‘Tom And Jerry’ Get Kawaii Makeover From Cartoon Network Japan

Tom and Jerry have gotten a pretty major rework in Japan, where animators have created a new kawaii (cute) version of the iconic cat and mouse.

Cartoon Network Japan, owned by Tom and Jerry IP-holders Warner Bros. Discovery, debuted a new series of animated shorts with a pastel, ultra-cute version of the animal comedy duo, as well as the mischievous baby mouse Tuffy.

The classic cartoon characters have been redesigned with rounder edges, softer features, a brighter color palette, and kinder attitudes. The series also got a title makeover, replacing the traditional katakana script – used to adapt foreign names to Japanese – of previous Tom and Jerry content with hiragana characters, usually reserved for Japanese names and words.

Production details were not immediately available at the time of publishing, but we will update more more information is available.

The show’s synopsis, translated to English using Google Translate, reads:

[The new] Tom and Jerry, which will be broadcast for the first time in the world, is a Japanese original with speedy and humorous movements that are the real pleasure of Tom and Jerry, as they keep chasing and fighting each other. The character design expresses a pop and cute worldview.

Tom, a fussy cat who can’t be hated, Jerry, a cute but clever mouse, and Tuffy, a small and cute mouse, all transform into adorable characters, such as their favorite food. Transformation is also new to this series and is attracting a lot of attention.

From the description, it sounds like the hack-and-slash antics of the world’s most famous cat-and-mouse game have been toned down in the Japanese shorts.

The new, cuter Tom and Jerry is not meant as a replacement for the traditional show in Japan. In fact, November 11 is Cheese Day there, and to celebrate the occasion the network broadcast seven hours of Jerry-themed cartoons, most of them from the WBD catalog.