Review: "Tom and Jerry: The Lost Dragon" Needs More Tom and Jerry

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 10 (of 2015) by Leroy Douresseaux

Tom and Jerry: The Lost Dragon (2014) – straight-to-video
Running time:  57 minutes
PRODUCERS/DIRECTORS:  Spike Brandt and Tony Cervone
WRITER:  Brian Swenlin
EDITOR:  Kyle Stafford
COMPOSER: Michael Tavera
ANIMATION STUDIO:  Yearim Productions Co. Ltd.

ANIMATION/FANTASY/COMEDY and FAMILY/MUSICAL

Starring:  (voices) Kelly Stables, Vicki Lewis, Jim Cummings, Laraine Newman, Gregg Ellis, Jess Harnell, Richard McGonagle, Wayne Knight, and Dee Bradley Baker

Tom and Jerry: The Lost Dragon is a 2014 direct-to-video animated film starring the famous cartoon cat and mouse duo, Tom and Jerry.  Produced by Warner Bros. Animation, The Lost Dragon finds Tom and Jerry living with a young witch, as the trio tries to protect a young dragon.

Once upon a time, Drizelda the witch (Vicki Lewis) threatened a small hamlet that is the home of a group of blue elves.  Her evil plan is stopped by the wizard, Kaldorf the Great (Jim Cummings).  Years later, Drizelda's niece, Athena (Kelly Stables), operates Athena's Home for Unwanted Animals on the edge of the hamlet.  Tom and Jerry, two of the animals living with her, find a dragon's egg that soon hatches.  Suddenly, Tom is “mama” to a baby dragon that Athena names, Puffy (Kelly Stables).  However, Drizelda is determined to steal Puffy as part of her new diabolical plan.

Tom and Jerry: The Lost Dragon blends elements of the Lord of the Rings film and of Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty.  Sometimes, it is hard to tell where the Tolkien ends and the Disney begins.  The crocodile from Walt Disney's Peter Pan, or one that really looks like it, also appears as one of Athena's “unwanted animals.”  The Lost Dragon's animation even looks like a Disney house-style.

Beyond that, there is nothing noteworthy about Tom and Jerry: The Lost Dragon.  It has a few cute songs, and a few of the characters are mildly amusing.  The villain, Drizelda, is half-menancing, and her henchman, a trio of cats:  Tin, Pan, and Alley, steal a few scenes and provide some comic relief.

Surprisingly, for so average a Tom and Jerry cartoon, Tom and Jerry are actually pretty good in this movie.  Their antics seem natural and fluid, whereas much of this movie seems stiff.  I think Tom and Jerry: The Lost Dragon needs more Tom and Jerry.

5 of 10
C+

Tuesday, February 17, 2015


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