| Tom and Jerry: A Nutcracker Tale | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover | |
| Directed by | Spike Brandt Tony Cervone |
| Screenplay by | Spike Brandt |
| Story by | Joseph Barbera |
| Based on | |
| Produced by | Spike Brandt Tony Cervone |
| Starring | Chantal Strand Ian James Corlett Kathleen Barr Tara Strong Garry Chalk Trevor Devall |
| Edited by | Robin DeSales |
| Music by | Dirk Brossé |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Warner Home Video |
Release date |
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Running time | 48 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Tom and Jerry: A Nutcracker Tale is a 2007 Americandirect-to-video animatedChristmas fantasy comedy film. The film was produced byWarner Bros. Animation andTurner Entertainment Co., and is the firstTom and Jerry film directed bySpike Brandt and Tony Cervone. It serves as the fifth direct-to-videoTom and Jerry film and is a semi-adaptation of 1816 short story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King" byE. T. A. Hoffmann, with Jerry in the role of theNutcracker and Tom in the role of one of the Mouse King's (who is reimagined as a cat) henchmen.
Aside from being the lastTom and Jerry film to be released in a 1:33:1 Full-Screen format,A Nutcracker Tale was the last animated production thatJoseph Barbera worked on before his death on December 18, 2006, and as such, the film was dedicated to his memory. This was also the last animated direct-to-video film released under theWarner Bros. Family Entertainment label beforeWarner Bros. ceased using the brand's name altogether in 2011.[citation needed]
On August 13, 2020, it was announced that the film would be released onBlu-ray and special editionDVD, and paired withTom and Jerry: Santa's Little Helpers. The bundle was released on October 27, 2020.[2]
After watchingThe Nutcracker,Jerry and his wardTuffy find themselves pulled into the story by a magic miracle. The stage transforms into a wintry wonderland where the toys all enjoy a dinner feast. However, the magic also affects Tom and the other cats, led by the King of the Cats, who raid the feast and trap the toys while Jerry, a decoration named Paulie the pixie, and a toy horse named Nelly, who can only speak when someone pulls her string, try to stop them, but end up shot out of a cannon and blasted far away.
Tom traps the music box Ballerina toy in a cage and brings her to the King of the cats. When the King of the Cats learns that Jerry will not give up until the kingdom is reclaimed, he has Tom form a posse to destroy him. At the Ballerina Toy's urging, Tuffy secretly follows the cats to warn Jerry. Jerry, Tuffy, and their new friends decide to follow a star to meet the Toy Maker, the person who created the toys, and seek his aid. Tom chases them through several magical realms, and during the journey, Nelly is captured by the cats and is forced to tell them where the others are headed, leaving her discouraged at her betrayal. The remaining three make it to the Toy Maker and he fixes Paulie, who suffered damage during the journey, then makes him a real toy.
The Toy Maker warns that if Jerry cannot reclaim his kingdom before the sun fully rises in the morning, the cats will control of the kingdom forever and he gives them a key that allows them to awaken an army of toy soldiers. The three depart with their new army to take back the kingdom. When the cats attempt to escape the army of toy soldiers, the Ballerina frees herself and the other toys from captivity and leads them in an army against the Cat King. When Tom traps Jerry and Tuffy in his mouth, Nelly returns and breaks them out. Jerry chases the cats out of the kingdom and back to the real world just before the sun finishes rising. However, a wall damaged by the battle collapses, and Nelly sacrifices herself to push Jerry and the Ballerina Toy out of the way. The magic miracle returns and restores Nelly, and allows her to speak without her string.
The events of the whole movie are revealed to be a play witnessed by the Ballerina from the Nutcracker and the Toymaker/Santa Claus.
According to Brandt,Joseph Barbera decided on a Nutcracker adaptation as he thought its music fit perfectly withTom and Jerry.[3] TheAmazon page for theDVD appeared sometime in August 2007.[4][when?]
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Tom and Jerry: A Nutcracker Tale was the fourthTom and Jerry film to be filmed inhigh-definitionwidescreen (the first three beingTom and Jerry: Blast Off to Mars,Tom and Jerry: The Fast and the Furry andTom and Jerry: Shiver Me Whiskers), although the Region 1 DVD and the U.S. version ofBoomerang were infull screen (cropping the left and right of the image). The film is broadcast in widescreen onCartoon Network in the United States, as well as a Blu-ray version.
Paul Mavis ofDVD Talk gave the film a very positive review saying "Tom and Jerry: A Nutcracker Tale earns marks for embracing an operatic storyline while keeping the essential punish-Tom-with-pain gags that made Tom and Jerry such a successful franchise for decades."[5] Meanwhile, Nick Lyons criticized it, stating "Tom And Jerry: A Nutcracker Tale is a rushed animated feature that was simply made to cash in on the Christmas holiday. Avoid this one and rent or buy a holiday classic like theanimated Grinch."[1]
Renee Schonfeld ofCommon Sense Media rated the film 4 out of 5 stars (making it the highest ratedTom and Jerry film on the site) saying "especially at holiday time, for kids who understand cartoon action, it's a delightful entertainment. Teens and grown-ups might like it, too."[6]
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