Tom and Jerry: The Fast and the Furry is a 2005 American animated action-adventure comedy film starring the cat-and-mouse duo Tom and Jerry. Produced by Warner Bros. Animation and Turner Entertainment Co., it was the third made-for-video attempt to recapture the style of William Hanna and Joseph Barbera's original film shorts from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Alongside Tom and Jerry: Blast Off to Mars (also written and directed by Bill Kopp), the release of the film coincided with the 65th anniversary of the cat-and-mouse team's debut in 1940.
The Fast and the Furry was first released theatrically in selected cities of the United States by Kidtoon Films on September 3, 2005 and again in June 2006.[when?] The film was then released on both VHS (making it the final Tom and Jerry film to be released in that format) and DVD on October 11, 2005, and on Blu-ray on April 5, 2011.
Plot[]
Tom and Jerry are evicted from their house by Tom's owner after they deliberately destroy it during one of their usual chases. Upon seeing an advertisement on television for a race/reality show titled the "Fabulous Super Race" (which offers the winner of the race a luxurious mansion), Tom and Jerry build their customized vehicles from a nearby junkyard before heading to "Globwobbler Studios" in Hollywood, California to enter themselves in the race.
Among the other racers include elderly woman Grammy and her ferocious pet dog Squirty; dark lord and florist Gorthan the Destroyer of Light; superstar Steed Dirkly; single mother of four children Malory "Soccer Mom" McDoogle; and scientist Dr. Professor (who is eliminated before the race after he along with his vehicle are accidentally vaporized by antimatter, leaving both Tom and Jerry room to race with them and each other).
The race begins in Hollywood where Grammy takes an early lead but is overtaken by Steed late in the leg. Upon the racers arriving at the finish line in Mexico, the head of Globwobbler Studios, J.W., decides to extend the race to the Amazonian jungle due to high public ratings. While racing in the Amazonian jungle, Tom cheats by switching a sign that indicates the road where the racers should take, resulting in Soccer Mom's elimination when she accidentally drives her minivan into a pit of quicksand. Steed once again wins with Grammy following in second, but J.W. still wants to continue the race due to the high ratings. Hosts Biff Buzzard and Buzz Blister announce that the next leg of the race will begin in Antarctica and that the racers will have to modify their vehicles for ocean travel.
On the way to Antarctica, Steed's vehicle sinks, resulting in his elimination and death when he encounters a mermaid (who is a sea monster) on a small island, who in turn proceeds to feed him to her ravenous offspring. The first contestant to reach Antarctica is Gorthan, who is also eliminated when he accidentally causes himself and his vehicle to float away on an iceberg after being goaded into touching his tongue to a metal pole by Biff and Buzz. As Tom, Jerry, and Grammy arrive, Grammy is eliminated when she and Squirty are accidentally swallowed by a whale thanks to Tom's machinations. The hosts are then notified by J.W. that the racers will have to modify their vehicles again for underwater travel to Australia. While racing underwater, Tom faces several problems, such as his car being taken over by seals and his fish juice spray attracting sharks, ultimately resulting in his elimination when he crashes into a large block of concrete and is crushed by an anchor.
Upon arriving in Australia, Jerry then continues racing across Australia to Borneo, where the finish line has been reassigned to. Grammy returns to the race when the whale that swallowed her and Squirty spits them out, while Tom also returns after Irving flies to Australia and rescues him under J.W.'s orders since his antagonistic nature was responsible for the race's great public ratings.
The next leg of the race involves the racers modifying their vehicles with balloons for air travel to Borneo. While floating in the air, Tom inadvertently pops Grammy's balloons in an attempt to pop Jerry's, resulting in Grammy's elimination once again when she and Squirty fall to their deaths upon bickering over what they thought was a parachute. J.W. then announces that the true final leg of the race is back to Hollywood, which will involve them traveling back to the finishing point with high-speed jet planes in only five minutes due to the race taking too long. Tom and Jerry are shocked at this latest last-minute change, but they proceed anyway and race through several major locations in Asia, Europe, the Atlantic and the U.S., causing massive yet comedic destruction to numerous monuments in their wake. At the finish line, Tom and Jerry's jet planes break down, causing them to tie on the line.
Although they both win because of the tie, J.W. says that, according to the contract, because they tied they will have to race all over again. Refusing to do so, Tom and Jerry angrily attack J.W., seize the mansion's key from him, and walk away to the mansion. An angry and disoriented J.W. then declares that Hollywood stands for family entertainment, to which the pharaoh-like President of Hollywood appears to incinerate J.W. for his inappropriate change of heart and make Irving the new head of Globwobbler Studios. In the epilogue, Tom and Jerry share their new mansion peacefully until Tom's owner shows up and acts like she owns the mansion, ordering Tom to get rid of Jerry.
Voice cast[]
- Bill Kopp as Tom and Frank
- Dee Bradley Baker as Jerry
- John DiMaggio as J.W. Globwobbler and Spike
- Charlie Adler as Grammy
- Jeff Bennett as Steed Dirkly and TV Announcer
- Jess Harnell as Buzz Blister and Film Director
- Tom Kenny as Gorthan the Destroyer of Light and Whale
- Tress MacNeille as Malory "Soccer Mom" McDoogle, Tour Girl and Tom's Owner
- Rob Paulsen as Irving and Dave
- Billy West as Biff Buzzard, President of Hollywood and Squirty
- J. Grant Albrecht as Clown-O and Security Guard
- Thom Pinto as Computer Voice and Guard
- Neil Ross as Dr. Professor and Director
- Vicki Lewis as Additional Voices (uncredited)
- Stephen Root as Additional Voices (uncredited)
- Lauren Nightingale as Lauren (uncredited)
Production[]
Reception[]
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has no critic approval rating, but has an audience approval rating of 71% based on 334 reviews.[4] Renee Schonfeld of Common Sense Media gave the film two stars out of four, saying "Unlike some of the wittier spoofs Tom & Jerry have starred in, this one is less clever and more straightforwardly devoted to thrills and spills."[5] Screen Rant listed the film as one of the best Tom and Jerry films of all time, in contrast to its predecessor (which was listed as one of the worst Tom and Jerry films of all time)
Follow-up film[]
Tom and Jerry: Shiver Me Whiskers was released on August 22, 2006.
References[]
External links[]
- Tom and Jerry: The Fast and the Furry on IMDb
- Tom and Jerry: The Fast and the Furry at Rotten Tomatoes