Tom and Jerry is an American animated media franchise originally created by the legendary William Hanna and Joseph Barbera duo for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. in the 1940s. The franchise consists mostly of short animated movies centered around the rivalry between the titular cat and mouse duo. The original Tom and Jerry shorts have been described by many critics as the biggest influence for both mute and slapstick-type modern comedy.
The franchise has also had various spin-offs, TV shows, video games, and movies, as well as a significant amount of crossovers with franchises such as Sherlock Holmes, The Wizard of Oz, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, and other Hanna-Barbera-produced series, such as Johnny Quest. The Tom and Jerry franchise also has close ties with Tex Avery's Droopy.
