Tom & Jerry Kids

Tom & Jerry Kids (formerly known as Tom & Jerry Kids Show in the first season) is an American animated television series co-produced by Hanna-Barbera and Turner Entertainment Co., and starring the cat-and-mouse duo Tom and Jerry as toddlers (toddler kitten and baby mouse). It premiered on Fox on September 8, 1990, airing as the first program of the children's programming block, Fox Kids, and was the second Tom and Jerry TV series to be produced by Hanna-Barbera following The Tom and Jerry Show in 1975.
The series is somewhat similar to the "older" version of the original theatricals, partly akin to being produced by creators William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, founders of Hanna-Barbera and former MGM cartoon studio staff.
Segments
Tom and Jerry Kids
The Tom and Jerry Kids cartoons are based on the classic shorts, Tom and Jerry, but it stars the kitten and mouseling instead. They remain silent like their older selves and both of them are attempting to outwit each other, exactly like in the original shorts. Some of the plots and gags are recycled from old Tom and Jerry cartoons, but the violence is toned down for younger viewers.
Spike and Tyke
The Spike and Tyke segments are based on the characters, Spike and Tyke from the original Tom and Jerry series. Strangely, Spike is still an adult and Tyke is slightly older in this series. Spike still loves his son, Tyke, more than anything and enjoys spending time with him. Additionally, Tyke now has the ability to talk, which mean that he has grown smarter and more intelligent. Spike's toughness is only used on occasions, as these segments mostly revolve around his love for his son and on teaching family values. Additionally, Spike and Tyke are grey like their debut appearances in the classic Tom and Jerry shorts, with Tyke wearing a blue collar.
Droopy and Dripple
The Droopy and Dripple segments feature characters from the classic Tex Avery shorts starring Droopy. Droopy has a different job every episode and his son Dripple (a tinier, identical version of him) always follows him as his assistant. The two will usually end up clashing with McWolf, the before-unnamed villainous wolf from Avery shorts that, envious of their success, will use any dirty trick against them to win, but inevitably fails. The beautiful Miss Vavoom (Red in Avery shorts) is another possible source of conflict between the two, as both of them have a crush on her and she, or a kiss from her, is often the prize of some sort of competition. Their "detective" segments were later spun-off into Droopy, Master Detective.
Blast-Off Buzzard
Season 4 features a new adaption of the Blast-Off Buzzard segment from the CB Bears where the characters actually talk. In these segments, Blast-Off Buzzard leads his gang of Buzzards as they try to catch Crazylegs. Only two episodes were made.
Episodes
Voice cast
Charlie Adler – Dripple, Lightning Bolt the Super Squirrel, Crazylegs, Rap Rat (in "Rap Rat is Where It's At"), Urfo's Mother (in "Urfo Returns")
William Callaway – Slowpoke Antonio
Patrick Fraley – Kyle the Cat, Yolker (in "Super Droop and Dripple Boy Meet the Yolker"), Zebra (in "Love Me, Love My Zebra"), Tyrone the Tiny (in "Barbecue Bust-Up")
Keenon Douglas – Jerry (speaking)
Teresa Ganzel – Miss Vavoom, Skier ("Downhill Droopy"), Lt. Lucy (in "Mess Hall Mouser"), White Tabby (in "Tom Thumped")
Dick Gautier – Spike
Phil Hartman – Calaboose Cal, Hot Dog Vendor (in "Pound Hound"), Inspector De Paws (in "Pound Hound")
Don Messick – Droopy, Bat Mouse (in "Bat Mouse"), Narrator (in "Scourge of the Sky")
Frank Welker – Tom, Jerry, McWolf, Wild Mouse, Urfo, Moncy, Bat Cat (in "Bat Mouse"), Ants (in "This is No Picnic"), Caveman (in "Prehistoric Pals"), Chino the Kitten (in "Who Are You Kitten"), Commander (in "Scourge of the Sky"), Jester (in "When Knights Were Cold"), Male Mouse Students (in "Chase School"), Martian Mouse (in "Martian Mouse"), Museum Manager (in "The Watchcat"), Narrator (in "Wild Mouse II"), Salesmouse (in "S.O.S. Ninja"), Stinky Jr. (in "Fallen Archers," "Order in the Volley Ball Court"), Urfo Catcher (in "Urfo Returns"), Momma Seagull, Elephants, Rhino, Ostrich, Lions, and Gorilla, (in "Cast Away Tom"), Zap Men (in "Maze Monster Zap Men")
Patric Zimmerman – Tyke
Additional Voices
Brandon Adams
Joe Alaskey
Patricia Alice Albrecht
Lewis Arquette
Rene Auberjonois
Michael Bell
Gregg Berger
Susan Blu
Sorrell Booke
Charlie Brill
Nicole Brown
Scott Bullock
Arthur Burghardt
Greg Burson
Hamilton Camp
Nancy Cartwright
Marsha Clark
Selette Cole
Townsend Coleman
Danny Cooksey
Bud Cort
Jesse Corti
Peter Cullen
Brian Cummings – Clyde
Jim Cummings
Tim Curry
Jennifer Darling
Mari Devon
Nancy Dussault
Maggie Egan
June Foray
Brad Garrett
Kathy Garver
Joan Gerber
Barry Gordon
Archie Hahn
Pamela Hayden
George Hearn
Dana Hill
Jerry Houser
Tony Jay
Arte Johnson
Vicki Juditz
Zale Kessler
Kip King
Paul Kreppel
Maurice LaMarche
David Lander
Allan Lurie
Sherry Lynn
Tress MacNeille
Kenneth Mars
Chuck McCann
Edie McClurg
Diane Michelle
Brian Mitchell
Alan Oppenheimer
Bibi Osterwald
Gary Owens
Patricia Parris
Rob Paulsen
Pat Pinney
Henry Polic II
Tony Pope
Hal Rayle
Clive Revill
Bob Ridgely
Kimmy Robertson
Stuart Robinson
Roger Rose
Neil Ross
Ronnie Schell
Susan Silo
Hal Smith
Kath Soucie
Sally Struthers
Barbara Stuart
Marcelo Tubert
Janet Waldo
B.J. Ward
Jimmy Weldon
Jane Wiedlin
Lee Wilkof
April Winchell
JoAnne Worley
Production and broadcast
The series was a co-production between Hanna-Barbera and Turner Entertainment Co, serving as the former's second Tom and Jerry series after The Tom and Jerry Show in 1975. This is the first Tom and Jerry series to be produced by Turner Entertainment, after they had bought the Tom and Jerry franchise from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1986. Parent company Turner Broadcasting System would buy the Hanna-Barbera studios in late 1991 starting with the third season. Perhaps the most notable differences from the classic shorts are the pair's appearances (and ages). Tom & Jerry Kids was one of the last Saturday-morning cartoons from Hanna-Barbera before shifting focus toward producing shows specifically for Cartoon Network.
In 1994, Fox canceled the series and ended its run on Fox Kids on September 4, 1994, but it soon began airing in reruns on Cartoon Network (which Turner launched to showcase its large animation library, including the original Tom and Jerry) in 1995, and ended in 2007 when the show was removed from the Cartoon Network schedule and instead moved over to its sibling network Boomerang. It however made a brief return to the Cartoon Network airwaves on June 4, 2023, during a marathon consisting on other Tom and Jerry shows. Spacetoon aired this show from July 13, 2000, to December 31, 2004.
Home media
In 1991, 12 episodes were put on two VHS cassettes in the United States, although only a few million copies were made. Eleven VHS cassettes were released in the United Kingdom. The series was released on DVD in Germany by Kinowelt Home Entertainment on July 11, 2008, as the first official DVD release. In 2010, the episode Flippin' Fido was included in the Deluxe Anniversary Collection DVD set with the original opening and closing titles restored, different from TV airing versions.
On April 30, 2013, Warner Home Video released the first season of the show on DVD for the first time. The remaining 3 seasons have yet to see a DVD release. In the United Kingdom, Season One was released as 2 separate DVDs on August 12, 2013, under the titles Baby Tom and Jerry, as part of WB's Big Faces range. Like the U.S. release of Season One, Baby Tom includes the first seven half-hour episodes, while Baby Jerry includes the remaining 6 episodes.
Awards
This show was given a Daytime Emmy nomination in 1992 for Outstanding Music Direction and Composition.
Comic book
In Mexico, Editorial Vid made a comic book based on Tom & Jerry Kids in 1990. It is worth noting that Tom and Jerry (the original older versions) have their own comic book there, and the Tom & Jerry Kids comic book is followed by Tom and Jerry.
See also
The Tom and Jerry Show (1975)
The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show
Tom and Jerry Tales
The Tom and Jerry Show (2014)
Tom and Jerry Special Shorts
Tom and Jerry in New York
List of Tom & Jerry Kids episodes
List of characters in Tom & Jerry Kids
List of works produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions
Notes
References
External links
1990 American television series debuts
1993 American television series endings
1990s American animated television series
1990s American children's comedy television series
1990s American surreal comedy television series
1990s American animated comedy television series
American animated television spin-offs
American animated variety television series
American children's animated comedy television series
American prequel television series
Animated television series about cats
Animated television series about children
Animated television series about mice and rats
English-language television shows
Fox Broadcasting Company original programming
Television series set in the 1990s
Television series by Hanna-Barbera
Kids
Child versions of cartoon characters