Cartoon Brew Podcast: Tim Story On How He Introduced Tom & Jerry To A Live-Action World

In a new episode of the Cartoon Brew Podcast, Tim Story talks about his experience directing Tom & Jerry, Warner Bros.’s live-action/cg hybrid film starring the beloved cat-and-mouse duo.

Story shares with host Jen Hurler how he was primed to tackle this project by his background in music, comedy films such as the Ride Along series, and vfx-heavy features like Fantastic Four and its sequel. He worked closely with animation director Michael Eames’s team at Framestore, the sole vfx company on the film, to create what Story calls the film’s “2d-plus” animation.

Together, they iterated on character designs and animation language, and landed on a fun combination of visual and practical effects to make every gag seamless and natural. “I had to learn through [Eames],” says Story.

This and more is discussed in the episode, available to listen here:

Tom & Jerry (2021) releases theatrically and on HBO Max on Friday, February 26. It will remain available on HBO Max for 31 days from the release date.