Tom and Jerry Logo PNG
The Tom and Jerry animated franchise consists of several hundred short cartoons. This series began in 1940. The cartoon was even nominated for the 1940 Academy Awards. Originally from 1940-1958, the cartoon was produced at MGM Studios in Hollywood. The series released during this period are considered the benchmark of animated series.
Meaning and history
The storyline of the cartoon consists of the eternal pursuit and constant rivalry between the two main characters – Tom (in the first series Jasper) and Jerry (in the first series Jinx, which means “bringing happiness”). In the second series, the cat and the mouse became the familiar Tom and Jerry, but the characters changed their appearance more than once.
The legendary Tom and Jerry series, under the direction of directors William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, composer Scott Bradley, and producer Fred Quimby, ran from 1940 through 1958.
During the 18 years they worked on Tom and Jerry, Hanna and Barbera won seven Oscars! They received them for the cartoons – “The Yankee Doodle Mouse” (1943), “Mouse Trouble” (1944), “Quiet, Please!” (1945), “The Cat Concerto” (1947), “The Little Orphan” (1949), “Two Musketeers” (1952) and for “Johann Mouse” (1954).
And in 1958, Hanna and Barbera made the unexpected decision to close the animation department at MGM and open their independent animation studio.
Based on the series, a full-length cartoon was made in 1992, where Tom and Jerry were joined by Robin Starling, a runaway from home.
The Tom and Jerry brand has become very popular in the world. Full-length movies, TV programs, video games, comic books, and other short cartoons have been released with the same name. The Tom and Jerry logo can be seen on clothing, tableware, souvenirs, and even stationery.
What is Tom and Jerry?
Tom and Jerry is the name of an American animated series starring Tom the Cat and Jerry the Mouse. The release of the first animated series Puss Gets The Boots dates back to February 4, 1940, and new adventure stories appear on television screens to this day. The founding fathers of Tom and Jerry are rightfully American cartoonists William Hanna and Joseph Barbera.
In terms of visual identity, Tom and Jerry have always been bright and fun. The lettering could be written in different fonts, but in most cases, it featured white or yellow shades and was accompanied by the images of the main characters of the cartoon.
1941 – 1943, 2001
The original Tom and Jerry logo, designed in 1941, featured wavy lettering in yellow gradients, with the names of the characters capitalized and emboldened, while the “and” was set in delicate cursive lowercase letters. At the bottom of the wordmark, there was a head of a lurking cat, while the mouse was walking above the inscription of its name and teasing the cat.
1943 – 1946, 2011 – 2017
In 1943 the color palette of the Tom and Jerry wordmark was switched to white and sky-blue. There were two official versions, used in that period: the one with uppercase geometric lettering under the detailed image of Tom and Jerry, and solely the inscription in a stylized cursive font, set against a gradient orange-to-red background.
1946 – 1953, 1954, 2005 – 2007, 2010 – 2017
Another redesign was held in 1946, with the friendly smiling Tom and Jerry drawn against an orange background formed by several rings in different shades. The inscription was set in yellow again, with the bold geometric capital letters outlined in white. The sharpness of the serif characters was softened by the small script “And”.
1953 – 1955
The Tom and Jerry logo from the mid-50s seemed fresher than previous versions due to the use of a new color palette, based on gradients of sea blue shade, and thinner lines of the inscription, with more air inside and between the characters, written in three levels in the center of the badge, separating the image of the mouse from the cat’s portrait.
1956
Another logo was used by the cartoon in 1956. In was a bright grass-green background with the yellow wavy inscription, where the smiling head of Tom was set in the bottom left corner, and the cute mouse was sliding on the arched “Jerry” lettering, in the top right corner.
1956 – 1958
A completely different concept was used for the Tom and Jerry logo from 1956. It was a horizontally oriented composition formed by three rectangles: the pink one on the left, with the image of Tom, the green one with Jerry on the right, and a golden rectangle with the name of the cartoon framed in white ornaments — in the center. All three parts of the logo were set against a solid blue background.
1961 – 1962
The variety of series logos, created in 1961 — 1962 truly impresses. More than a dozen different images were created in just one year. All of them were based on a bold geometric inscription with no outline, and the drawings of Tom and Jerry, where Tom looked aggressive and Jerry was teasing the cat with his indifference.
1963 – 1967
With the redesign of 1963, the Tom and Jerry logo became a bit more minimalistic. There were two options: with colorful lettering on a plain black background and no graphical images; and a bright orange banner with blue and red geometric lettering, and the small images of the main characters inscribed into the “O” and the “Y” of the logo wordmark.
1985 – 1996
In 1985 the Tom and Jerry logo started being more professional and gained a recognizable geometric sans-serif typeface, which will stay unchanged for decades. The composition was based solely on bright red lettering with sharp angles, and outlines and shadowed in black, and placed against a transparent background.
1996 – 2018
The redesign of 1996 has made the Tom and Jerry logo three-dimensional, with the glossy red characters outlined in yellow and placed on a white background. The style of the typeface remained the same, but with new accents, the badge started being more eye-catching and intense.
2001 – Today
The gloss of the characters became more modest and laconic after the Tom and Jerry logo redesign, held in 2001. Also, the bold yellow outline was replaced by a thin black one, which created a more distinctive and confident image, and this badge is still used by the franchise today.
2005 – Today
Another version of the Tom and Jerry logo which we can still see today was introduced in 2005. The new typeface was based on the previous one but with slightly thinner lines and more air inside the characters. The bodies of the letters were colored in light yellow and white gradients and outlined in thick red, which made the logotype look strong and friendly at the same time.
2009, 2014 – 2021
The logo, created in 2009 and used by the franchise twice throughout the years, featured a medium-weight sans-serif inscription, executed in the modified Shag Lounge typeface, with the slightly jumping characters written against a transparent background in blue, red, and orange. There were no graphical additions, and the main accents were created by colors.
2018 – Today
The Tom and Jerry logo was revamped again in 2018. The same geometric typeface with sharp peaks and straight cuts was kept by the designers, but the red letters got black shadow and white outline, which created a voluminous composition, plus now the inscription is more often placed in two levels, making the badge more compact.
2021
For the Tom and Jerry in New York movie, the logo was designed in 2021. The bright blue background, red and yellow lettering in a recognizable typeface, and the heads of the main characters tearing off the “O”s of the lettering — are the main elements of the badge.
Font and color
The bold uppercase lettering from the primary version of the Tom and Jerry logo is set in a custom geometric sans-serif typeface, which has a lot in common with such commercial fonts as Shermlock, Many Gifts, or Rapid Mental Thursday, but with some visible modifications.
As for the color palette of the Tom and Jerry visual identity, its logotype is most often seen in red, a color of passion, love, and at the same time aggression. And it makes sense, considering the love-hate relationship of the main characters of the cartoon.
