Destroying Our Childhood, One Cartoon Character At A Time.

Recently, it was announced that Tom and Jerry and Yogi Bear were to receive the 'Garfield' treatment and get their own live action/CGI films. Initially, this makes my heart bounce with absolute glee. Tom and Jerry probably being my favourite cartoon as a child, and probably a lot of other peoples.

The only niggling little feature is the whole CGI/live action bit. It's a tag which never quite amounts to everyones expectations. Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Space Jam began the trend, without CGI, and managed fairly decently to seamlessly blend cartoon and live action. Looney Tunes: Back in Action then kind of ruined everyones efforts before attention was turned to CGI. Garfield, Scooby Doo and Alvin and The Chipmunks came along, and didn't quite manage it either. Don't get me wrong, Garfield was an enjoyable film, but it nowhere near captured the wise-cracking genius of it's comic strip predecessor.

Scooby Doo was originally a cartoon based on a murder mystery, with the first film following that formula to an extent, but it relied heavily on silly slapstick gags and just didn't really seem to live up to its cartoon partner.

Usually, it's the live action part which ends up being the clincher. The 'supporting' cast if you will. Breckin Meyer in Garfield just sounded like a helpless loser, leaving it up to his cat to find his other pet. Honestly? Really? Jason Lee in Alvin and The Chipmunks, seems a little warmer, gathering a fan base from his turn in My Name Is Earl. Matthew Lillard did an OK job in Scooby Doo, but it was more of an overexaggerated copy of his cartoon counterpart.

Tom and Jerry have been long overdue a live action film. However, previous films don't leave much of a taste for anticipation. Yogi Bear equally. It's a predicament the film makers may have to combat. Previous attempts at the same sort of material have been hit and miss. There's no doubt the kids will flock to see these films, but in the long run will they stand up proudly against the original source material or just float into the wilderness of the DVD stands.