Why Is ‘Tom and Jerry’ a Silent Show?
Silent action in Tom and Jerry’s instalments led to numerous speculations about the show being originally meant for deaf people — however, the creators’ idea was much simpler.
It’s always been fun for both kids and adults to follow Tom and Jerry’s new episodes, with the series and its spinoffs remaining extremely popular among modern audiences decades after the original show’s release all the way back in 1940.
Despite Tom and Jerry recounting the rivalry story of two animated animals that, well, just can’t talk, some fans took the issue quite seriously, speculating about possible reasons for creators to not give the show’s leading characters ability to speak, something that other cartoon TV series and movies did quite regularly.
The discussion eventually went even further as others also suggested Tom and Jerry was created for a specific group of people — however, the real reason has nothing to do with it whatsoever.
‘Tom and Jerry’ Is an Homage to Earlier Silent Cartoon Shows
Even though at some point several fans became convinced that Tom and Jerry’s target audience has always been deaf people, the theory was soon debunked by a statement that made things clear about William Hanna and Joseph Barbera’s intention to focus more on physical comedy and slapstick humor, which is what the first cartoons relied on too.
According to the creators, visual gags are the driving force for Tom and Jerry’s humour and not the dialogue, yet both leading characters can actually make noises like screams or hysterical laughter for a better comedic effect too.
The only exception in this regard might be Spike the dog, the show’s supporting character who often speaks and even gets a bigger role in several episodes.
However, this was also intentional, with the creators keeping Tom and Jerry mostly silent for the comedic style they’ve always been associated with.
‘Tom and Jerry’ Modern Reboot Has Fans’ 100% Approval
Despite the original TV series boasting of several remakes and movie features, 2014’s The Tom and Jerry Show stands out as one of the franchise’s most acclaimed pieces, with many fans praising the new show for perfectly capturing the story’s essence.
“One of the best reboots ever. It managed to recapture the spirit of the original without feeling like a replacement”, Redditor mick_boi shared in a thread.
“Other than the characters and animation styles, there is absolutely nothing different. I love it and I wouldn't change anything about it whatsoever”, Informal_Mix4570 agreed.
“Pretty great as far as reboots go, didn’t reach the heights of the classic shows but that’s an insane benchmark to aspire to”, _JR28_ commented.
