Tom and Jerry: The Magic Ring

***Tom and Jerry: The Magic Ring*** is a 2001 American animated fantasy comedy film starring the seven-time Academy Award-winning cat-and-mouse duo Tom and Jerry. Produced by Warner Bros. Animation (making it the first *Tom and Jerry* production to be made by that company) and Turner Entertainment Co., it was the first made-for-video attempt to recapture the style of William Hanna and Joseph Barbera's original film shorts from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer as well as the final animated collaboration of both Hanna and Barbera, as Hanna died on March 22, 2001.

### Ratings

G (UK)

The film was originally set for December 2001 release, but was instead released on March 12, 2002[2] on both VHS and DVD (nearly one year after Hanna's death) due to a preview of the film found on some Warner Home Video DVDs, including the DVD releases of the *Scooby-Doo* television specials and direct-to-video films. A Game Boy Advance video game based on the film was also made

## Plot

Inside a haunted and creepy-looking mansion, Tom chases Jerry as usual while breaking everything in the process. Meanwhile, in the basement, Tom's owner, a wizard named Chip, attempts to make a magical potion using his magical ring
 until he realizes it does not work. Chip checks the milk carton that he
 used on the potion, but there is no substitution for the milk of a cow
that lives in Calcutta.
 Later, Chip throws Tom into the basement and orders him to guard his
magic ring while he goes to Calcutta to milk the cow. If Tom does a
good job, he'll be rewarded with a big juicy salmon
 but if not, "there will one less kitty to clean up after around here",
meaning that Tom will be kicked out of the mansion for good. Chip then
leaves for Calcutta using his motorcycle,
 leaving Tom in charge of guarding the ring in the basement. Unknown to
Tom, an interested Jerry finds the ring while climbing the table and
puts it on his head, wearing it like a crown. Jerry runs out of the mansion, and Tom frantically attempts to find him so he can get the ring back.

After losing Tom, Jerry attempts to get the ring removed by going
 to a jewelry store owned by a diamond cutter. However, the store is
closed since the owner has left for lunch. Tom sneaks into the store and
 disguises himself as a worker using his tail for a mustache and
attempting to help Jerry get the ring off, but to no avail. He reveals
his true identity. Tom then destroys the store and ends up getting
chased away by the enraged owner.

Afterwards, Jerry runs off into a fortunetelling home owned by Butch and Droopy.
 After seeing how lovely the ring looks and including the fact that
Jerry wants it removed, Butch attempts to pull it off, but also fails.
Jerry then sees Physic Droopy. Tom comes in and Jerry runs out with
Butch chasing after him as well. Soon, they end up in an alley where an
alley cat happens to be taking a nap. He wakes up and tries to grab
Jerry for his dinner. Tom successfully grabs Jerry in time and, by
flicking the ring on his head, makes random objects fall on the
horrified alley cat. Butch then comes and is able to get the ring off
Jerry's head after Jerry bites Tom's hands, which causes him to be sent
flying to the dog. Tom and the alley cat then chase Butch and then wind
up spinning and roll toward Jerry, but the ring gets stuck back on
Jerry's head. When Tom is running away from Butch and the alley cat, he
takes a shortcut to lose sight of them until he accidentally slips on a
banana peel, which Jerry's ring then increases the size of; Tom slips on
 it again and rides on it toward the door of a pet store, leaving Tom
unconscious.

A kind old lady comes out and brings the two inside and the cage
is filled with animals from all over the world and putting them in two
separate cages. However, Tom is accidentally paired with Spike and his son Tyke while Jerry is left with two mice named Freddie and Joey, who bully a younger, cute and dimwitted mouse named Nibbles.
 At first, Jerry proves to be unsuccessful in trying to stop the mouse
bullies from hurting Nibbles until he uses the ring to turn them into
chunks of cheese. When the cheese mice escape the cage and Nibbles fails
 to catch up with them since he intends to eat them, Jerry uses the ring
 to make Nibbles grow into a giant mouse capable of breaking free from
the cage as he grows and catch up with the cheese mice as they escape
the store. An unnamed boy comes and buys Jerry as his pet to which he
plays with Jerry until the ring produces magic, melting Tom. Escaping
the cage, Tom sneaks outside and snatches Jerry from the boy's hand. The
 upset boy tells his mother, to which she tells a police officer who
sends police cars after the duo. The alley cat and Butch alongside Spike
 and Tyke also find and chase Tom. Tom and Jerry escape by riding a bus
driven by Droopy, but he stops and reverses the bus, causing Tom and
Jerry to panic. The three become lost until the boy finds Tom and
whistles, resulting in the duo ending up cornered in a garbage dump at a
 dead end.
 Jerry uses the magic ring to freeze the dogs, alley cat and police
cars. Now safe, Tom and Jerry head back to the mansion where Tom once
again tries to get the ring off, but fails in every attempt. Jerry hides
 in a kitchen cupboard and uses furniture ring remover to get the ring
off before throwing the ring in the basement. Tom gets the ring, but to
his horror it gets stuck firmly on his finger.

Hearing Chip coming, Tom tries to get the ring off, but to no
avail. Tom attempts to trick Chip into thinking Tom has done a good job
protecting his ring, but fails when Chip discovers the ring on Tom's
finger. Thinking that Tom stole his ring, an angry Chip kicks Tom out of
 his mansion to which the ring immediately falls off Tom's finger.
Following this, the ring unfreezes those who all chase Tom into the
sunset.

In the epilogue, Jerry receives the salmon from Chip to which he
then turns it into cheese using the ring's power, and he enjoys the
cheese as the film comes to an end.

## Voice cast

* Jeff Bennett as Tom (Bennett does the additional roles for Droopy and Joey both of them are uncredited)
* Frank Welker as Jerry (Welker does the additional roles for the jewelry store owner and the vocal effects for Tyke both of them are uncredited too)
* Charlie Schlatter as Chip
* Jim Cummings as Butch
* Maile Flanagan as Boy
* Jess Harnell as Policeman
* Maurice LaMarche as Spike and Butch Cat (credit as "Alley Cat")
* Tress MacNeille as Margaret and Mom
* Tara Strong as Nibbles
* Billy West as Muscles (credit as "Freddie")

## Reception

Carrie R. Wheadon of Common Sense Media gave a negative review saying "There's very little magic here at all and very little story that makes sense or fits together."[3] Christopher Simons of DVD Talk was more positive saying "I'd say pick it up, but only for the younger ones."[4]

## Follow-up film

*Tom and Jerry: Blast Off to Mars* was released on January 18, 2005.

## External links

* *Tom and Jerry: The Magic Ring* on IMDb