido~

History

In The Beginning

Czechmate

Catius Stupidous

You Can't Do That on Television!

The Tom and Jerry "Comedy" Show

Celebrating another 50 years! 50 years of fun!

Childhood Misadventures

Saving a Young Girl in Need

Tall Tales

Back to Basics

Disrupting a Hotel's Wedding

New York Bustle

Kawaii Tom

Chaos in Signapore

Tom Sells Out

Development

Gallery

Main article: Tom Cat/Gallery

Toys and merchandise

Main article: Tom Cat/Toys

Behind the scenes

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 Married... with Children' episode "Requiem for a Dead Barber," Al complained about the current state of cartoons indirectly referring to Tom and Jerry, by telling Peg how a cat will now go to a therapist after a mouse knocks flattens its head with a frying pan.
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

Main article: 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.

Vicky as Ted.
Sleazy himself.
Vicky as Sleazy.

References

^ Designs on Jerry (1955).

[MGM_93-1] Designs on Jerry (1955).

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