Tom and Jerry: A Nutcracker Tale is a 2007 American direct-to-video animated Christmas fantasy comedy film. The film was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and Turner Entertainment Co., and is the first Tom and Jerry film directed by Spike Brandt and Tony Cervone. It serves as the fifth direct-to-video Tom and Jerry film and is a semi-adaptation of 1816 short story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King by E. T. A. Hoffmann, with Jerry in the role of the Nutcracker and Tom in the role of one of the Mouse King s (who is reimagined as a cat) henchmen.

Aside from being the last Tom and Jerry film to be filmed in a 1:33:1 Full-Screen format, A Nutcracker Tale was the last animated production that Joseph Barbera worked on before his death on December 18, 2006, and as such, the film is dedicated to his memory. This was also the last animated direct-to-video film released under the Warner Bros. Family Entertainment label before Warner Bros. ceased using the brand s name altogether in 2009.

On August 13, 2020, it was announced that the film would be released on Blu-ray and special edition DVD, and paired with Tom and Jerry: Santa s Little Helpers. The bundle released on October 27, 2020.

Plot

After watching The Nutcracker, Jerry and his ward Tuffy find themselves pulled into the story. The stage transforms into a wintry wonderland where the toys all enjoy a dinner feast. Tom and the other cats ruin the feast and trap the toys while Jerry, Paulie and Nelly try to stop them. Tom traps a Ballerina toy in a cage and brings her to the Cat King, who unsuccessfully asks her to dance for him. Tuffy, Jerry, and their new friends Paulie the pixie and Nelly the toy pony decide to follow a star to meet the Toy Maker. Tom chases them through several magical realms. Nelly is captured by the cats and she tells them where the others are headed. The remaining three make it to the Toy Maker and he fixes Paulie, who suffered damage during the journey. The Toy Maker gives them a key that allows them to awaken an army of toy soldiers. The three depart with their new army to take back the kingdom. When the cats attempt to escape the army of toy soldiers, the Ballerina appears with the other toys and leads them in an army against the Cat King.

Voice cast

• Spike Brandt (uncredited) and William Hanna (archive sound, uncredited) as Tom Cat and Jerry Mouse
• Tony Cervone as Butch Cat
• Chantal Strand as Tuffy
• Ian James Corlett as Paulie
• Kathleen Barr as Nelly
• Tara Strong as La Petite Ballerina
• Garry Chalk as King of the Cats
• Trevor Devall as Lackey
• Richard Newman as The Toymaker
• Mark Oliver as Dr. Malevolent

Production

According to Brandt, Joseph Barbera decided on a Nutcracker adaptation as he thought its music fit perfectly with Tom and Jerry. The Amazon page for the DVD appeared sometime in August 2007.

Widescreen

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Tom and Jerry: A Nutcracker Tale was the fourth Tom and Jerry film to be filmed in high-definition widescreen (the first three being Tom and Jerry: Blast Off to Mars, Tom and Jerry: The Fast and the Furry and Tom and Jerry: Shiver Me Whiskers), although the Region 1 DVD and the U.S. version of Boomerang were in full screen (cropping the left and right of the image). The film is broadcast in widescreen on Cartoon Network in the United States, as well as a Blu-ray version.

Reception

Paul Mavis of DVD Talk gave the film a very positive review saying Tom and Jerry: A Nutcracker Tale earns marks for embracing an operatic storyline while keeping the essential punish-Tom-with-pain gags that made Tom and Jerry such a successful franchise for decades. Meanwhile, Nick Lyons criticized it, stating Tom And Jerry: A Nutcracker Tale is a rushed animated feature that was simply made to cash in on the Christmas holiday. Avoid this one and rent or buy a holiday classic like the animated Grinch.

Renee Schonfeld of Common Sense Media rated the film 4 out of 5 stars (making it the highest rated Tom and Jerry film on the site) saying especially at holiday time, for kids who understand cartoon action, it s a delightful entertainment. Teens and grown-ups might like it, too.

Year	2007
ReleaseDate	2007-11-20
RuntimeMins	47
RuntimeStr	47min
Plot	Tom and his army of stray cats take over Jerry’s magical kingdom of living toys. Chased by Tom and his cronies, Jerry must find the Toymaker and get help to win his kingdom back before sunrise when the window of opportunity closes.
Directors	Spike Brandt, Tony Cervone
Writers	Joseph Barbera, Spike Brandt, William Hanna
Stars	Chantal Strand, Ian James Corlett, Kathleen Barr
Produced by	Joseph Barbera,Spike Brandt,Tony Cervone,Bobbie Page,Sander Schwartz
Film Editing by	Rob Desales
Casting By	Michael Donovan
Production Management	John Diaz,Toshiyuki Hiruma,Ben Kalina,Andy Lewis,Scott Rowden,Howard Schwartz
Art Department	Spike Brandt
Sound Department	Ed Collins,Jeff O. Collins,Kelly Ann Foley,Michele Garcia,Mike Garcia,Alexander Hall,Robert Hargreaves,John Hegedes,Mark Keatts,Wilson Martinez,Preston Oliver,Fred Salinas
Animation Department	Spike Brandt,Jan Browning,Edgar Carlos,Tony Cervone,Geno DuBois,Chuck Gefre,Jeff Hall,Millet Henson,Ben Kalina,Mi-Jeong Kim,Young-Tae Kim,Yuna Diane Kim,Dong-Young Lee,Se-Wook Lee,Sul Young Lee,Mike Mangan,Chuck Martin,Frank Molieri,Gary Mouri,Doug Ninneman,Eric Nordberg,Jin-hee Park,Seungjoo Park,Justin Schultz,Eric Semones,Si-Tae Seong,Jesse Silver,Ann Sorensen,Kirk Tingblad
Casting Department	Liz Carrol
Editorial Department	Tim Iverson,Bradford Keatts,Christopher D. Lozinski,Michael Miscio,Justin Schultz
Music Department	Dirk Brossé,The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia,Jeffrey Chestek,Suzi Civita,Matt Conant,Michael Eberhard,Peter H. Gistelinck,Ken Gregory,Joe Hannigan,Martha Hitchins,Jeanette Honig,Robbi Kearns,Mark Keefer,J. Robert Loy,John Mauceri,Christina Pisel,Tim Starnes,George Stevens
Additional Crew	Bradford Keatts,Christopher Keenan,Andrea Romano,Linda Steiner,Dane M. Taylor,Amy E. Wagner
Thanks	Joseph Barbera
Genres	Animation, Action, Adventure
Companies	Turner Entertainment, Warner Bros. Animation
Countries	USA
ContentRating	G
ImDbRating	6.3
ImDbRatingVotes	1759
Keywords	tom the cat character,jerry the mouse character,ballerina,cat and mouse,butch the cat character