The new Tom and Jerry movie is chasing a different kind of story.
In 2024, it was reported that Rashida Jones, Will McCormack, and Michael Govier had been tapped to write a new Tom and Jerry movie for Warner Bros. Animation. Jones and McCormack have previously worked together as writers, directors, and producers on a wide range of projects, including Toy Story 4, Celeste and Jesse Forever, and The Invite, the last of which is a new A24 movie.
During an interview with Variety, the writers have now provided an update about their Tom and Jerry film, which will take the route of being a relationship comedy between the titular cat and mouse. They are rescued by human characters who fall in love, and while they try to break up the relationship, McCormack says it is only because they wanted to be loved. He also compares it to being a romantic comedy akin to La La Land. Check out his comments below:
Tom and Jerry do whatever they can to kill the other or to break up [their owners]. It’s a rom-com in the style of La La Land. Why are these characters fighting so much? Because they want to be seen, and they want to be loved. The logline of our film is literally “Love is worth fighting for.”
While the two characters sometimes work together, and there are many fan theories about them actually being best friends, they tend to be involved in a rivalry that involves a seemingly endless chase. Based on McCormack’s comments, the new movie will initially see them being sworn enemies as per usual, but will shift into a deeper exploration of their dynamic, the need to be seen and loved, and presumably saving the romantic relationship between their owners.
A romantic comedy in the style of La La Land may be unusual for Tom and Jerry, but it is familiar territory for Jones and McCormack. They wrote the script for Celeste and Jesse Forever, which is a romantic comedy-drama film, and they also wrote The Invite, which is a relationship comedy centered on two couples, one of whom is dangerously close to being divorced.
If the new Tom and Jerry is anything like La La Land, it will be in good company. The 2016 movie starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone won six Academy Awards and received 14 nominations. It was also a massive box office hit, grossing over $447 million worldwide after being made on a $30 million production budget.
Tom and Jerry began as animated short films created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. It went on to become a full-fledged, long-running franchise containing numerous movies and television shows. The most recent film iteration is the animated Tom and Jerry: Forbidden Compass, which debuted at the 2025 Shanghai Film Festival. In 2021, there was a live-action and animation hybrid movie, with human characters played by Chloë Grace Moretz, Michael Peña, Colin Jost, Rob Delaney, and Ken Jeong.
Beyond Tom and Jerry and her other aforementioned collaborations with McCormack, Jones is known for her acting roles as Ann Perkins in Parks and Recreation, Karen Filippelli in The Office, Marylin Delpy in The Social Network, Celeste in Celeste and Jesse Forever, Allison Becker in Silo season 1, and Amanda in Black Mirror season 7.
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