Tom and Jerry Special Shorts

Tom and Jerry Special Shorts is an American animated television series of shorts based on Tom and Jerry that premiered and ended on HBO Max on February 20, 2021, making it the shortest-lived of any Tom and Jerry-related shows.^[1] The series is developed by Peter Browngardt and produced by Warner Bros. Animation. The shorts featured the archived uncredited voices of William Hanna alongside Andrew Dickman.

Tom and Jerry Special Shorts
Genre	Comedy Slapstick
Based on	Tom and Jerry by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera
Developed by	Peter Browngardt
Written by	Andrew Dickman David Gemmill Mike Ruocco Kenny Pittenger Johnny Ryan Jacob Fleisher Ryan Khatam
Directed by	Kenny Pittenger David Gemmill
Voices of	William Hanna Andrew Dickman Keone Young
Music by	Carl Johnson Joshua Moshier
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of episodes	2
Production
Executive producers	Peter Browngardt Sam Register
Producers	Rebecca Palatnik Alex Kirwan
Editor	Nick Simotas
Running time	4–5 minutes
Production companies	Turner Entertainment Co. Warner Bros. Animation
Original release
Network	HBO Max
Release	February 20, 2021 (2021-02-20)
Related
The Tom and Jerry Show (2014–21) Tom and Jerry in New York (2021)

The shorts are featured in the style of Looney Tunes Cartoons, another short series developed by Browngardt.^[2]

Cast and characters

Main

• William Hanna (voice recordings) and Andrew Dickman^[3] as:
  • Tom Cat: Tom is variously depicted as a house cat doing his job, and a victim of Jerry's tricks, sometimes within the same short.^[a]
  • Jerry Mouse: Jerry lives in the same house as Tom's owners, allowing chaos and destruction to ensue while he and Tom fight.^[a]

Notable guest stars

• Keone Young as Sushi Chef: Appearing in "On a Roll", the character is a simple chef that was cooking food and notices Jerry stealing some of his sushi, leading to Tom being ordered to get that mouse.

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Storyboard by	Music by	Original release date	Prod. code
1	"On a Roll"	Kenny Pittenger	Andrew Dickman, Kenny Pittenger, Johnny Ryan and Jacob Fleisher	Andrew Dickman	Joshua Moshier	February 20, 2021 (2021-02-20)	121
In Japan, the local Sushi Chef with Tom notice Jerry scurrying around the Chef's restaurant. In order to earn Chef's keep, Tom determines to catch the sushi-stealing mouse.
2	"The House That Cat Built"	David Gemmill	Ryan Khatam, Mike Ruocco, David Gemmill, Johnny Ryan and Jacob Fleisher	Ryan Khatam and Mike Ruocco	Carl Johnson	February 20, 2021 (2021-02-20)	123
Following Tom's extra-deluxe, extra-large cat castle destroying a "Hole Sweet Hole" portrait in Jerry's house, Jerry invades the castle. Tom becomes determined to get Jerry out of his own luxury.

Production and reception

Peter Browngardt developed the shorts after doing so for Looney Tunes Cartoons.

In February 2021, the shorts debuted on HBO Max with no prior announcement. According to Andrew Dickman, the series was worked on the crews spare time while on the production of Looney Tunes Cartoons.^[4] Thought to be promotional marketing for the Tom & Jerry film, the shorts received positive reception from fans and critics.^[5][1]

FR Dougal of CartoonMilk, an animation critic and a self-described lifelong Tom and Jerry fan, gave the shorts a negative review. Despite praising their art style's reminiscence of the mid-1940s character designs and numerous gags, he criticized the shorts' character animation, music, and inconsistent sound design, including the overuse of the William Hanna Tom scream.^[6]

Removal from HBO Max

One month after the series' release, it left the service.^[7] The reason for its removal from HBO Max is unknown. The series is no longer listed as its own program, but as two extras on the page for the Tom & Jerry film.

See also

• The Tom & Jerry Show (1975)
• The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show
• Tom & Jerry Kids
• Tom and Jerry Tales
• The Tom and Jerry Show (2014)
• Tom and Jerry in New York

Notes

1. As with The Tom and Jerry Show (2014) and other Tom and Jerry television series, Hanna and Barbara's voices are archived following their death. They also aren't credited for their performances.