HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA: THE SERIES

 

HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA: THE SERIES
(Disney Channel, Teletoon, Netflix, June 25, 2017-October 29, 2020)
 
Sony Pictures Animation, Corus Entertainment, Nelvana

 

MAIN CAST:
Bryn McAuley – Mavis Dracula
Evany Rosen – Wendy Blob
Gage Munroe – Hank N. Stein
Joseph Motiki – Pedro Moomay
Dan Chameroy – Lydia Dracula, Dr. Julien Gillman III
Richard Binsley – Diane
 

 

Hotel Transylvania is a media franchise created and developed by comedy writer Todd Durham based on his book of the same name. Todd later created a bible outlining several films, a television series, holiday specials, video games, books, merchandising, a hotel chain and theme parks and pitched it to Sony Pictures. Sony bought the concept and set it up at their newly-formed Sony Pictures Animation studio.

Hotel Transylvania centered around the titular hotel opened up by Count Dracula (Adam Sandler) himself as a safe haven for monsters away from the human world. He did this after his wife was killed by an angry human mob shortly after the birth of his daughter, Mavis (Selena Gomez); whom he forbade from ever leaving the hotel out of fear for her safety and went to great lengths to keep her curiosity of the outside world at bay. Frequent residents of the hotel included comedic interpretations of Universal Monsters like Frankenstein (Kevin James) and his wife, Eunice (Fran Drescher); Wayne Werewolf (Steve Buscemi), his wife, Wanda (Molly Shannon), and their massive litter of children; Griffin the Invisible Man (David Spade); and Murray the mummy (CeeLo Green). Comprising the hotel staff were zombies as bellhops, witches as maids, and gargoyles as waiters.

Movie poster featuring Murray, Frank, Wayne, Drac, Mavis, Johnny and two wolf cubs.

Drac’s peace, however, seems to come to an end when a 21-year-old human named Johnny (Andy Samberg) stumbles upon the hotel and meets Mavis, with the two instantly become attracted to each other. Unable to get Johnny away without notice, Drac disguises Johnny as Frank’s cousin “Johnnystein” and claimed he was a party planner for Mavis’ 118^th birthday. Drac found himself having to juggle his lie long enough to get rid of Johnny without incident, but needing to do it without breaking his daughter’s heart and chef Quasimodo (Jon Lovitz) turning Johnny into a meal.

The original trilogy film collection.

The film had a rough production, going through six directors until Genndy Tartakovsky came on board, making his feature directorial debut. Tartakovsky visualized the film as having the energy and exaggeration of traditional 2D animation in order to “push reality” and infused those sensibilities into the CG design. Miley Cyrus was also initially cast to play Mavis, but was replaced by Gomez when she bought and licked an explicit cake meant for her then-partner’s birthday. Dan and Kevin Hageman contributed to the story, and the screenplay was written by Peter Baynham and Robert Smigel. Character designs were handled by Sylvain Deboissy, Carter Goodrich, Carlos Grangel, Luis Grané, Cathy Jones, Craig Kellman, Annette Marnat and Pete Oswald. The film opened on September 28, 2012 and ended up pulling in over $378 million worldwide at the box office against an $85 million budget. The film’s success spawned three sequels; each earning more than the last (with the exception of the fourth, released on Amazon Prime with only a limited theatrical release).

Mavis literally hanging out with Hank, Wendy, Pedro and Diane.

While production was underway for the third film, Sony looked into expanding the series by creating a spin-off television series. Developed by Mark Steinberg, Hotel Transylvania: The Series was actually a prequel set 4 years before the first film. Drac (David Berni, later Ivan Sherry) was called away for business with the Vampire Council, leaving his older sister, Lydia (Dan Chameroy), in charge of the hotel and looking after 114-year-old Mavis (Bryn McAuley). Mavis wanted to prove to her father that she could run the hotel and often attempted to implement her ideas; which clashed with Lydia’s traditional and old-fashioned outlook and desire to maintain order. Of course, her teenaged enthusiasm and curiosity often led Mavis into mischief with her friends Wendy Blob (Evany Rosen), a green blob of goo; Hank N. Stein (Gage Munroe), the son of Frank (Paul Braunstein) and Eunice (Katie Griffin) who tended to fall to pieces; and Pedro (Joseph Motiki), a lazy and gluttonous mummy that liked rap (what else?) music.

Lydia Dracula: no sense of humor.

Other characters included Diane (Richard Binsley), Lydia’s pet chicken that was once human and served as her spy around the hotel; Quasimodo (Christopher Jacot), still the hotel’s curmudgeon of a chef; Gene Dracula (Patrick McKenna), Mavis’ video-game loving uncle who utilized a chariot-like wheelchair; Dr. Gillman (Chameroy), the hotel’s resident physician; Cerberus, the hotel’s three-headed guard dog; Klaus (Carter Hayden), Mavis’ cousin who was always trying to upstage her in everything; Shonda Moomay (Maria Vacratsis, later Masasa Moyo), Pedro’s mother and eventually Wendy’s stepmother who could grow to giant size; Bob Blob (Adrian Truss), Wendy’s father and eventually Pedro’s stepfather who’s the richest monster in the underworld; Baby Blendy, the infant daughter of Shonda and Bob whose wails were enjoyed by residents of the hotel;  Charlotte and Sophie (both Josette Halpert), twin werewolves that were old friends of Mavis from her Ghoul Guide troop; and Donald (Ryan Belleville) and Kitty Cartwright (Linda Kash), a human couple that lived near the hotel. Donald was fun-loving and dim-witted, while Kitty was overprotective of their toddler daughter, dubbed “the nosepicker” by Mavis, and did whatever she could to keep the monsters away from their house. Of course, the presence of the Cartwrights and various other encounters with humans throughout the series directly contradicted the canon of the original film where Mavis wouldn’t encounter any until she turned 118. The characters were designed by Ruggiero Abbruzzese, Paul Baczynski, Alice Lemma and Adan Ye.

Residents of the hotel.

Hotel Transylvania: The Series was first seen on June 9, 2017 in the first of a four weekly shorts that aired on WATCH Disney Channel and on Disney Channel’s YouTube; later airing during commercial breaks on Disney Channel proper. The series made its official debut on Disney Channel on June 25, 2017, although the first episode was made available on WATCH Disney Channel, YouTube and VOD on June 20^th. The series was written by Steinberg, Ben Joseph, Alex Ganetakos, Emer Connon, Alice Prodanou, Andrew Harrison, and Mike D’Ascenzo, with Josh Gal and Shawn Kalb joining in the second season and Dale Schott contributing a short. Steinberg served as story editor with Connon, Ganetakos, Harrison, Joseph, Prodanou, Robert Marianetti and David Wachtenheim as story consultants. The majority of episodes were comprised of two story segments. Unlike the films, the series was animated in 2D. As it was produced by Nelvana and Corus Entertainment—both Canadian companies—the series’ cast was comprised of Canadian talent; which meant none of the franchise’s original actors reprised their roles (although that’s not uncommon for film-to-TV adaptations, anyway). The series’ theme and music were composed by Stephen Skratt and Asher Lenz.

The Cartwrights, bringing a little humanity to the show.

Initially, Disney Channel heavily promoted the series. A week after its debut, they channel hosted a 2 ½ hour marathon of the episodes already aired on July 2^nd and their official Twitter account live-tweeted along with it. The series premiered on Teletoon in Canada on October 2^nd, shortly before a hiatus began in December. The second half of the first season debuted on Teletoon beginning June 24, 2018 and on Netflix in the United States the next day before airing on Disney Channel that October. A second season was announced in September and debuted on October 8, 2019. Unlike with the first season, the second received very little promotion and was moved to a much earlier timeslot. The first 13 episodes were burned through that October, with the 14^th airing in December before another hiatus. The final 12 episodes were also burned through the following October. Ultimately, the series was quietly cancelled by Disney and the crew had moved on to other projects by the time the final episodes aired. Repeats would air on Disney XD.

Who needs Halloween costumes when you're already a monster?

Jazwares was the official licensor for the franchise and produced various figures based on the show. Among them was a Mavis figure of her humanoid and bat form; a pack of figures of Mavis and her friends; three playsets including Mavis’ bedroom, the hotel lobby and the Scream Cheese Café; plush dolls; and blind boxes that contained various characters from the films and show or pieces of Hank to build him, with a few of them being special unlockable items found in the playsets. Simon & Schuster published several chapter books written by Natalie Shaw and Cala Spinner and easy-reader books by Ximena Hastings, Sheila Sweeny Hagginson and Tina Gallo adapting various episodes, and a guide to the hotel written in Mavis’ voice by Delphine Finnegan. The second entry of Papercutz’s Hotel Transylvania trilogy of graphic novels was dedicated to an original story set in the world of the show by Stefan Petrucha, Allen Gladfelter, Zazo, Laurie E. Smith, and Wilson Ramos Jr. In 2018 Crazy Labs released Hotel Transylvania Adventures. It was a mobile platforming game where players used Mavis or one of her unlockable friends to traverse levels to collect coins and accomplish goals to earn 3 stars for each level.

Sibling argument.

During its run, the series was nominated for four ACTRA Awards, winning one; two Canadian Cinema Editors Awards; four Canadian Screen Awards, winning one; a Daytime Emmy Award; and two Writers Guild of Canada Awards, winning one. So far, only the first season has been available to stream on Netflix as well as purchasable on the iTunes store, Prime Video, Vudu and Google Play. The first episode was uploaded to Sony Pictures Animation’s official YouTube channel. Most clips and shorts have since been removed from official channels and are only partially available on international Disney YouTube channels or from user uploads.

  

EPISODE GUIDE:

Season 1:

“Enter the Nosepicker / Hide & Shriek” (6/25/17) – Mavis accidentally lures a human baby to the hotel just before an influential reviewer is due to come by. / Mavis finds the doll she lost 90 years prior, and this time it’s determined to never leave her side again.

 

“Bad Friday / Hoop Screams” (6/26/17) – Mavis’s attempt to achieve the best scare on Bad Friday results in her getting scared by Kitty instead. / Mavis helps Hank’s basketball skills by giving him a deceased basketball player’s hands.

 

“Buggin’ Out / How Do You Solv a Problem Like Medusa” (6/27/17) – While cleaning the hotel, Mavis accidentally infests the bed with truth bugs instead of bedbugs. / Mavis invites Medusa to the hotel when she finds out she’s Lydia’s rival and accidentally turns her to stone with her own wig.

 

“Adventures in Vampiresitting / Phlegm Ball” (6/28/17) – A disguised Mavis ends up babysitting a human child, at least until the actual babysitter shows up and alerts the family about monsters. / Mavis learns her friends have been letting her win at Phlegm Ball just when her cousin challenges her to a game for her father’s lucky fangs.

 

“Wendy Big and Tall / Doppelfanger” (6/29/17) – Wendy’s desire to become taller goes awry when she becomes a giant monster instead. / Mavis barely has time to enjoy her favorite singer coming to the hotel when a cursed mirror unleashes an evil zombie duplicate of her.

 

“Great Eggspectations / Hotel Pennyslvania” (7/9/17) – Mavis tries to prove she can care for a living creature by saving a bad egg. / Mavis and her friends try to find a way to watch their favorite show when Lydia disconnects the cable.

 

“Breakfast at Lydia’s / The Trouble with Wendys” (7/16/17) – Mavis worries about losing her employee of the month title when she causes Quasimodo to quit. / Feeling indebted to Dr. Gillman for getting gum out of her hair, she sticks by him until she can return the favor.

 

“Frankenstunt / What About Blob?” (7/23/17) – Hank fills in for his father for a movie when Frank gets blown apart doing a stunt. / Mavis and Wendy plot to get Lydia and Bob Blob together, but instead it prompts Bob to want to move his family away to the Cramptons.

 

“Curse Club / Casket if you Can” (7/30/17) – Mavis tries to help Pedro’s confidence by running around and making it seem as if his curses are coming true. / Lydia’s coffin gets ejected from the hotel with her in it, and Mavis and her friends must rescue it from a human antique collector.

 

“A Scare to Remember / Hank and the Real Boy” (8/6/17) – The kids accidentally get rid of the ghost author who really writes the books of Lydia’s favorite author when they clean the hotel. / Attempting to keep Hank from falling to pieces results in his becoming a real boy.

 

“The Wrapture / Becoming Klaus” (8/20/17) – Mavis replaces Pedro’s wraps that she got accidentally got rid of, but as they’re a different material Pedro adopts a new identity. / Mavis’ broken fang requires getting a transplant from Klaus.

 

“116 Candles / Stop or my Mummy Will Shout” (10/1/17) – Mavis gives Lydia a de-aging perfume in order to be allowed to go to a concert. / The kids pretend Pedro is in charge of the hotel in order to impress his mother.

 

“The Legend of Pumpkin Guts” (10/8/17) – Sneaking out to learn the secret behind Halloween causes Mavis and her friends to accidentally unleash the monstrous Pumpkin Guts on the monster world.

 

“Fright of Hand / Dude Where’s My Garlic?” (10/15/17) – Mavis plays magician at Diane’s party and accidentally loses her in a strange void. / Quasimodo’s supply of garlic leads Mavis to investigate why its deadly to vampires.

 

“Bat Flap Fever / Thumb and Thumber” (10/22/17) – Mavis is sent an embarrassing gift from her father that she throws away, resulting in it getting stuck to Donald. / When Hank discovers his thumb is from the Dracula bloodline, Lydia begins showing him all the affection she often denies Mavis.

 

“Brain Drain / Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow” (11/4/17) – Lydia takes Pandora’s box from Mavis and gives it to zombie Isaac Newton, just as his brain is swapped with Hank’s. / When someone starts messing with Lydia’s hair, the obvious suspect is Medusa.

 

“Drop the Needle / Really Gross Anatomy” (11/11/17) – Mavis offers to teach Klaus how to become a bat if he’ll show her how to replace the needle she broke on Lydia’s gramophone. / The kids discover Dr. Gillman isn’t an actual doctor and try to teach them everything they know about medicine (which is nothing).

 

“The Fright Before Creepmas” (12/2/17) – Mavis tries to get Krampus to fix a 1,000-year-old mistake so that Lydia will let everyone enjoy a family Creepmas.

 

“Exit Sandman / Roadkill Trip” (6/25/18 N, 10/15/18 DC) – Rebuilding Diane’s chicken coop disturbs the Sandman’s sleep, so he puts the entire hotel to sleep. / Mavis and Uncle Gene decide to go on a road trip to visit a restaurant before it closes, but getting there is proving a challenge.

 

“Top Wing / Fried Mean Tomatoes” (6/25/18 N, 10/16/18 DC) – When Mavis gets a position Wendy wanted, their relationship becomes strained. / Mavis attempts to use magic to expel Quasimodo’s mean streak and make him nicer.

 

“Four Monsters and a Funeral / Rainbow Doom” (6/24/18 TT, 10/17/18 DC) – Mavis must hold a phony funeral for Uncle Gene after telling Death that he died. / When Mavis uses a cursed code to beat a video game, the game comes to life to take over the monster world.

 

“Drac to the Future” (6/25/18 N, 10/18/18 DC) – When Kitty ends up sucked into a self-updating history book, Mavis must go back in time to rescue her.

 

“Gorytelling / A Few Good Monsters” (6/25/18 N, 10/22/18 DC) – Mavis hopes impressing an author writing about the hotel will lead to her becoming a full-time manager. / Lydia puts the kids on trial to determine who broke a priceless Dracula family heirloom.

 

“Mummyfest Destiny / Bandages of Brothers” (6/25/18 N, 10/23/18 DC) – Against warnings, Mavis decides to make use of Pedro’s time-freezing amulet. / A rift grows between Pedro and Hank that begins to affect the entire hotel.

 

“Creepover Party / Frankenstein & Son” (6/25/18 N, 10/24/18 DC) – Mavis’ old Ghoul Guide friends are coming to the hotel, meaning they can finally earn their last merit badge. / Frank wants to try dramatic acting so he can win an award, and decides to cast his next film at the hotel.

 

“Fangceañera” (6/25/18 N, 10/25/18 DC) – Mavis wants to spend her 115^th birthday earning her Dracula cape in the dangerous Fangceañera realm, but Drac’s overprotectiveness spoils her plans.

 

Season 2:

“Welcome to Human Park / Must Scream TV” (10/8/19) – Mavis and her friends set out to get themselves scared silly before Halloween. / When Pedro fixes the TV, Mavis ends up trapped inside.

 

“Married to the Blob” (10/9/19) – Mavis intends to throw the best wedding ever for Pedro’s mother and Wendy’s father.

 

“Portrait of Mavis as a Young Vampire / Goo Crush” (101/10/19) – When the kids attempt to fix Mavis’ ruined portrait, they end up causing a bunch of magical problems. / Mavis encourages Wendy to find a crush, but her missing glasses leads to her making a big mistake.

 

“Frankerheads / For Whom the Smell Tolls” (10/11/19) – Hank asks Mavis to get him a rare collectible, but she ends up losing out on it to Klaus. / Puberty gives Mavis “the vapors”, making her repulsive to all the monsters.

 

“Cries and Dolls / Hypnosferatu” (10/15/19) – Mavis’ clingy doll begins to haunt her dreams. / Mavis new hypnosis power causes Donald to sweep Lydia off her feet.

 

“Best Friends Furever / Fantasy Vamp” (10/16/19) – Mavis uses Lydia’s staff to hang out with both Wendy and werewolves Sophie and Charlotte at the same time. / Mavis wins a trip to a Phlegm Ball fantasy camp where she has to put its leader in his place after he insults her friends.

 

“Stepmonsters / Better Know Your Mavis” (10/17/19) – Marvis convinces Pedro and Wendy to get to know their new stepparents. / Wendy competes against Sophie and Charlotte to see who can better care for a sick Mavis.

 

“The Northern Frights / Don’t Fear the Realtor” (10/18/19) – Mavis tricks Uncle Gene to get him away from his constant gaming. / A realtor sets her sights on selling the hotel.

 

“Holy Babies / Aunt Lydia’s New Clothes” (10/21/19) – Lying about their birthdays to get free ice cream has Death turning Mavis and Pedro into babies to fix his own records. / Mavis accidentally ruins Lydia’s new invisibility poncho.

 

“I Only Have Eyes for Goo / Talk Blobbish to Me” (10/22/19) – Mavis takes advantage of Wendy’s mind-reading glasses to get herself a promotion. / Mavis casts a spell to help Pedro learn Blobbish, but accidentally causes everyone else to only speak it instead.

 

“Wand Ambition / Lost in Transylvation” (10/23/19) – Mavis accidentally throws way Tiffany’s magic wand, which Kitty finds and uses to cast a spell on the hotel. / Mavis accidentally invents a new word that gets added to the Vampire Dictionary.

 

“The Song Remains Asleep / Baby Got Hunchback” (10/24/19) – The song Donald sings in his sleep becomes a big hit when used as the hotel’s elevator music. / Quasimodo gets unwanted attention when the kids market and sell his dirt flame recipe without his knowing.

 

“Afterlifestyles of the Rich and Mavis / The Mavysitters Club” (10/25/19) – Mavis is so focused on plans for the Steins’ AniverScary that she ends up losing Frank’s body. / Lydia puts Klaus in charge of wrangling the out-of-control wolf pups.

 

“A Year Without Creepmas” (12/7/19) – When Mavis accidentally causes Krampus to take a vacation, she must team-up with Santa to save Creepmas.

 

“Casualties of Wart / When the Afterlife Gives You Phlegmonade” (10/3/20) – Mavis is invited into the witches’ clique when they mistake her pimple for a wart. / Mavis convinces Sophie and Charlotte to spend time apart when they have a falling out.

 

“Undead Red / Klaus of the Rising Sun” (10/4/20) – Mavis learns the surprising identity of a being that scares humans when they chant his name three times. / Inadvertently saving Mavis from the sun turns Klaus into a hotel hero.

 

“Say Princess to the Dress / The Naming of the Shrew” (10/10/20) – When Mavis sniffs a flower meant for Kitty she becomes a dainty princess. / Mavis takes away everyone’s fear of Lydia when she reveals her real name during a game.

 

“Death Becomes Him / Purse of the Mummy” (10/11/20) – Pedro steals Death’s robe and ends up stuck with his job. / Mavis loses control of the magic purse Shonda got for Wendy’s birthday.

 

“Cape Boss / Diner of the Dead” (10/17/20) – If Mavis can’t show that her cape is well-trained, she could lose it. / Pedro causes a zombie apocalypse when he feeds the zombie staff human food.

 

“Six Feet Undercover Boss / Ghost Effect” (10/18/20) – Everyone suspects the new janitor may be Lydia in disguise spying on them. / Mavis goes safety-crazy to prevent accidents at the hotel.

 

“World Wide Wendy / Stuck in the Middle with Goo” (10/24/20) – Mavis attempts to bring the hotel into the future by going wireless. Competing stepsiblings Pedro and Wendy find themselves in need of a tiebreaker.

 

“The Shawhank Redemption / Friendship is Tragic” (10/25/20) – Hank’s friends attempt to help him conquer his fears. / Mavis’ friends worry they’re drifting apart when she looks forward to a day without them.

 

“Cursery Rhymes / I Did It All for the Cookie” (10/26/20) – The kids try to restore Baby Blendy’s crying before her giggling annoys the whole hotel.

 

“Fangs for the Memories / Sleepers Creepers” (10/27/20) – Mavis accidentally erases the memories of her favorite vampire singer. / Quasimodo’s jar of misfortune cookies gets raided.

 

“Polterguest / Hair Raiser” (10/28/20) – When the hotel is booked solid, Mavis rents out the Cartwright’s house. / Mavis’ attempts at giving herself a haircut results in disaster.

 

“What Lycidias Beneath” (10/29/20) – Mavis accidentally unleashes her ancestor who’s intent on dominating the monster world and the underworld.

 

Shorts:

“Summer Vacation” (6/9/17) – A clip show.

 

“Drac be Trippin’” (6/11/17) – Mavis helps Drac pack for his trip as he’s a terrible packer.

 

“Who’s the Boss” (6/18/17) – Mavis shows off her accomplishments around the hotel to prove she can be the temporary manager.

 

“Ballad of Mavis” (6/24/17) – Mavis lays the scares down on Bad Friday.

 

“Nothing But Web” (7/15/17) – Mavis is determined to beat Drac at truck-shot basketball.

 

“Mavis Monster P.I.” (1/7/20) – Mavis investigates a claim that the wolf pups will become a pack of humans during the Evil Full Moon.

 

“Monster Fear Factor” (1/8/20) – Hank challenges the others to a duel in which they have to face their greatest fears without freaking out.

 

“Holy Rabies” (1/9/20) – Mavis raps her catch-phrase: “Holy Rabies!”

 

“The Mavis Dracula Show” (1/10/20) – Mavis’ latest podcast to her father manages to capture Lydia breaking her own “no dancing” rule.

 

“What’s Cooking?!” (4/16/20) – Wendy, Pedro and Hank compete to see who’ll be the next cooking champ.

 

“Humie Repellent” (4/17/20) – Mavis wants to show Drac she can take initiative and sends him a video pitch for a new idea.

TOM AND JERRY TALES

 

TOM AND JERRY TALES

(The CW, September 23, 2006-March 22, 2008)

 

Turner Entertainment Co., Warner Bros. Animation

 
 
MAIN CAST:
Don Brown – Tom, Droopy (season 1)
Sam Vincent – Jerry, Kid
Michael Donovan – Spike, Droopy (season 2), Topsy
Colin Murdock – Butch, Meathead

Check out the history of Tom and Jerry at this post here.

 

Warner Bros. was banking heavily on Looney Tunes: Back in Action being a success. So much so, they imagined it as the springboard into which they could revitalize the Looney Tunes franchise and re-introduce theatrical shorts. Unfortunately, those plans all fell apart when the movie underperformed at the box office. Warner Bros. immediately cancelled their planned slate of Looney Tunes shorts, but kept production going on the 30 Tom and Jerry ones they commissioned for the next two years before pulling the plug. While “The Karate Guard” did actually manage to make it to theaters as intended, Warner Bros. decided the best place for the rest was on television. A few of the shorts aired on Cartoon Network before being packaged together to air on Kids’ WB as Tom and Jerry Tales.

Spike and Butch pick on Tom and Jerry at the beach.

The series was a return to form for the Tom and Jerry franchise. Each episode featured three shorts with some kind of connecting theme and had Tom (Don Brown, with co-creator William Hanna’s archived yell used a few times) and Jerry (Sam Vincent) engaged in their slapstick-laden rivalry (although they would occasionally team-up against a common foe). A great number of characters from the franchise were revived for the shorts, including Tom’s primary nemesis Spike (Michael Donovan) and his son, Tyke; Butch (Colin Murdock), an alley cat who was sometimes Tom’s friend and other times his rival for Jerry; Tom’s equally-silent love interest Toodles Galore; Tom’s owner Mrs. Two-Shoes (a modified version of the racially-charged Mammy Two Shoes, voiced by Nicole Oliver); young mouse Nibbles (Reece Thompson & Chantal Strand); and frequent appearances by Droopy Dog (Brown & Donovan). Character designs were handled by Dan Haskett, Frank Molieri, and Tony Cervone, and while they adhered to the most up-to-date models of the characters, occasionally they would slip back into earlier designs in various episodes. Despite having credited voice actors, Tom and Jerry didn’t speak like in the disastrous Tom and Jerry: The Movie.  They only spoke in the short “Kitty Hawked” as it relied on them relaying a story to an audience on and through the screen.

Taking the battle to cyberspace.

Tom and Jerry Tales debuted on The CW as part of the Kids’ WB programming block on September 23, 2006; although it did air in markets outside of the United States earlier in the year. It would be the first Tom and Jerry show produced by Warner Bros. since their acquisition of the MGM properties through the merger of Turner Entertainment and Time Warner. The series was very well-received due to its harkening back to the franchise’s earlier days. The writing and animation by Yearim Productions Co., Ltd, Lotto Animation, Toon City Animation, Inc. and Rough Draft Studios were praised. A second season was ordered and brought the total number of episodes to 26 for the course of the series; with 78 shorts total (some of which served as updates or contained similarities to earlier entries of the franchise).

Jerry model sheet.

Co-creator Joseph Barbera, who worked on “The Karate Guard”, served as an executive producer for the first season and received story credit for “The Itch” before he passed away in December of 2006. The series was written by Cervone, Charles Schneider, Eric Donald, Jim Gomez, Richard Pursel, Robert Ramirez, Matt Wayne, Bradley Zweig, Tom Minton, Earl Kress, Meredith Jennings-Offen, Mark Turosz, Chris Painter, Joe Purdy, Christopher Keenan, Eric Shaw and T.J. House, who also directed and storyboarded some of the season 2 episodes. Minton and Pursel served as story editors, with Painter joining in the second season.  “The Karate Guard” co-producer and co-director and voice of Tom Spike Brandt also joined in season 2 as a writer, director, character designer and storyboarder. The series’ theme and first season music were composed by Tom Erba, with Gordon Goodwin taking over the music for the second season.

Tom being driven crazy by "The Itch".

Any chance of a third season was likely killed by the fact that Kids’ WB was on the way out when the second season was due to finish airing. Reruns of the series survived the block’s transition to The CW4Kids, remaining on the network until September of 2008. The series would return in reruns on Cartoon Network in 2011 where the series was able to be broadcast in the widescreen aspect ratio it was produced in due to the changing television technology.

The Nintendo DS game cover.

A video game based on the show was released for the Nintendo DS as a 3D platformer and Game Boy Advance as a 2D platformer. Developed by Sensory Sweep Studios and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, the game saw the player control Jerry with the objective of getting Tom into trouble and kicked out of the house. 26 shorts were released across 6 DVD volumes between 2006 and 2009 (the United Kingdom releases had slightly different numberings), of which the first 3 were collected and re-released together in 2009 and were all re-released later in two-packs. Volume 1 was also re-released as part of Tom and Jerry Fun Pack in 2011. 12 segments were included on volumes 2 and 3 of Fur Flying Adventures in 2011, with 9 more in In the Dog House in 2012 and 2 more in Summer Holidays in 2012. The complete first season was released in 2012. In 2010, the short “Game of Mouse & Cat” was included in Tom and Jerry: Deluxe Anniversary Collection. The complete first season was released in 2012. The series was made available to stream on Boomerang SD, Boomerang’s Amazon Channel, DIRECTV, iTunes and Amazon Prime Video.

 

EPISODE GUIDE:
 
“Tiger Cat / Feeding Time / Polar Peril” (9/23/06) – After Tom accidentally wrecks his art, a monkey stealthily paints Tom to look like a tiger. / Tom must keep Jerry from feeding the zoo animals or else Spike will fire him. / An overprotective polar bear becomes Jerry’s defender.

“Joy Riding Jokers / Cat Got Your Luggage? / City Dump Chumps” (9/30/06) – Mistaken as parking valets, Tom and Jerry take Spike’s car on a joyride. / Trashing a hotel lobby leads to Tom being made a bellboy to pay for the damages. / Tom and Butch battle over who gets Jerry in a junkyard.

 
“Way-Off Broadway / Egg Beats / Cry Uncle” (10/7/06) – Tom and Jerry compete as buskers to try and out-earn each other. / Tired of the city noise drowning out his music, Jerry moves to Tom’s farm where the music causes Tom’s pet hen to rapidly lay eggs. / Jerry’s uncle Pecos Pest comes for a visit and keeps him and Tom up with his annoying singing.
 
“Bats What I Like About the South / Fraidy Cat Scat / Tomb It May Concern” (10/28/06) – Jerry uses a bat that resembles him to put a scare into Tom. / Jerry pretends to be a ghost in order to scare away Tom after he buys the haunted house he lives in. / Tom follows Jerry to an ancient tomb where they disturb and anger the mummy within.
 
“Dine-O-Sores / Freaky Tiki / Prehisterics” (11/4/06) – Tom and Jerry end up shipwrecked on an island full of dinosaur eggs. / Under mind control, Tom and Jerry enter a Hawaiian volcano where they meet Pele, goddess of flame. / The rivalry transcends generations to Tom and Jerry’s prehistoric ancestors.
 
“Digital Dilemma / Hi, Robot / Tomcat Jetpack” (11/11/06) – A lightning strike sends Tom and Jerry into their new computer. / Jerry falls in love with the robot female mouse Tom builds to trap him. / Jerry and Spike team-up to take Tom down after he acquires a jetpack.
 
“Fire Breathing Tom Cat / Medieval Menace / The Itch” (2/3/07) – Jerry ends up getting Sir Tom eaten by the dragon he’s sent to slay, which ends up with Tom acquiring the dragon’s flame breath for himself. / A chase ending up in a medieval castle goes magical when Tom and Jerry get ahold of a magic wand. / Jerry wants to join a band of rats whose music causes everyone to become itchy.
 
“Ho, Ho, Horrors / Doggone Hill Hog / Northern Light Fish Fight” (2/10/07) – Tom and Jerry battling it out in Tom’s dream ends up with them wrecking the house for real. / Spike claims Tom and Jerry’s sledding hill for himself. / Ice fishing at the North Pole leads to Tom trying to steal Jerry’s fish.
 
“Cat Nebula / Martian Mice / Spaced Out Cat” (2/17/07) – Jerry and Nibbles encounter an alien squid Tom while traveling through space. / Giant mice from Mars abduct Tom and Jerry. / Tom attempts to become the first to reach the moon in order to impress Toodles and win her back from Spike.
 
“Octo Suave / Beach Bully Bingo / Treasure Map Scrap” (2/24/07) – An underwater chase leaves Tom looking like a mermaid and attractive to an octopus. / A relaxing day at the beach for Tom and Jerry is interrupted by Butch and Spike. / Tom attempts to get some sunken treasure for himself and cut Jerry out of the deal.
 
“Destruction Junction / Battle of the Power Tools / Jackhammered Cat” (3/3/07) – An extreme case of splinters sees Spike put in charge of finishing a building’s construction. / A suddenly rich Tom and Jerry try to outdo each other while building their neighboring mansions. / Tom and Jerry attempt to get at a feast Spike is guarding at a construction site.
 
“Tin Cat of Tomorrow / Beefcake Tom / Tomcat Superstar” (4/28/07) – Mrs. Two Shoes gets a robotic cat to catch Jerry. / Tom enrolls in a gym to get into better shape to catch Jerry. / Tired of a life of fame, Tom retires to the countryside.
 
“Piranha Be Loved by You / Spook House Mouse / Abracadumb” (5/5/07) – Jerry sicks a piranha on Tom as Tom tries to win Toodles’ affection. / A chase leads Tom and Jerry into an amusement park haunted house. / Tom and Jerry battle with magic.
 
Season 2:
“More Powers to You / Catch Me Though You Can’t / Power Tom” (2/22/07) – Tom must protect a team of superheroes’ power rings from an evil dog. / Jerry gains super speed, making him uncatchable. / Tom and Jerry accidentally end up in the lair of a superheroine.
 
“Zent Out of Shape / I Dream of Meanie / Which Witch” (9/29/07) – Jerry constantly foils Tom’s attempts to achieve inner peace. / Sultan Tom uses genie Spike to grant his wishes and remove Jerry from his palace. / Tom is caught in a feud between two witches and must catch Jerry for one of their potions.
 
“Don’t Bring Your Pet to School Day / Cat Show Catastrophe / The Cat Whisperer with Casper Lombardo” (10/6/07) – Nancy brings Tom to school and tells him to behave so she’ll win a gold store, but that’s made difficult when another student brings in Jerry. / Jerry and Nibbles try to spoil Tom’s chances at winning a cat show. / When Tom accidentally ruins her tea party, Mrs. Two Shoes hires him a trainer.
 
“Adventures in Penguin Sitting / Cat of Prey / Jungle Love” (10/13/07) – Jerry takes in a penguin that escaped from the zoo. / Tom sneaks into an animal park to make a meal out of its star: Jerry. / Jerry is protected by a baby rhinoceros while a snake falls in love with Tom’s tail.
 
“Invasion of the Body Slammers / Monster Con / Over the River and Boo the Woods” (10/27/07) – A shape-shifting alien emerges from a ship that lands next to Tom and Jerry’s house. / Abraham Van Helsing crashes a monster convention, but all his assistant Tom is interest in is catching Jerry. / A fishing trip takes Tom and Jerry to a haunted forest where they encounter a bat creature.
 
“Xtreme Trouble / A Life Less Guarded / Sasquashed” (11/3/07) – Jerry rides his skateboard to catch a cheese truck with Tom in hot pursuit. / Jerry sabotages Tom as he tries out for a lifeguard job against Droopy. / A camping trip has Tom, Jerry and Tuffy meet Bigfoot.
 
“Summer Squashing / League of Cats / Little Big Mouse” (11/10/07) – Tom must protect a garden from Jerry and his clan. / Butch invites Tom to join a secret organization of cats that unite to catch mice. / Tom gets blamed when Jerry steals all the food from the refrigerator, but Jerry ends up too bothered by an ant to enjoy it.
 
“Bend it Like Thomas / Endless Bummer / Game Set Match’ (12/1/07) – Tom’s enthusiasm for soccer bothers the neighborhood. / Tom and Jerry compete against Droopy in a surfing competition. / Spike forces Tom to teach Tyke tennis.
 
“The Declaration of Independunce / Kitty Hawked / 24 Karat Kat” (12/8/07) – Tom must retrieve the Declaration of Independence after using it to send Jerry off in a paper airplane. / Museum tour guides Tom and Jerry recount their parts in the Wright Brothers’ flight. / Tom and Butch attempt to steal Jerry’s gold claim.
 
“Hockey Schtick / Snow Brawl / Snow Mouse” (2/2/08) – Jerry freezes the pond to skate, but Tom wants to play hockey. / Magic hats end up making Tom and Jerry’s snowball fight more interesting. / Tom and Jerry encounter a giant abominable snow mouse in the Himalayas.
 
“DJ Jerry / Kitty Cat Blues / Flamenco Fiasco” (2/9/08) – Jerry hosts a party in the record store Tom is meant to guard. / Tom gives Jerry as a gift to the girl he likes. / Jerry and his girlfriend compete against Tom and Toodles in a flamenco contest.
 
“You’re Lion / Kangadoofus / Monkey Chow” (3/8/08) – Tom visits his lion relatives to give Jerry as a gift, but they both end up on the menu. / Jerry is adopted by an overprotective momma kangaroo. / Tom and Mrs. Two Shoes move to get away from Jerry, but he follows them and causes trouble with a monkey.
 
“Game of Mouse & Cat / Babysitting Blues / Catfish Follies” (3/22/08) – Tom and Jerry play virtual games in which their roles are reversed. / Tom and Jerry’s nephews prove to be a handful. / A fishing trip leads to an encounter with catfish Butch, who wants to eat Jerry while Tom wants to eat him.