Cartoon Network India Reinvents Tom and Jerry

WarnerMedia’s Cartoon Network in India has added a local-language narration track to the famous chase cartoon The Tom and Jerry Show.

In many iterations of the program over the course of its 80-year history, Tom and Jerry has been a non-dialogue show, with voices provided for the characters in only some of the versions. In the new version in India, a commentary-style “thoughtover” track has been added for the first time.

Season four of The Tom and Jerry Show is airing daily on Cartoon Network in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. Early numbers show that during the first couple of weeks after its Diwali festival launch in November, the show claimed eight slots in the top 20 slots, including four of the top five.

Leslie Lee, head of kids in the Asia Pacific for WarnerMedia, said: “We think that cartoon fans will love this layered style of storytelling in India, and the initial ratings back this up. While the show retains the full flavor of the original, an added local spice has been added to the mix. Fans are laughing in that unique way that only Tom and Jerry fans do, and that’s very gratifying for us in the curation business.”