February 22nd, 2021 
Jackson Murphy 
Tim Story has directed big studio films starring A-listers Kevin Hart, Samuel L. Jackson, Ice Cube, Queen Latifah, Jimmy Fallon and Jessica Alba. But Story’s latest movie may have the two biggest stars of his career: Tom & Jerry. Warner Bros.’ new live-action/animated family comedy debuts in theaters and on HBO Max this Friday February 26th. Story discusses the challenges and the freedom he had in bringing the iconic Hanna-Barbera characters to the screen.
Jackson Murphy: I have to imagine you were not only inspired by the classic Tom & Jerry cartoons but Who Framed Roger Rabbit as well.
Tim Story: 100%. Big [Robert] Zemeckis fan. That movie in itself… I remember watching it for the first time and amazed at how they took the 2D animation and put it with the real world. That was one of the big inspirations for this movie. I just wanted to be sure that that spirit came into Tom & Jerry. And fingers crossed. Hopefully the audiences believe we did a good job.
JM: And I wanna go to the very beginning of this movie a little bit. You voice the pigeon announcer, which I think is so great. How did you land that role?
TS: I kind of spoke to a lot of people and did a lot of auditions and finally was able to do it! So yes, there are a couple of songs that the pigeons do. I wanna make sure everybody knows that I’m not singing or rapping. I’m just doing the voice. But we used some old classic hip hop and we have a great new song at the end. And then I did some announcing here and there in the film. Look for it in the film. Hopefully don’t punish me for it!
JM: (laughs) Also I really like that within the first few minutes there’s a reference to Disney and a visual reference to Joker. I thought, “Wow. We really got some commentary here!”
TS: Look, I have a ball. When you have a project that allows you to have a lot of fun and not take it so seriously… and of course, also being at Warner Bros., there’s a little freedom you have when dealing with one of my favorite characters, Batman. I had a lot of fun with that. Anytime we could… have some fun, we would do it. I find that that’s what makes these type of films fun is when they don’t take themselves so seriously and you kind of wink to the audience every now and then to let them know, “We know this is ridiculous but sit back and have a good time.”
JM: And as I’m watching some of these crazy chase sequences, like the sequence in the hotel room where everything goes everywhere… how was it filming and staging those kinds of scenes knowing you’ve got live-action elements and animated elements to deal with?
TS: Well that’s what it’s all about. One of the things when I first got this movie was I had to destroy as much as possible. I knew we weren’t gonna be in a house, which is where we’re most used to them destroying. I had to take one of these hotel rooms and rip it to shreds. And that’s what was great. And to plot out what they were gonna do and tearing curtains and knocking over tables and bringing down chandeliers. All of that stuff makes it worth it. To think as we were shooting it that later on these iconic characters would be jumping all over this room, it was one of the most exciting things of making this project. I knew from early on that I had to do it successfully.
JM: Yeah. You destroy a lot of stuff in this film.
TS: A LOT of stuff.
JM: It’s amazing. And does it almost feel like you’re making two movies because you’re filming the live-action scenes and then all the time it takes to do the animation?
TS: I couldn’t have said it better. One of the things that I had to get used to in making this movie is that you’re really making two films. You’re doing normal production and pre-production. But at the same time, you have to figure out “What are THESE characters gonna do?” At every moment of the film or the scenes that they’re in, you always had to ask yourself, “Okay. Well where would Jerry stand? Where would Tom stand?” And so, in doing that, you had to kind of plot out the movie before you shot the movie. And for the most part, we’re doing that when we’re doing normal films. But you don’t do it to the extent of actually creating the choices for an actor or actors, and that’s what we had to do throughout this film. But it was a fun muscle to kind of flex.
Tim Story (left) and Jackson Murphy
Photo: Warner Bros.
JM: Cool. For the older generations who grew up with Tom & Jerry… what was the task for you in figuring out, “I have to make it feel classic and nostalgic for that generation, but also do I maybe wanna modernize these characters a little bit and have it for a 21st Century, modern generation of kids?”
TS: That was kind of the rule. When I first got on it, you bring out all this stuff that you remember: the big orchestra hits and the fact that they did a lot with jazz music. The props were older. You would first start off with that but then you would always ask yourself the question, “What music could they be listening to?” And if Jerry’s gonna have his own home, back then it was about certain items that he might use. But he’s in a hotel now. Does he find an iPhone? Does he find earbuds that allow him to have speakers? We did that constantly. But what’s great is we also created a hotel that’s been around for quite a while, which allowed us to be in both worlds.
Although we were in an ornate type of hotel that gave us this homage back to the time when they were created, we were also with people with cellphones and technology and TikTok. We just always wanted to be sure that we were trying to make this movie for every generation. I have three kids, [ages] 16, 14 and 9, and they never made me forget that you have to also make it for teenagers and 25 year olds. So hopefully we were able to do that and make a family movie that everybody can enjoy.
JM: Oh yeah. And for Hanna-Barbera: were there requests from the estates or the companies? Anybody say, “We want to make sure you hit these points or do certain things with these characters?”
TS: Interestingly enough, and luckily, for a filmmaker, I had complete freedom to do what I wanted to. This is completely owned by the Warner Bros. Media. But on top of that, what was great and I thought was very important is that I went back and started reading about them. And started reading about how they created these iconic characters and where they came from. There was more of a personal obligation to be sure they’re represented as well as I could. That was fun. I always made it a point to go back to their original cartoon shorts. I didn’t really look at anything else besides the first, original, 112 [shorts] or something like that (mid-40s to late 50s). I just made it a point to stick to those shorts and only use material I know from those. And hopefully, if the estate or anybody is checking it out – and specifically Hanna-Barbera and Tom & Jerry fans – they feel that we gave that a lot of respect.
JM: I think you do. And as I’m watching the movie I’m thinking maybe there should be a couple spinoffs. The first spinoff, I think, as we shift to the live-action, is Chloe Grace Moretz and Jordan Bolger deserving their own rom-com. They’re terrific together.
TS: (laughs) They were awesome. We even made it a point… we kind of hinted at it. At the same time, we didn’t want to go too overt with the romance situation. But they would be awesome. They’re both fabulous actors. I’m with you with your first spinoff. There you go!
JM: Great. Here comes Spinoff No. 2.
TS: Okay.
JM: Lil’ Rel Howery as the [voice of] the Angel and the Devil of Tom.
TS: Now we’re talking.
JM: Those are some funny scenes. Of course Lil’ Rel is one of the most talented comic actors working today. And he even did a little drama in the film Clouds he was in a few months ago. Those moments are great.
TS: Yeah. Now we’re talking. I’ve been wanting to work with Lil’ Rel for some time. It was amazing that I could bring him into this process. And for him to take on the Angel and the Devil… for him to come back over and over again, that would be an awesome spinoff. You’re two for two, my man!
JM: Beautiful! Wonderful. I wanna see more. And there’s a moment involving baseball in this movie. And as I was listening to it, I’m going, “That IS Joe Buck.” How did you get Joe Buck on board for this?]]
TS: Well once again, what you love about this iconic property is that people know it. And as soon as you bring it up, there was never anybody that went, “Oh no!” Everybody was always like, “I’m in.” That’s what was fun. To have Joe on it. And there were even things… he says, “This ball is crushed.” We did a foul ball in the movie. And he’s like, “Tim, I would never say that there.” And I’m going, “Yeah, but that’s your iconic saying. I gotta hear you and use it.” He was game and a great sport for coming in and doing this for us. I’m so glad you recognized that. How do you do baseball without his voice?
JM: Exactly. He’s an icon in the sports world and a perfect choice for this. Obviously, Tom & Jerry are iconic in television. You’ve directed a lot of big movies over the years. Would you consider continuing on this franchise maybe in another television setting if they were to go back to television in some live-action/animated form?
TS: That would be fun. Any way that I could come back and be sure that these characters have more life in this type of setting – this hybrid setting – I’m all in. I’m a very big fan of this type of filmmaking. I’ve thought that to do a hybrid movie with Tom & Jerry and keeping them to the animation with the real world was actually the only way to go forward. We’ve grown up with them as animation, and of course, obviously, I would never want them to be a real cat and a real mouse. So this seems to be the only way to go for the future of these characters. For me to be a part of this universe, I would be delighted.
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