Tom and Jerry: The Magic Ring

Tom and Jerry: The Magic Ring is a 2001 American animated fantasy comedy film starring the seven-time Academy Award-winning cat-and-mouse duo Tom and Jerry. Produced by Warner Bros. Animation (making it the first Tom and Jerry production to be made by that company, as parent company Time Warner, had purchased franchise then-owner Turner Broadcasting System in 1996) and Turner Entertainment Co., it was the first made-for-video attempt to recapture the style of William Hanna and Joseph Barbera's original film shorts from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer as well as the final animated collaboration of both Hanna and Barbera, as Hanna died on March 22, 2001.

The film was originally set for December 2001 release, but was instead released on March 12, 2002 on both VHS and DVD (nearly one year after Hanna's death) due to a preview of the film found on some Warner Home Video DVDs, including the DVD releases of the Scooby-Doo television specials and direct-to-video films. A Game Boy Advance video game based on the film was also made.

Plot:
Inside a haunted and creepy-looking mansion, Tom chases Jerry as usual while breaking everything in the process. Meanwhile, in the basement, Tom's owner, a wizard named Chip, attempts to make a magical potion using his magical ring until he realizes it does not work. Chip checks the milk carton that he used on the potion, but there is no substitution for the milk of a cow that lives in Calcutta. Later, Chip throws Tom into the basement and orders him to guard his magic ring while he goes to Calcutta to milk the cow. If Tom does a good job, he'll be rewarded with a big juicy salmon but if not, "there will one less kitty to clean up after around here", meaning that Tom will be kicked out of the mansion for good. Chip then leaves for Calcutta using his motorcycle, leaving Tom in charge of guarding the ring in the basement. Unknown to Tom, an interested Jerry finds the ring while climbing the table and puts it on his head, wearing it like a crown. Jerry runs out of the mansion, and Tom frantically attempts to find him so he can get the ring back.

After losing Tom, Jerry attempts to get the ring removed by going to a jewelry store owned by a diamond cutter. However, the store is closed since the owner has left for lunch. Tom sneaks into the store and disguises himself as a worker using his tail for a mustache and attempting to help Jerry get the ring off, but to no avail. He reveals his true identity. Tom then destroys the store and ends up getting chased away by the enraged owner.

Afterwards, Jerry runs off into a fortunetelling home owned by Butch and Droopy. After seeing how lovely the ring looks and including the fact that Jerry wants it removed, Butch attempts to pull it off, but also fails. Jerry then sees Physic Droopy. Tom comes in and Jerry runs out with Butch chasing after him as well. Soon, they end up in an alley where an alley cat happens to be taking a nap. He wakes up and tries to grab Jerry for his dinner. Tom successfully grabs Jerry in time and, by flicking the ring on his head, makes random objects fall on the horrified alley cat. Butch then comes and is able to get the ring off Jerry's head after Jerry bites Tom's hands, which causes him to be sent flying to the dog. Tom and the alley cat then chase Butch and then wind up spinning and roll toward Jerry, but the ring gets stuck back on Jerry's head. When Tom is running away from Butch and the alley cat, he takes a shortcut to lose sight of them until he accidentally slips on a banana peel, which Jerry's ring then increases the size of; Tom slips on it again and rides on it toward the door of a pet store, leaving Tom unconscious.

A kind old lady comes out and brings the two inside and the store is filled with animals from all over the world and puts them in two separate cages. However, Tom is accidentally paired with Spike and his son Tyke while Jerry is left with two mice named Freddie and Joey, who bully a younger, cute and dimwitted mouse named Nibbles. At first, Jerry proves to be unsuccessful in trying to stop the mouse bullies from hurting Nibbles until he uses the ring to turn them into chunks of cheese. When the cheese mice escape the cage and Nibbles fails to catch up with them since he intends to eat them, Jerry uses the ring to make Nibbles grow into a giant mouse capable of breaking free from the cage as he grows and catch up with the cheese mice as they escape the store. An unnamed boy comes and buys Jerry as his pet to which he plays with Jerry until the ring produces magic, melting Tom. Escaping the cage, Tom sneaks outside and snatches Jerry from the boy's hand. The upset boy tells his mother, to which she tells a police officer who sends police cars after the duo. The alley cat and Butch alongside Spike and Tyke also find and chase Tom. Tom and Jerry escape by riding a bus driven by Droopy, but he stops and reverses the bus, causing Tom and Jerry to panic. The two become lost until the boy finds Tom and whistles, resulting in the duo ending up cornered in a garbage dump at a dead end. Jerry uses the magic ring to freeze the dogs, alley cat and police cars. Now safe, Tom and Jerry head back to the mansion where Tom once again tries to get the ring off, but fails in every attempt. Jerry hides in a kitchen cupboard and uses furniture ring remover to get the ring off before throwing the ring in the basement. Tom gets the ring, but to his horror it gets stuck firmly on his finger.

Hearing Chip coming, Tom tries to get the ring off, but to no avail. Tom attempts to trick Chip into thinking Tom has done a good job protecting his ring, but fails when Chip discovers the ring on Tom's finger. Thinking that Tom stole his ring, an angry Chip kicks Tom out of his mansion to which the ring immediately falls off Tom's finger. Following this, the ring unfreezes those who all chase Tom into the sunset.

In the epilogue, Jerry receives the salmon from Chip to which he then turns it into cheese using the ring's power, and he enjoys the cheese as the film comes to an end.

Cast:

 * Jeff Glen Bennett as Tom Cat, Droopy Dog, Joey
 * Frank Welker as Jerry Mouse, Tyke
 * Charlie Schlatter as Chip
 * Jim Cummings as Butch
 * Maile Flanagan as Boy
 * Jess Harnell as Police Officer
 * Maurice LaMarche as Spike Bulldog, Butch Cat (credited as "Alleycat")
 * Tress MacNeille as Margaret, Mom
 * Tara Strong as Nibbles Mouse
 * Billy West as Freddie

Trivia:

 * Rated G (General Audience Suggested): mild comic violence.
 * Suggested Running Times: 64 Minutes (NTSC), 60 Minutes (PAL).

Reception:
Carrie R. Wheadon of Common Sense Media gave a negative review saying "There's very little magic here at all and very little story that makes sense or fits together." Christopher Simons of DVD Talk was more positive saying "I'd say pick it up, but only for the younger ones."

Follow-up film:
Tom and Jerry: Blast Off to Mars was released on January 18, 2005.

External links:
Tom and Jerry: The Magic Ring at IMDb