Tom & Jerry has a very nostalgic place in my heart. It's not necessarily because of the cartoon either. Sure, the episodes were perpetually on TV and I watched my fair share as a child, but my stronger connection comes from one of my first collecting hobbies, PEZ dispensers. I started collecting PEZ dispensers when I was a little kid in the late 80s. The rush of collecting was incredible, because they cost 75 cents and they were everywhere. And with no internet or news sources, everything was a surprise. You'd walk into the drug store and find the Flintstones, then go to the supermarket and find the Smurfs, even the arcades and stationary stores would carry them. It was heaven. Eventually I got a PEZ book and discovered that PEZ USA had different dispensers from the rest of the world (PEZ Int'l). And the current popular line just North of me in Canada was MGM characters like Tom & Jerry, Droopy Dog, etc. It took me years to get them and they are burned into my psyche as rare and desirable characters.
The Tom and Jerry movie from 2021 was surprisingly good. I watched it last night on HBO... thinking I would dread it. But it was full of likeable live-action actors and the main animated characters thankfully stayed true to their origins and didn't speak. I also appreciated the classic design of the characters. There was no detailed texturing or major reimagining (which ruins most of the modern CGI versions of classic cartoons). The toy line for this movie was a surprise to me. I did not see it in any stores, and I'm just assuming that had to do with distribution and overall consumerism during the pandemic. When I learned that Toots was a character I was really excited. I always wanted some Tom and Jerry toys in my collection and now the inclusion of Toots has opened the door.
The Tom & Jerry movie takes place in a fancy NYC hotel where a high-profile celebrity wedding is taking place.
Jerry is running around stealing things as usual and Tom was tasked with catching him by the hotel manager.
Toots is the pet of the bride staying in the penthouse.
Toots has six points of articulation: Swivel head, legs, arms, and tail.
The box set comes with two accessories: a baseball bat and a frying pan. After watching the movie, I doubt either are intended to go with Toots, but I'll show them anyway.
I love the design of this toy. She looks like she perfectly belongs in the Tom & Jerry universe. However, I think this is a situation where Moose Toys got early preliminary design schematics because she looks almost nothing like her movie counterpart. In the movie, she is not an upright anthropomorphic character like the rest. Instead, she walks on all fours and seems like a regular cat. I would not have picked up this figure if it were movie accurate. The toy design actually seems like a hybrid of a classic Tom & Jerry style, and the way she appeared in HBO's Tom & Jerry in New York series.
Another interesting design note is that Toots has taken on the physical characteristic of another character, Toodles Galore.
Here is the cartoon version of Toots (Left) and Toodles (Right).
Time for some Group and Comparison Pics!
Here is the Friends & Foes box set together. Butch the Cat seems to be exclusive to this set.
All the other characters are available in smaller assortments like 2-packs.
Cheers!
The non-eye shadowed eyelids and the gaping mouth ruin this. Hades forbid we get a good Toodles as well someday lol.
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