The Story Process: Director Tim Story's 'Tom and Jerry' Brings 80-year-old Cartoon Icons Into Today
Tim Story is no stranger in dealing with beloved and perennial characters, nor is he a stranger to the ‘Tom and Jerry’ dynamic
Tackling the MCU before there was even an MCU seems like one of the most daunting tasks a director could take on in hindsight. There was no guidance from a Kevin Feige, no formula to adhere to, just beloved characters, a 100 million dollar budget, and the highest of expectations of audience members. That kind of pressure could break any young director, and yet Tim Story did it twice, not only helming ‘Fantastic Four’ in 2005, but doing it again in 2007 with the sequel ‘Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer’.
Tim is seemingly a glutton for punishment in this regard, as in his newest film, he shapes the latest version of that iconic cat and mouse team, Tom and Jerry. Another massive budget, more beloved characters, high expectations and fans awaiting the next great family-blockbuster. As he sits for what is undoubtedly his thirtieth interview for the day, you can tell how much energy this filmmaker has, and how much passion for what he does, regardless of budget or cast or expectations… He’s a fan.
”These characters are 80-plus years old. And as I was watching them every afternoon [as a kid], I'm amazed at how… it's really great to be given the opportunity to bring these iconic characters to screen.” Story recaps watching the reruns on television in the 80’s, and how much joy it brought him as a kid. Yet as an adult, there is that word again… ‘responsibility’, so how do you take something that almost everyone experienced on the small screen originally and create a massive big-budget spectacle out of what is essentially a simple concept used for short animated vignettes?
Story explains his process: ”I went back and watch all the original shorts, you know, it's not often that you have a film that has so much, ‘base material’ that you can choose from, I went back and kind of study that. And once you feel like you got the spirit of it again, you kind of go out and you figure ‘Hey, how do we expand their world, they always fall into and for the most part, a house?’ And so we were also first thing you do is you give them a bigger stage. And then of course, you put that stage inside of them. The biggest city, the craziest city, you can find the city that gives you the most opportunity for mayhem. If you're going to have them destroy something, why not New York? So, you know, what's, what's more iconic than Tom and Jerry, and what's more iconic than New York?”
The word ‘iconic’ has already been overused, but part of what makes these two icons is the dynamic, the partnership, the fact that they are ‘frenemies’ as the tag line of the poster indicates. While this version of Tom and Jerry is set in modern-day New York and stars massive celebrity talents like Chloe Grace Moretz, Michael Peña and SNL’s Colin Jost, it is still about that cat and mouse. Once again, this is just part of the ‘Story process’ as Tim is as familiar with the buddy-dynamic as he is with massive productions and special effects. Films such as ‘Ride Along’ and its sequel, and ‘Taxi’ (which also featured a former SNL Weekend Update jockey, Jimmy Fallon) are the classic dynamic of two people who don’t get along, but ultimately have to. Story describes his comfort with that story dynamic: “There's a part of this where it felt like it's in the right line; Two [characters] that are gonna fight with each other, but at the end of the day, they're going to come together and kind of save the day. And I just kind of love that theme.”
A Warner Bros. Pictures and Warner Animation Group presentation, “Tom and Jerry” is slated for release in theaters and on HBO Max on February 26, 2021.
To see the full interview, please check out the video below:
