Today in Film History (February 10th, 1940): The First "Tom & Jerry" Cartoon is Released to Theaters by MGM!

Today in Film History (February 10th, 1940): The First "Tom & Jerry" Cartoon is Released to Theaters by MGM!

On February 10th, 1940, the first Tom & Jerry cartoon was released to theaters in the U.S. by MGM. The series of cartoons was created by Hanna Barbara, with a total of 161 different theatrical short films being released, centered around the cat & mouse team. During it's original run from 1940 to 1958, Hanna-Barbara produced 114 shorts, which won seven Academy Awards for Best Animated Short Film, tying for first place with Walt Disney's "Silly Symphonies" for most awards in the category. In 1961 and 1962, Rembrant Films revived Tom & Jerry with 13 more shorts, the first ones being made since MGM's cartoon studios closed in 1957. A number of spin-offs to Tom & Jerry were released throughout the years including "The Tom and Jerry Show" airing in 1975, and "Tom and Jerry", a live-action/animated hybrid film, being released in 2021.

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