Tom and Jerry Special Shorts is an American animated television series of shorts based on Tom and Jerry that premiered and ended on HBO Max on February 20, 2021, making it the shortest lived of any Tom and Jerry related shows.^[1] The series is developed by Peter Browngardt and produced by Warner Bros. Animation. The shorts featured the archived uncredited voices of William Hanna alongside Andrew Dickman.

The shorts are featured in the style of Looney Tunes Cartoons, another short series developed by Browngardt.^[2]

Cast and characters

Main

• William Hanna (voice recordings) and Andrew Dickman as:
  • Tom Cat: Tom is variously depicted as a house cat doing his job, and a victim of Jerry's tricks, sometimes within the same short.^[a]
  • Jerry Mouse: Jerry lives in the same house as Tom's owners, allowing chaos and destruction to ensue while he and Tom fight.^[a]

Notable guest stars

• Keone Young as Sushi Chef: Appearing in "On a Roll", the character is a simple chef that was cooking food and notices Jerry stealing some of his sushi, leading to Tom being ordered to get that mouse.

Episodes

Production and reception

In February 2021, the shorts debuted on HBO Max with no prior announcement. According to Andrew Dickman, the series was worked on the crews spare time while on the production of Looney Tunes Cartoons.^[3] Thought to be promotional marketing for the Tom & Jerry film, the shorts received positive reception from fans and critics.^[4][1]

FR Dougal of CartoonMilk, an animation critic and a self-described lifelong Tom and Jerry fan, gave the shorts a negative review. Despite praising their art style's reminiscence of the mid-1940s character designs and numerous gags, he criticized the shorts' character animation, music, and inconsistent sound design, including the overuse of the William Hanna Tom scream.^[5]

Removal from HBO Max

One month after the series' release, it temporarily left the service.^[6] The reason of the removal from HBO Max was unknown, but it was eventually re-added in July 2021.^[7] The series is currently no longer listed as its own program, but as two extras on the page for the Tom & Jerry film.