Tom and Jerry walkaround costumes

For 80 years now, Tom and Jerry had the eternal chase of cat and mouse that left us all laughing and entertained.  The characters were the first to be created by Hanna-Barbera and the start of a legacy that continues to be felt to this day.  One would probably wanna meet Tom and Jerry.  While not as common to find as Bugs Bunny, they have made many different theme park appearances.  Today, we take a look at the many different mascot costumes we could find.

Notes:  1. This list is for Tom and Jerry only; no other MGM characters are covered here (it's difficult enough finding Tom and Jerry).  No other Hanna-Barbera characters either.
            2. These must be official costumes; no bootlegs will be mentioned (and there were A LOT of them)
            3. The names given are chosen by me; no official names have been given to these costumes.
            4. The list is incomplete; you can help complete this by commenting below.  Why incomplete?  There were so many with very little record
            5. All dates are approximate, not official.  A few have overlapped each other, and again, very little has been recorded.

The earliest known costumes were probably from the 1970's shown here with Henry Mancini.  As usual, the earliest known versions are off model.  Jerry's smile is creepily bigger than his mouth.  "Wanna know how I got these scars?????"  Tom's head is bad too.  It's too round and his eyebrows are just bad.  It IS known that Tom and Jerry made an appearance at Kennywood Park.  However, it was only as an event and no records show if this or another costume was used (or even if MGM licensed it).




It wouldn't be until 1987 when Universal Studios Hollywood brought Tom and Jerry over as part of their roster of cartoon character appearances (they changed up the park to include rides and attractions as opposed to just the backlot tour).  Now you would think they would have Tom and Jerry all cleaned up and ready to go.  There's only one footage of these costumes, and nothing could prepare you for this................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Cheap Tom and Jerry (1987-late 1980's)

These.....things......mixed in with other cartoon characters appear to be Tom and Jerry, but somehow these were approved by MGM/Turner.  Tom looks smaller than Jerry and looks more like a kitty cat than a cat.  Jerry is worse.  He looks like he was punched in the face.  Hard enough as if for his eyes to come out of their sockets, and hard enough to have a flat face on a round head.  They both look like cheap overstuffed animals.  No way that they are believable to be Tom and Jerry at all.  The good news however is that these costumes did not last long.

Universal Tom and Jerry (late 80's or early 90's-1992; 1995-2001)

Now that Turner had full control of Tom and Jerry, they were able to fix the costumes.  While not exactly on model, they look much much better.  Jerry is now smaller than Tom which meant better casting by Universal.  Tom has very big eyes and he now has side hairs which gives this costume more detail.  He also has slightly chubby cheeks.  Meanwhile, Jerry's eyes seem stiff....he's staring out into space.  Neither of the characters are smiling.  Both have strange hair on top that looks to be flattened when they should be sticking up.  Universal ended up retiring these costumes after only a few years.  Interestingly enough, Turner would use these again to help promote Cartoon Network alongside other Turner/Hanna-Barbera characters.

Disney MGM Tom and Jerry (1992-1993)

Interestingly enough, Tom and Jerry moved from Universal parks to Disney parks.  More specifically, the Disney-MGM Studios in Florida.  This was when Disney picked up characters to appear in the park just like Universal licensed Hanna-Barbera and others.  These characters include the Ninja Turtles, Muppets (with actual hopes of buying them but failed until 2004), and Barbie.  And to

promote their new movie where they talk, Tom and Jerry.  The Tom and Jerry at Disney is much better detailed than at Universal.  Tom got smaller eyes but has a more detailed expression.  He now has whiskers and he's smiling.  Like his previous costume, he also has side hairs, though not as curly as Universal's.  Meanwhile Jerry has a much smoother cuter face.  His eyes are now directly looking down at the kids
instead of straight ahead into nowhere's land.  Though the height limit appears to be extinct, he still looks like Jerry Mouse.  His mouth is now closed, and like Tom, he too gained whiskers.  The top hair on both Tom and Jerry is now much fuzzier.  Not more flat tubes, and this hair can stick up.  Unfortunately, the promotion didn't last too long and Tom and Jerry would no longer appear at Disney-MGM.

Standard Tom and Jerry (2002-present)

After the merger between Turner and WB, they began making new costumes to help promote their product.  This included Tom and Jerry.  The designs are now on model.  However, these costumes scream cheap.  Some of the molds even give the characters flat faces.  Still, the eyes on both costumes are much more skinny, but they lack detailed features.  For example, Tom lost his side hairs, instead replaced with it being a part of the mold.  Worse yet, these costumes never appeared at any Six Flags parks, rather Parque Warner Madrid and Warner Bos. Movie World Germany (that later lost the WB theme).  They also only appeared to promote Cartoon Network products and a strange foreign place called Warner Bros. Fun Zone.

Warner Bros World Tom and Jerry (2018-present)

When WB opened their new indoor theme park in Abu Dhabi, they made new costumes for their famous characters including Tom and Jerry.  The costumes are much better quality.  The size difference may still trigger some, but both Tom and Jerry are better looking than the previous costume.  They both have much rounder facial expressions.  The top hairs are much thicker.  Tom and Jerry have bigger smiles.  Jerry is much cutter.  The fur is much lighter making performances much better.  Tom still doesn't have his side hairs, but the mold shows enough detail to believe he has it.  In 2019, the characters began appearing at the Warner Bros. Studios Australia using these brand new designs.  Here's hoping they come to America soon.