Tom and Jerry Meet Sherlock Holmes

Tom and Jerry M7: Meet Sherlock Holmes is a 2010 animated direct-to-video film produced by Warner Bros. Animation. It was the first Tom and Jerry direct-to-video film to be produced without the involvement of any of its original creators William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, who had died in both 2001 and 2006 respectively, and was based on characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Storyline[]

In the city of London, a crook is stealing jewels around the Scotland Yard and Red a beautiful singer, is being framed for this crime. Tom and Jerry as assistants to Sherlock Holmes must look for clues and track down the real thief to solve this case.

Plot[]

In London, an unseen crook begins masterminding his "perfect plot on paper" which starts with a robbery taking place and three cats steal a pink diamond. Three constables spot them and give chase, but the cats escape to the rooftops and glide off into the night, giving the stolen diamond to a mysterious horseman. The next day Dr. Watson rushes to 221B in Baker Street and informs his colleague Sherlock Holmes of the robbery. Holmes calls Jerry Mouse to bring him a copy of the Times. Jerry heads out to buy it, bumping into Tom Cat on the way, who has something for Holmes. Jerry sends a pile of bricks on Tom and Tom gives chase. Jerry returns to Holmes' flat and hands him the paper or what was let of it. Reading a letter Tom had given to them, for the night, Holmes and Watson decide to go to the Bruce Nigel theatre and see a lady named Red. Holmes is told that she is being blackmailed and Holmes suggests the real perpetrator might be... Professor Moriarty. Holmes deduces that the Star of Punjab, a diamond that is sensitive to the light of a solar eclipse which was to happen the following day, is to be stolen by the mastermind of the blackmail. At the Punjab Embassy, Spike and Tyke are assigned to guard the Star of Punjab. Spike begins to teach Tyke how to be a good dog guard, but the three cats steal the diamond while Spike is not looking. The three cats then step on a small button and retreat. They climb out through a hole that leads to the tunnel and escape before Holmes, Tom and Jerry arrive. Upon arriving, Jerry tricks Tom into stepping into a broken board and the trio check the tunnel. Finding sawdust, they retreat once hearing Tyke sounding the alarm. Holmes and Watson leave to find the shop from where the button came from, while Tom and Jerry are left to take Red to Holmes' flat.

The Police believe Red is behind the crimes and offer a reward for the one who finds her. Butch and Droopy move in to take the reward and race to see who gets it. Butch then bumps into Tom, Jerry and Red. They begin a tiring chase and Tom drops a lantern on Butch's head. They run to the church and they are let in by Jerry's brother Tuffy. Tuffy and Red escape but Tom and Jerry hide in the organ. Droopy and Butch play the Toccata and Fugue and send Tom and Jerry flying.

Tom catches his back in a pitchfork and Jerry informs Tuffy and Red that the cats are inside the pub, The Twisted Lip. Red distracts the cats while guiding Tom, Jerry and Tuffy to the cats, the former getting punched in the face on the way by a customer (for not bringing his drink). Although, the cats escape in time and kidnap Jerry. Tom follows them and rescues Jerry, except for the diamond. They are sent flying again, Jerry lands to safety, but Tom lands on a pitchfork. The trio follow the cats to a graveyard and find the diamond. However, a hooded figure gets there before them but Jerry secretly steals the key. Red decides to go to her friend's place, who is a professor.

Red is brought in by the professor but accidentally bashes Tom in the face with the door, leaving him, Jerry and Tuffy locked outside. They then see Butch and Droopy coming their way and hide in a cabin. Tom catches his bum on a pitchfork again and Jerry is forced to cover his screams. They find the hooded figure's horse and discover that the thief is in the house, also that Red is in danger! They use the key they got to sneak inside and they find a machine containing the diamonds. Tuffy catches the diamond but slips don the chimney. Tom and Jerry stumble after him but find that Red is tied up. The professor captures the trio and reveals himself as Moriarty and reveals his plans to steal The Crown Jewels. By using the diamonds, the eclipse will cover the sun and the diamond will fire and ricochet off of the mirrors and break a hole into the Tower of London.

Moriarty then makes his way to the Tower of London with the captive Red. Spike and Tyke are then left to guard the Crown Jewels but the wall crushes Spike and the cats steal the Jewels. However, Tom knocks out one cat and tricks him into firing the machine on them setting them free. They use the cat's wings to fly to the Tower but Moriarty escapes with the Jewels. Tom then crashes into the carriage and they free Red. Jerry frees the horse and spots Holmes and Watson making their way to Moriarty (as Holmes had earlier deduced that Moriarty would steal the Jewels). Butch fails to catch the cats and Droopy sends them into the Tower, where they are beaten up by Spike.

Moriarty activates his horseless carriage and he and Holmes fight atop the carriage. Tom accidentally breaks the brake and the carriage steers off an unfinished bridge. Red, Tom, Jerry and Tuffy make it back to the bridge but believe Holmes to be dead. However, Watson arrives and finds Holmes clinging to an edge with the Jewels. Moriarty and the three cats are arrested but Droopy gets the reward instead of Butch.

At the church, Red marries the wolf and they start howling and run off. While Holmes and Watson watch them run off, Jerry then secretly sends Tom's tail on fire and Tom gives chase to Jerry. It is then revealed that Droopy also does weddings, and Droopy smiles at the screen.

Cast[]

Spike Brandt as Tom, Jerry, and Tyke (uncredited)
Michael York as Sherlock Holmes
John Rhys-Davies as Dr. John Watson
Malcolm McDowell as Professor Moriarty
Kath Soucie as Tuffy
Grey DeLisle as Red
Jeff Bergman as Butch and Droopy
Phil LaMarr as Spike and Policeman
Greg Ellis as Tin and Sergeant
Jess Harnell as Pam and Brett Jeremy
Richard McGonagle as Ali and First Policeman
Tom Kenny as various characters (uncredited)

Novelization[]

A Japanese language novelization was released by Shogakukan under their Shogakukan Junior Bunko (小学館ジュニア文庫) imprint on August 26, 2016, coinciding with the release of the Japanese dub of the film, where it was simply titled Tom and Jerry: Sherlock Holmes (トムとジェリーシャーロック・ホームズ). The novelization is written by Hiranari Izu (伊豆平成).

Notes[]

This is the second Tom and Jerry film since Tom and Jerry: The Magic Ring where Butch Dog makes an appearance.
At the start of the film, a title card displaying "A WARNER BROS CARTOON" is used with a sketch of the WB shield, There is also a re-creation of the Tom and Jerry title card and a "The End, A Tom and Jerry Cartoon" card from some of those cartoons.
This is the first Tom and Jerry direct-to-video film series to featuring Michael Tavera as Musical Director and Producer
This is the first official appearance of Red, completely dismissing Miss Vavoom as part of the Tom and Jerry characters since Warner Bros. acquired the rights to every Tex Avery character as a result of Turner Broadcasting System, which owned the MGM cartoons, merging with Time Warner in 1996.
This is the first appearance of Tin, Pan and Alley.
Country Wolf, Simon Legree and Blackie Cat make appearances with no lines.
Barney Bear appears in this film, but with no lines. This film marks Barney Bear's first appearance in a Tom and Jerry-related material in 30 years since Filmation's The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show.
This direct-to-video film is known to have pushed the envelope as far as PG direct-to-video cartoons go due to the involved mature themes, prior to the 2014 series and the recent live-action film, which both actually earned that rating. Despite this, the film received a G rating by the MPA when it was originally released, and received a TV-G rating when aired on television in the United States.
While Tom and Jerry: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is the first installment in the franchise to be directly based on another work of fiction, Holmes, Watson and Moriarty are the first characters in the franchise to be directly based on literary characters. Hence this film started a new trend of Tom and Jerry direct-to-video films in the 2010s decade where the cat and mouse duo are often paired with various literary characters or crossover with other film/cartoon franchises, which continued (so far) up until Tom and Jerry: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
This is the first Tom and Jerry film to be presented in widescreen format on the Region 1 DVD release.
In the cemetery scene, the name "S. Register" can briefly be seen on a tombstone, a shout out to the film's producer Sam Register.
- Other names include "F. Gardner", a shout out to the film's art designer Frederick Gardner, as well as "Rebecca Wallace", an animation intern.
The film contains many references and allusions to various elements from the history of Sherlock Holmes, from his books, films and even key people who have been involved throughout the character's media history.
- The J. Ferrier Co. Jewelry store is a reference to John Ferrier, a key character from the first Sherlock Holmes novel A Study in Scarlet.
- The Rathbone Inn mentioned by Holmes is a reference to famed actor Basil Rathbone who had regularly played Sherlock Holmes throughout 1939 and 1946 in various films and radio dramas and whose portrayal served as the basis for Holmes in this film.
- The Bruce Nigel Theatre is a reference to famed actor Nigel Bruce who regularly played Dr. Watson alongside Basil Rathbone's portrayal of Sherlock in various films and radio dramas.
- The name of Brett Jeremy the tailor is a reference to stage actor Jeremy Brett who played Sherlock Holmes in the 1984 Granada Television adaptation and Brett Jeremy's shop even has a small poster depicting Sherlock in his formal wear from the same show.
- A bottle in Jerry's lab reads "7 Percent Solution", a reference to Holmes' use of the same dose of narcotics in the book The Sign of Four which were legal at the time of the book's publishing, as well as a reference to the 1974 Holmes pastiche novel The Seven-Per-Cent Solution and its film adaptation.
- A newspaper clipping in Jerry's lab mentions Holmes' investigating a ghastly murder in the Whitechapel district, a reference to the infamous killings by Jack the Ripper who had often been pitted against Holmes in many pastiches across books, films and even video games.
- Holmes and Watson briefly recount the events that occurred in the 1891 short story The Red-Headed League. Strangely, Watson claims that the crime was perpetrated by Professor Moriarty but in the original short story the perpetrator was John Clay. This inconsistency however could be an intentional reference to the 1985 Granada adaptation of The Red-Headed League which showed that Moriarty had been the mastermind behind Clay's plans.
- The Twisted Lip Publick House is a reference to the 1891 Sherlock Holmes short story The Man with the Twisted Lip.
- When Tom and Jerry follow the cats to a graveyard and find the diamond, they see a tombstone that was marked: "Doyle", a reference to the creator of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
- The goose farm Holmes and Watson find themselves in during the film is likely a reference to their previous famous goose chase from the 1892 short story The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle.
- Moriarty's prominent use of "steampunk" technology in the film as well as his ownership of a weaponized steam car is reminiscent of his incarnation from the 1984 animated television series Sherlock Hound by Hayao Miyazaki where a canine Moriarty frequently used such technology and owned a similar vehicle.

Errors[]

The ropes binding Red's arms vanish/slip down to her elbows in the shot after Moriarty removes her bejeweled choker.
Tom, regarding Jerry's googly reaction towards the engaged Red, vigorously grabs Jerry with his left paw. In the next shot, Tom is seen holding Jerry with his right paw.

Gallery[]

Main article: Tom and Jerry Meet Sherlock Holmes/Gallery