Crossover 1 (Tom and Jerry and the Wizard of OZ)

I don't think I have to say how amazing and influential the 1939 Wizard of Oz movie was, do I? Well, I know it's been adapted to animation several times, so Warner Brothers doing an animated remake of the film left me skeptical, then I realized this is a Tom and Jerry self-insert fanfic. The funny thing is, Tom and Jerry didn't exist until a whole year AFTER the original film was released! I know that like Scooby-Doo, Tom and Jerry have had a number of direct-to-video movies since 2002 because their theatrical movie didn't do well, and they are of varying quality with some ranging from good to ok to pretty bland and forgettable. But this… This is a massive insult to not just the original movie but also L. Frank Baum's original novel! This movies best comparison is to The Lion King 1½ (also known as The Lion King 3: Hakuna Matata), having the side characters be merged into the main story in an alternate retelling. The difference being The Lion King 1½ was actually funny and had stellar animation.

For the most part, this movie tries its damnest to remake the key scenes of the movie into cheap 2D animation. Dorothy's movements just look cute, like I'm looking through a lava lamp; every human in Tom and Jerry films are Adorable. Forgive me from taking from Media Hunter and collab review, but yeah, it looks like looking through a lava lamp at times. Personally, I think these two nailed this movie into its own grave, but l want to give it my taste as well. I'm one of those types that love to join in on the lynch mob and bash the most hated things ever so long as it isn't mainstream like Foodfight! or I can add to it like what I did with Quest for Camelot. And this thing IMO is worse than the 1992 movie by miles.

Tom and Jerry in this film work as farmhands for the Gales, yet for some reason they still try to kill each other, even though they're on the same team so to speak. This was the main problem with The Two Mousketeers for the record, you know? That Tom and Jerry short people call the worst next to Blue Cat Blues? But that's not all; these two essentially take over for most of the key moments of the original movie since they're self-insert characters, like freeing Toto from Miss Almira Gulch when in the original he got out by himself. As a result of this, they make Dorothy look like a useless damsel in distress. And by extension lessen the impact of the other characters. In the original Oz material, Dorothy is a headstrong and brave girl despite her age and does her damnest to help her friends when they're in danger. Here, Tom and Jerry just so happen to come along and set off many of the feats of the other characters. They even make the Wicked Witch of the West seem incompetent since they send her off on a rocket!

The voice actors chosen to represent these classic characters aren't much better. Grey DeLisle can sing well as Dorothy, but she's no Judy Garland, so it's ok, I guess. I don't understand why they needed to put Tuffy (a.k.a. Nibbles) in this as a Munchkin, especially since now he's annoying as hell! He's basically the Cowardly Lion, taking many of his signature traits and lines, but the Lion is still IN the movie. Kath Soucie is a great actress, but she's just irritating as this pink turd, but if I close my eyes when she sings, I imagine Lola Bunny or even Sally Acorn in his place makes it much better. I just don't feel anything from Laraine Newman as the Witch; when Margaret Hamilton played her, she was able to come off as genuinely frightening and was a lasting impact on many people, even after almost 80 years. Ms. Newman’s role is a PALE imitation compared to the original.

I will give credit to where it's due though: the backgrounds are very reminiscent of the original film and very pretty; plus, they add in a nod to the books every now and again. But that's where the good ends, ok, and the character designs are pretty good, but the animation still stinks. They skip big chunks of this thing just to hit the bases, and it makes the pacing very disjointed even if you've never seen the MGM film. Most of the classic songs are gone or badly altered to fit the new dynamic and it's just so insulting. This is one of the very few direct-to-video things to legitimately OFFEND ME! And yeah, it's dick riding off the original movie! But you know how The Wacky World of Tex Avery basically dug up Mr. Avery’s corpse and stomped on his legacy? Yeah, let's do that with Mr. Baum and Hanna-Barbera; see what fuckin' happens! They didn't even keep in the best bit with the doorbell scene! That scene is awesome! Then they have THE NERVE to have Tom and Jerry interrupt The Merry Old Land of Oz, which is watered down like a cheap soda at King's Island*, if you ask me.

I just cannot find the Witch a threat when she ALSO has to address Tom and Jerry in her threats; it's one of the most forced things I've ever heard. When Pinky and the Brain did this with Larry, it was self-aware of its intent at the very least and is considered one of the cornerstones of the series as a whole. This? L. Frank Baum as well as William Hanna and Joe Barbera are SPASMING IN THEIR GRAVES! It's a shit stain on the records of two great series of the 20th century. And Joe Alaskey as THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE OZ? I can't take him seriously, I really can't. When Sylvester the Cat voices your ominous floating head, it's too funny! And that's about the only funny thing in this movie. Tom and Jerry's shtick doesn't fit in the movie they were shoved into at all, it's annoying either when they're with Dorothy or not.

If it wasn't enough to insert Tom and Jerry into this thing, we get Droopy and Spike as Winkie guards. The only exist here to kill time in a 61-minute movie. Seriously, they couldn't have stretched this movie out to include scenes like the doorman bit, but we gotta get these guys? I don’t know about you, guys, but Droopy wasn't all that funny to me, he was just sort of bland. Still, his cartoons are enjoyable. Get used to Droopy having rare cameos in Tom and Jerry movies but IDK because it's his only real relevance since Droopy, Master Detective; it was the 90’s, ok? They were going to give a show to just about anything back then. 

It wouldn't be so bad if they didn't spoil how the witch dies! Yeah, it's pop culture osmosis by now, but still, what of the kids who are seeing this as their first exposure to The Wizard of Oz? It's like the guy who walks out of the theatre after seeing Star Wars: The Force Awakens and just BLURTING OUT that thing to the people getting ready to see it. See, I can be discreet about spoilers. Speaking of, yeah, TOM AND JERRY KILL THE WITCH! Not Dorothy, TOM AND JERRY DO IT! They even make poor Toto look useless (beyond always freeing him) by uncovering Professor Marvel. Sweet and sour pork balls, they even fuck up Dorothy not getting home!

Sure, maybe Tom and Jerry are too violent for your little ones and The Wizard of Oz will traumatize them, but it'll give them a good experience in the end of it all and make them better human beings for it. If you grow up watching shit like this, you enjoy shit like Allen Gregory as an adult; lazy begets lazy.

The sad thing is, this movie did have effort put into it via ascetic design at least; the characters look how they should in animated form and as I said before, the backgrounds transition well into animation, the voice acting ranges from good to passible to bad, and much like the 4Kids dub of One Piece, it makes me want to watch the original material to relive the good memories. The credits though give my throbbing brain some relief as I can hear the modern actors for the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion sing their songs unabridged, and they do a good job of it; they aren't Ray Bolger, Jack Haley and Burt Lahr, but they ain't bad for their roles. When the only major positive is reminding you that you can just watch the original classic movie, it proves this thing doesn't have any legs to stand on. 

Is it the worst Tom and Jerry film? Yes, without a doubt, though the 2nd worst IMO is their crossover with Jonny Quest, and I will get to it in the future. Is it the worst Wizard of Oz film? It’s 2nd only to Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return, which I will also review. A crossover can work well if you know what you're doing like Kingdom Hearts or The Jetsons Meet The Flintstones, but this just doesn't work out.

*King’s Island – amusement park in Mason, Ohio

Cringe-Inducing Audio: 4
Cringe-Inducing Visuals: 0
Lackluster Writing: 9
Annoyance: 9
Disturbing Content: 0
Unnecessary Cruelty: 4
Rancid Morality: 0
Low Production Values: 5
Unfortunate Implications: 8
Character Derailment: 7

Final Score: 46/100