Tom and Jerry - The Movie
Too bad this theatrical paws you in from the first frame with clever characters, memorable music, and a pulled-together plot, because if you're a dyed-in-the-fur Tom and Jerry fan, your first inclination is to flee the set. Offending old-schoolers in a late-Bewitchednew-Darren sense is the dialogue--not only do Tom and Jerry speak, they're talking to each other. Worse, the former combatants cultivate a camaraderie. Instead of clobbering each other with mallets, the cat and mouse duo dig in, together, to rescue a runaway. Returning Robyn to her dad requires outfoxing Aunt Figg, the girl's money-grubbing guardian, and a cadre of scheming animal and kid catchers. A little tail-twitching mousetrap action toward the end is the tender vittle tossed to the old crowd in what's otherwise a declawed but undeniably entertaining chase-a-thon. Put it on for kids 4 and up and help forge a kinder, gentler Tom and Jerry generation.--Tammy La Gorce