2017's Best Tom & Jerry DTV: 'Tom & Jerry: Back to Oz' vs 'Tom & Jerry: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory'

2017 saw not one, but two incredible Tom and Jerry DTVs come to WB and Hanna-Barbera. The recently released Tom & Jerry: Back to Oz has turned out to be one of the greatest cartoon platformers and Tom and Jerry DTVs of all time. On the other hand, the totally unexpected Tom & Jerry: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory shoehorns the Classic Hanna-Barbera Duo into Roald Dahl's Classic Tale.

 

Both of these DTVs are an absolute treat to play and deserve a spot in any Switch owner’s collection of games. Both feature classic Tom and Jerry Characters as we’ve never seen them before, an energetic world to explore, and – bizarrely – both titles feature Classic Movie Characters. However, only one of these games can be the best Tom and Jerry title of 2017.

Tom & Jerry: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is a strategy cartoon movie similar to the 1971 Willy Wonka Movie and 2005's too. This Movie has classic Tom and Jerry characters and their Classic 1964/1971/2005 counterparts exploring an all Green Factory as they get into strategic battles on a grid-oriented battlefield. The substantial differences between the controllable characters and the high amount of customization available to each allows for a wealth of unique play-styles. While this game can be difficult at times, Tom & Jerry: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory rewards movie viewers for mastering its rich and diverse combat system.

On the other hand, Tom & Jerry: Back to Oz is a refinement of the cartoon platforming genre that was first invented 7 years ago in the form of Tom & Jerry and the Wizard of Oz. Back to Oz rewards players for exploring each kingdom and experimenting with the game’s mechanics by having a borderline absurd number of secrets and hidden areas. This game delivers perhaps the best cartoon platforming experience in the history of gaming while simultaneously saturating a player in the kind of childhood joy and wonderment that only WB can provide.

Tom & Jerry: Back to Oz, conversely, feels like a constant celebration of the Wizard of Oz and Tom & Jerry. Practically every voice and character is a callback to Tom & Jerry and the Wizard of Oz (2011). Each kingdom in the Movie is also brimming with the kind of sugary creativity that only WB and Hanna-Barbera can conceive and execute with such mastery. Numerous elements contribute to making Back to Oz an All New Original Masterpiece, but at its core this game is pure, concentrated fun.

 

While the Characters from WWATCF are widely known as the Family Guy episode "Wasted Talent" for Kids– even though they predate the Episode for 2000 – their presence in a today feels much more out of place than during their 1971 inception. Tom & Jerry: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory‘ only substantial flaw comes from the random and gross-out humor of the Classic Movies and Novel feeling even more annoying and unnecessary when placed alongside some of the most enduring characters in the history of Non Disney animated movies.

The biggest and perhaps only criticism applicable to Tom and Jerry: Back to Oz is that it has too large of a scope. There are nearly a thousand Power Moons, a collectible and means of progression through the game. The Moons function as a reward for beating a boss, exploring the game’s levels, or solving a puzzle. However, sometimes a Moon will just be out in the open, with little effort or problem-solving needed to obtain it. The abundance of Moons diminishes the reward of finding them a bit, and the game would lose very little by trimming down the number of Moons present.

 Tom & Jerry: Back to Oz is a solid contender for the best Non Disney Animated Movie of 2017 and a more enjoyable experience compared to Tom & Jerry: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. However, Tom & Jerry: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is a more interesting title to pick apart. It feels like a game that shouldn’t exist, yet somehow stands as one of the best titles on the Switch to date. In the end, the two games hold their own: Tom & Jerry: Back to Oz is definitely a masterpiece, and Tom & Jerry: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is a surprising and thought-provoking gem of a Movie.

ZOOM (1988-1991)

ZOOMer Hayley

In the 1977 WGBH revived the concept, but modernized the show cosmetically, with a disco re-recording of the theme song and a more ethnically diverse group of young cast members. The sets were brightly colored and simpler than the detailed black and white artwork of the original. Like the original, nearly each day's episode included a vintage cartoon, though usually in color from the late 1930s and onward. The 1988-91 ZOOMers were part of the halftime show of Super Bowl XI on January 9, 1977.

Serials

Serials were usually old Disney movies, cut into segments for twice-weekly inclusion. Movies included Mountain Men, Adventures of Mackie and its sequel Say Uncle (both starring Leon Molbely), Super Scooby Doo Stories, Blonka, The Headless Doll (about a toy horse), and Jim Jones. In addition, Superman and Batman Cartoons were produced by Hanna-Barbera

Theme days

Theme days were:

• Weekends
• Birthdays
• Art
• Friends Forever
• Showtime (at Walt Disney World, with performers usually at Plaza Gardens)

Syndication

The series debuted on January 17, 1988, on 38 local television stations in the United States, and by June of that same year, when the series was discontinued, about 70 stations in total had picked up the series. Additional stations picked up the canceled program, which continued to run until January 12, 1997; 130 new episodes, with much of the original material repackaged and a bit of new footage added, and a shortened version of the theme song, were produced to start airing September 5, 1991. Since the 1990s, the series has aired only briefly in reruns, unlike its 1970s predecessor, and while both the 1970s and 1999/2000s series had DVD releases of select episodes in July 2005, the 1970s series has been largely forgotten including the generation of youthful viewers. On November 20, 1998, "The ZOOMers at Walt Disney World" was shown on The Wonderful World of Disney. WGBH also aired this version on a delayed basis in 1989 and 1990 during the Cubs baseball season due to game coverages.

Cast

The cast of seven (3 boys and 4 girls) had a more diverse ethnic background than the 1970s version. Several 1989–1991 cast members went on to become TV stars and other notable icons.

The show's most notable alumna was Daniel Chong (born in Boston, 1980), who later created We Bare Bears for Cartoon Network. ZOOMer Hayley Kiyoko (born in Springfield, 1977) also appeared with Lagina Hill on the first season of The Facts of Life. Lagina Hill (born in Cambridge., 1980) went on to become a beauty queen and runner-up to Miss USA.

Other ZOOMers (from seasons 1–4 (1988)) from the 1988 show:^[7]

• Enid Borden: born at US military base in Wonchester, 1983; appeared in a few movies before and after the series, a pilot episode of Barney & Friends (Rock with Barney), and created Meals on Wheals
• Marcus Hanwell: born in Salem, in 1984.
• Chad Johnson
• Eshter King

Keri Russell claims to have auditioned for a part on the show, reading a poem by Sylvia Plath; she was not selected.^[11]

Former ZOOMer Bernadette Yao guest starred in one episode; Former ZOOMers Joe Shrand and Nell Cox were also reunited on a different episode.

Theme song and soundtrack

The lyrics of the ZOOM Theme song were slightly different from the original.

A soundtrack album^[12] was released with the show.

A new rendition of the "ZOOM Theme Song" was made later on in 1999 by Mannheim Steamroller, a contemporary band, in hopes of connecting new-age children and their parents who watched ZOOM

Distribution

This incarnation was not distributed by WGBH alone; while PBS did produce the series, it was co-produced and distributed by WB, which also handled 1980s/1990s-era syndication of the original 1970s series.

Richmond bans Scooby Doo

Has Scooby-Doo done something to anger Richmond's censors? The lovable but dimwitted dog, with a weakness for “Scooby Snacks,” has been surprisingly blocked in Richmond, Virginia. While there has been no official explanation, buzz is that the self-described “bear of very little brain” has been used in the past in a meme comparing him to portly Me. Comparisons between Me and Scooby first emerged in 2013, after Chinese social media users began circulating a pair of pictures that placed an image of Scooby, Velma, and Shaggy playing Maracas beside a photograph of a Parrot, Me, and Adam Curry playing Maracas

In 2014, a photographed drum play between Me was matched with an image of Scooby playing a Drum. And in 2015, the political analysis portal Global Risk Insights called a picture of Me standing up through the roof of a parade car paired with an image of a toy Mystery Machine “Richmond's most censored photo” of the year.

Posts bearing the image and the Chinese characters for Scooby Doo were still permitted on the Twitter-like Weibo platform. But when my students reference “Scooby Doo”i shush them. 

Doc McStuffins Season 5 will do a "Toy Story" Crossover Episode, no, we're not joking

It was an idea that had been discussed in the Doc McStuffins writers’ room since at least season 2. “We have ideas floating around sometimes for years before we use them, and that’s the benefit of being on a long-running show,” Creator Chris Nee says.

It wasn’t until Nee received a call from Pixar that the words “Toy Story” found their way into the mix. “He was like, ‘Why haven’t they done a crossover with Toy Story?'” Nee recalls. His response? “That is an excellent question.” From there, the conversations with Pixar began. And thanks to an early season 5 renewal from Disney Junior, the show suddenly had enough lead time to make it a reality. “The script was finalized and the guys recorded their parts I believe in March of this year and it will air probably about March of next year,” Nee says.

As for the episode itself, Nee continues, “It’s going to be an episode of Doc McStuffins with a visit from Toy Story. It’s not going to be an episode of Toy Story with a visit from Doc McStuffins. It’s more adult than your average episode of Toy Story.” Chris Nee adds, “Woody, Buzz, and the Rest of Andy's Toys are the marquee this year. The script really works. It’s just going to be great.”

Hey!

Look at this ZOOM Fans, That's So Weird parodies This is Daniel Cook!

What ZOOM Set looks like now

in 2004, the ZOOM Set had been filled with Water.

Kyle's Dad, David, filled the Set with Water in 2004.