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The recent Tom and Jerry Tales television series from Warner Bros. Animation attempts to revive the spirit of the original shorts of the 1940s and 1950s while also bringing the characters into the present day. It certainly sounds like an impossible task... especially with limited made-for-TV animation budgets. Does it succeed? Well, the results are mixed to be sure. It is certainly much better than the three previous attempts to bring the famed cat-and-mouse to television. It never quite achieves the greatness of the originals of Hanna and Barbera, but the show still has moments where it really shines. Tom and Jerry Tales debuted in most parts of the world (except the USA) in 2005. It was made at the request of foreign television networks who had audiences hungry for some new Tom and Jerry material. The show didn't find an outlet in the United States until the Kids' WB network picked it up in the fall of '06. The show quickly became a surprise hit and one of the highest rated shows on the network's line-up.

Each half-hour episode includes three new shorts starring the ever-feuding Tom Cat and Jerry Mouse. Many of the supporting characters from the original MGM shorts make appearances including Butch the alley cat, Spike the bulldog (oddly, son Tyke is nowhere to be seen), and Jerry's nephew, Nibbles. Even Tex Avery's Droopy Dog makes a cameo in one of the shorts. There is still plenty of the slapstick mayhem you'd expect from T&J (albeit toned down for modern TV standards). The animation quality seems to be a cut above typical modern Saturday morning cartoon fare. However, the music scores are very weak and uninspired (a problem that plagues every Tom and Jerry revival it seems). The total opposite of the fast paced, jazzy music scores Scott Bradley provided for the duo's original antics. I actually think some livelier music scores would have helped these cartoons out quite a bit.

With only a few exceptions, I wasn't all that impressed with most of the cartoons on the first Tom and Jerry Tales DVD. I was pleasantly surprised to find Volume 2 had a higher ratio of hits to misses. The cartoons I didn't care for usually threw Tom and Jerry into a generic plot line that didn't really suit them (and would have worked just as well with any other cartoon character) or when the writers would introduce a supporting character into the story that would just talk constantly (the first short on this DVD, "Octo-Suave", featuring a Pepe Le Pew knock-off octopus is guilty of this, too). Luckily, at only seven minutes apiece even the weakest of these new cartoons doesn't drag on for too long.

Highlights on this collection include a medieval tale called "Fire Breathing Tom Cat" that follows Sir Tom's quest to slay a dragon; "Beach Bully Bingo" has Tom and Jerry taking a break from their typical chasing for a day of fun at the beach, only to be harassed by longtime bullies Spike the Bulldog and Butch the Cat; and "Digital Dilemma" which has a chuckle-worthy bit where Tom builds a homemade computer (to play solitaire) and uses Jerry as the "mouse". The credits of the show are filled with many talented names including directors Douglas McCarthy and Neal Sternecky, writers Earl Kress and Tom Minton, and storyboard artists Jim Gomez and Dave Bennett, among others. Joe Barbera gets a co-credit for the story of "The Itch", making this one of the final projects the animation legend was involved in.

With the limitations and restrictions of a modern day TV cartoon show these new shorts obviously don't reach the heights of the original classics. It's Tom and Jerry Lite. However, younger fans will probably really enjoy seeing their favorite cat and mouse in all-new adventures and anything that may make a new generation seek out the originals is always a good thing. Meanwhile, longtime Tom & Jerry fans who view this series with an open mind (obviously, not going into it expecting the second coming of Bill and Joe) will likely find these pretty amusing at best and merely forgettable at worst. I can also appreciate the effort to make these new cartoons faithful to the original shorts' roots... unlike many recent and unwatchable classic cartoon revivals(Loonatics, anyone?). Tom and Jerry Tales, Vol. 2 is at least worth a rental.

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