When I was a kid, Tom and Jerry was one of my favorite cartoons. I don’t know why. I mean, I’d love to tell you that it was because it was quality entertainment, but I suspect it was because I enjoyed watching the little guy get to win for a change. The fact that the little guy often won with the help of a large mallet was even better, of course. (Yes, my other favorite cartoon was the perpetual battle between Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner.)
Still, despite my affinity for the cat-and-mouse duo, I find this recent movie news a little… perplexing:
Warner Bros. is turning to Tom and Jerry to create its own “Alvin and the Chipmunks”-like family franchise.
Plans are to bring the constantly warring cat and mouse to life as CG characters that run around in live-action settings.
Studio-based Dan Lin, currently producing the upcoming “Sherlock Holmes” and exec producer on “Terminator: Salvation,” will adapt the classic Hanna-Barbera property as an origin story that reveals how Tom and Jerry first meet and form their rivalry before getting lost in Chicago and reluctantly working together during an arduous journey home.
First of all, getting lost in Chicago and working together to get home…? And second… didn’t the Chipmunks movie kind of bomb? But hey, what do I know….
It’s baaaa-aaaaack!
I’ve been meaning to tell you about this one for a few days—it seems that
I’ll never forget the look on my oldest child’s face, the first time she found a Highlights magazine in the pediatrician’s waiting room and brought it to me to read to her. “You know,” I said, as she got settled on my lap, “I used to read this magazine when I was a little girl.”
I think I saw the original
Take a trip in the way-back machine with me: It’s a Saturday morning—early—and two young children are parked inches from the (black and white) television with bowls of cereal. Some music starts up on the screen, and before you know it, the little girl is singing along at the top of her voice. “TRA LA LA! LA LA LA LA! TRA LA LA LA LALA LA LA!” The music is certainly cheerful, but up until that point, the parents in the house were sleeping… and they don’t wake up all that cheerful, regardless of the soundtrack. Oops.
I don’t consider myself a Star Wars geek, not really. Like any child of the 70s, I went to the original movie and was wowed. The effects! The story! That hunky Harrison Ford! (Well, okay, maybe that last sentiment didn’t come along until much later. Give me a break; I was only six when it hit the theaters.)
Do you know what you’re doing this Sunday?
I think it’s already been pretty well-established that I am a fool for all things muppets, so you’ll just excuse me if I’m overly excited about the next couple pieces of trivia.
Listen closely, because this is the only time you’ll ever hear me say this: I sort of wished, for a moment, that I lived in Minnesota. I know! But the thing is, Minnesota is the only place where one can go see