When I saw the Tom and Jerry marathon on Boomerang last week, I had no idea that there was a Tom and Jerry/Sherlock Holmes movie. And I knew I had to see it, as a great fan of Tom and Jerry and Sherlock Holmes. I was not expecting it to be as good as the original Tom and Jerry cartoons or any of the Sherlock Holmes adaptations with Basil Rathbone or Jeremy Brett, either way it would have been a tall order. And it wasn't. It was too short, the ending felt rushed and I didn't care for the rather deflated character design of Miss Red. However it was a decent movie in my view.
As far as Tom and Jerry movies go it is not as good as their takes on Wizard of Oz or the Nutcracker or Blast off to Mars, but I'd put it on par with Shiver Me Whiskers and Magic Ring and leagues above Fast and the Furry and Tom and Jerry: The Movie. The animation apart from Miss Red is bright and colourful and the character designs are good. The music brings the right amount of snap and energy, while the script is witty and quite intelligent. I loved the story on the whole, it skips along nicely and never felt padded. Not only that, the mystery was a fun and interesting one and on the whole reasonably true to Conan Doyle's writing, and Tom and Jerry's comic and violent shenanigans while not classic status are still very funny. Spike and especially Droopy bring some inspired laughs also. I do agree though that Moriaty, who is still quite fun, is a much cleverer villain than his final plan lets on. Holmes and Watson are not as prominent as Tom and Jerry here, but it was a joy to see them, Holmes is still shrewd and intelligent and Watson while somewhat bumbling is also thoughtful. I did love the Bruce Nigel bit, a reference to Nigel Bruce, the actor who played Watson to Rathbone's Holmes. Tom and Jerry are just great, Jerry is both cruel yet sweet and Tom takes the violence and laughs well, his facial expressions even without saying a word are priceless. Spike and Droopy are also fun especially in the chase of Tom, Jerry and Miss Red and their attempts to catch the villains before the other does. The voice acting I can't fault either, Michael York, John Rhys Davies and Malcolm McDowell are all wonderful.
In conclusion, could have been better with a longer length especially but still a fun decent film that is an interesting watch for anybody into Tom and Jerry, Sherlock Holmes or both. 7/10 Bethany Cox
