Tom and Jerry & The Wizard of Oz is a retelling of the 1939 classic The Wizard of Oz... with Tom and Jerry thrown in. What could possibly go wrong?
Followed by Tom and Jerry: Back to Oz in 2016.
Tom and Jerry & The Wizard of Oz contains examples of...
- Adaptation Dye-Job: Dorothy's hair is more brown than auburn.
- Adaptation-Induced Plot Hole: How do Dorothy, Tom and Jerry have the same dream? Of course, as per the sequel, everything wasn't All Just a Dream.
- Adapted Out: No characters from the book who were cut from original film are present in this adaptation.
- Amusing Injuries: It's Tom and Jerry, comedic injuries are expected.
- And You Were There: Besides the obvious, there’s also the fact that Glinda and Auntie Em are voiced by the same actress.
- Animated Adaptation: The film is an adaptation of The Wizard of Oz with some comedic elements added in.
- Anthropomorphic Shift: Toto's behavior and expressions are slightly more anthropomorphic than in the original film.
- Big Damn Heroes: Tom and Jerry don’t hesitate to work together in order to save Toto from getting taken away from Gluch.
- The Cat Came Back: One scene pays homage to the Droopy cartoons by having Tom and Jerry trying to run away from Droopy, only for the dog to constanly show up right next to them.
- Compressed Adaptation: The scenes of Dorothy going to Professor Marvel and meeting the Tin Man, Cowardly Lion and Scarecrow were completely cut. Although the latter are deliberately Played for Laughs because Tom and Jerry slept through that part.
- Cowardly Lion: Besides the obvious Trope Namer, Tom shown to be this, as he’s more often than not scared out of his mind, but still manages to be a Papa Wolf for Dorothy.
- Crossover: A crossover between Tom and Jerry and The Wizard of Oz. Droopy and Butch/Spike appear as other MGM characters as per usual in these movies as well. However to the more astute history buffs so do the Oz characters. See the YMMV page for the explantion.
- Deliberately Monochrome: Double Subverted, television airings have farm scenes just slightly desaturated, while the DVD/Blu-ray releases include an alternate version of the film with the farm scenes retaining their 1930s colors (sepia, grayscale).
- Decomposite Character: Possibly. As noted in the original film’s page, it’s possible that the guard is the wizard in disguise. Here, he’s shown to be a separate person, standing outside the door while Dorothy and her friends are meeting with the wizard, although still played by the same actor.
- Demoted to Extra: Professor Marvel only makes a brief cameo in the ending.
- Denser and Wackier: With the presence of Tom and Jerry, it is much more comedic than the 1939 film.
- Disneyesque: Characters from The Wizard of Oz are this, though Tom and Jerry keep their regular design.
- Fur Is Clothing: There is a bit where Tom loses his fur like it were a suit, leaving him in boxer shorts.
- Furry Confusion: Tom and Jerry are Funny Animals who are treated like humans for the most part.
- In Spite of a Nail: Despite Tom and Jerry being included, they don’t impact the plot at all. The only thing they do add is the bucket that melts the wicked witch (which was just lying there in the original) and being why Toto leaves the balloon. Humorously, they don’t even get acknowledged by the other characters unless spurred on by Dorothy, barring a line here or there. One thing they do impact is the tone as seen in Denser and Wackier (lampshaded in the nostalgia critic review).
- Kick the Dog: Like the original movie, Mrs. Gulch forcing Aunt Em and Uncle Henry to surrender their niece’s beloved dog just so she’ll personally have him euthanized, while Dorothy is crying for Toto to be spared. You know it’s bad when it inspires Tom and Jerry to drop everything and save Toto.
- Lighter and Softer: It's Tom and Jerry, it's expected. The added comedy adds more levity to the almost horror-like film.
- Mugged for Disguise: Tom steals the clothes of one of the Emerald City guards and from Butch the Winkie Guard to wear as a disguise, respectively leaving them in a pair of green boxers labeled "Oz" and a union suit. Per the original film, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion also disguise themselves with stolen Winkie Guard uniforms.
- Mythology Gag: When Tom and Jerry grab on to the edge of the witch's castle, they quickly pose in a way identical to the iconic title card.
- Never Say "Die": Adverted as Tin Man still mentions that they would have to “kill” the wicked witch to get her broomstick.
- Soundtrack Dissonance: Dorothy's opening song, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow", mostly focuses on Tom and Jerry fighting.
- Vague Age: Dorothy still looks and sounds like a teen. This leaves it vague whether she's 8-12 like in the original books or 16 like Judy Garland was. The sequel has Dorothy state that she will be 15 in eight months, putting her at 14.
- X-Ray Sparks:
- The Wicked Witch's skeleton flashes when she tries to take the ruby slippers from Dorothy.
- Tom is subjected to the "skeleton revealed via electrocution" gag when he, Tuffy and Jerry try to use a rain cloud to fill up their bucket with water.
- You Don't Look Like You: Toto is stylized less like a Cairn Terrier and more like a Scottish Terrier mix.
