‘Tom and Jerry’ Meet ‘Willy Wonka’ in Animated Crossover Feature; Internet-Wide Head Scratchings Ensue

There is no life I know to compare with corporate cross-promotion.

Warner Bros. Animation have surprised and perplexed the internet with the release of the first trailer for their upcoming straight-to-video animated feature, Tom and Jerry: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

Judging from the title alone, the film serves as a straight forward animated remake of the original 1971 musical classic starring the late Gene Wilder, but with appearances by Hanna-Barbera’s iconic cat and mouse team interwoven with the film’s key scenes and backdrops.

Hanna Barbera-based crossover home video projects such as this have been the norm for the property in recent years. Previously, characters from The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Scooby Doo, Johnny Quest, and Tom and Jerry have teamed up with public domain literary characters (Sherlock Holmes, The Nutcracker), other classic films (The Wizard of Oz), and most famously, WWE wrestling superstars in other animated films and specials. The internet can only guess what the next crossover will be. Tom and Jerry: Casablanca? Scooby Doo and the Fellowship of the Ring? The Flintstones vs. Suicide Squad?

Tom and Jerry: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory was executive produced by Cartoon Network’s Teen Titans Go! show runner Sam Register, and written and directed by former Tom and Jerry & The Wizard of Oz duo Gene Grillo and Spike Brandt.

The film will be available for digital download on June 27th and hit stores on DVD on July 11.