Tom and Jerry (TV Series) (1940)

Tom and Jerry (TV Series) (1940) is a renowned and enduring collection of theatrical shorts crafted by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The series revolves around the perpetual conflict between a mischievous housecat named Tom and a clever brown mouse named Jerry. Their interactions, filled with slapstick humor and comedic violence, have captivated audiences for decades. Between 1940 and 1957, Hanna and Barbera produced 114 Tom and Jerry cartoons at the MGM studio in Hollywood, California, before the animation unit was shut down. The original series is celebrated for its seven Academy Awards for Best Short Subject (Cartoons), matching Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies as the most decorated theatrical animated series. Following the original run, MGM commissioned new shorts from Rembrandt Films, led by Gene Deitch, in Eastern Europe starting in 1960. Production then shifted back to Hollywood under Chuck Jones' Sib-Tower 12 Productions in 1963, continuing until 1967, resulting in a total of 161 shorts. The iconic duo later appeared in various television cartoons produced by Hanna-Barbera and Filmation Studios during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, as well as the feature film "Tom and Jerry: The Movie" in 1993. Currently, Warner Bros., through its Turner Entertainment division, holds the rights to Tom and Jerry and has produced the series "Tom and Jerry Tales" for The CW's Saturday morning "Kids WB" lineup, along with a series of direct-to-video films.