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
	; 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) in 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, usually a common threat.

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

The concept of Tom and Jerry spurred from William Hanna and Joseph Barbera at MGM, when discussing on the topic of how a conflict between two characters would work in provoking comedy, while retaining a basic situation to build a foundation on. Hanna recalled that they originally considered using a dog and a fox for these kinds of cartoons, but landed on the idea of using a cat and mouse for the leads instead.^[2]

In 1938, when the two presented their idea to producer Fred Quimby, the latter showed no interest in the project, believing that there was nothing original they could do with a cat and mouse. However, Quimby decided to let the two go ahead and complete their short, which would later become Puss Gets the Boot in 1940.^[3] In Puss, a cat was named "Jasper" and an unnamed mouse (named "Jinx" in the animation model sheets)^[4] was established, in addition to slapstick rivalry that pursued. It set the foundation for the soon-to-be-named Tom and Jerry formula, with animation historian Jerry Beck describing it as "very new and special [...] that was to change the course of MGM cartoon production".^[5]

Gallery

Main article: Tom Cat/Gallery

Toys and merchandise

Main article: Tom Cat/Toys

Behind the scenes

"Tom Cat" is likely a play on "tomcat", a term referring to male cats.
Tom is known to have at least two full names:
- In the 2021 live-action Tom & Jerry film, it was revealed to be Thomas D. Cat.
- In the fighting game Multiversus, his full name listed as Thomas Jasper Cat Sr.

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 sees 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.
During the Weekend Update sketch in the Saturday Night Live episode "Miranda Richardson/Soul Asylum," Rob Schneider defends that cartoons are educational after the FCC ruled against it, saying that Schlomo's parents wouldn't let him watch cartoons therefore didn't know what to do when he saw a cat chasing a mouse which involved a falling avil and safe, leading to a dangerous accident for Schlomo.
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.
In the Kim Possible episode "Dimension Twist," Ron gets cable and he and Rufus get stuck watching a marathon (a Scamperthon, if you will) of The Adventures of Scamper & Bitey.
Tom and Jerry are a question in The Yes! No! Game by Paul Lamond Games.
In "The Long Night," an episode of the British sitcom Outnumbered, 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 the CGI cartoon Grizzy & the Lemmings episode "Wild Zapping," the Lemmings watch a 2-D cartoon with a cat chasing a mouse.
In the Sugar and Toys episode "Rebooty Call," Tom is in a therapy group for reforming villains, but Tom disagrees with being categorized as a villain as it is just nature for him to want to eat Jerry.
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.

Dead Ringers (radio)

"Episode Three" (series 5): Phil Collins follows in the footsteps of Elton John by singing a non-Disney song, too. Collins refers to several cartoon characters set to the tune of "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)," including briefly about how Tom becomes the shape of a table after accidentally swallowing it while chasing Jerry.
"Episode Five" (series 6): Prime Minister Tony Blair (Jon Culshaw) phoned up MGM Studios in New York to talk about resolving the conflict between Tom and Jerry. He believes that bringing them together will bring peace to all other cartoon animals. Blair's opinion is that when Spike appears, he also escalates the tension between the two. The composure and willingness to cooperate in helping, makes Culshaw break character and laugh.

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).
^ Lenburg, Jeff (1991). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons (1991 edition), page 131. Facts on File, Inc., New York NY. ISBN 0-8160-2252-6.
^ "The Magic Behind The Cartoon". www.lafn.org. Archived from original on Febuary 12, 2005.
^ Hanna, William; Ito, Tom (1996). A Cast of Friends. Taylor Publishing Company. Retrieved April 28, 2020.
^ Beck, Jerry; Maltin, Leonard (1987). Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons, Revised and Updated Edition, p. 287. Plume. ISBN 978-0-452-25993-5.

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

[Encyclopedia_of_Animated_Cartoons-2] Lenburg, Jeff (1991). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons (1991 edition), page 131. Facts on File, Inc., New York NY. ISBN 0-8160-2252-6.

[3] "The Magic Behind The Cartoon". www.lafn.org. Archived from original on Febuary 12, 2005.

[4] Hanna, William; Ito, Tom (1996). A Cast of Friends. Taylor Publishing Company. Retrieved April 28, 2020.

[5] Beck, Jerry; Maltin, Leonard (1987). Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons, Revised and Updated Edition, p. 287. Plume. ISBN 978-0-452-25993-5.

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