Tom and Jerry: A Nutcracker Tale appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.78:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. The image consistently looked solid.
Sharpness worked well. No signs of softness materialized in this tight, precise presentation.
Jaggies and moiré effects also remained absent, and the image lacked edge haloes or artifacts. In addition, print flaws were a non-factor and didn’t appear at any point.
In terms of colors, Tale went with a pretty cartoony, peppy palette. The tones looked solid, as they showed positive richness and vivacity.
Blacks were deep and tight, while shadows showed nice clarity. Across the board, the picture worked well.
I thought the Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack of Tale opened up the material in a moderate manner, as the forward channels brought out the majority of the material and became the focal point. Music presented strong stereo imaging, while effects cropped up in logical spots and blended well.
The surrounds threw in occasional elements, but they didn’t do a whole lot. Action scenes gave us a smattering of involving components and periodically brought the material to life. However, much of the movie emphasized the forward channels and didn’t create a particularly involving mix.
Audio quality always satisfied. Speech was warm and natural, without edginess or other issues.
Music sounded lively and full, while effects displayed good definition. Those elements seemed accurate and dynamic.
The soundtrack merited a “C+”, though it would’ve gotten to a “B-“ if the disc brought us a lossless option. No Blu-ray circa 2020 should only come with lossy Dolby Digital, so I docked the mix a little for this bizarre choice.
Two additional seasonal Tom and Jerry shorts appear on the Blu-ray: 1941’s The Night Before Christmas (8:42) and 2014’s Santa’s Little Helpers (21:56).
In Night, Jerry plays with toys and accidentally wakes up Tom when he mistakes the cat for a toy. Antagonistic hijinks result.
Night doesn’t really delight, but it uses its themes in a moderately clever way and certainly becomes much more entertaining than this disc’s main attraction.
As for the more modern Helpers, Jerry and mouse pal Tuffy love their life in Santa’s workshop. This changes when a cat named Tom finds his way into this location. Antagonistic hijinks result.
Helpers brings a madcap tone to the franchise that we don’t see in Tale or Night. Toss in the voices of Mark Hamill and Edie McClurg as Santa and spouse and Helpers becomes fairly entertaining.
The disc opens with an ad for Cats & Dogs 3. Trailers adds a preview for SCOOB.
If you enter Tom and Jerry: A Nutcracker Tale with exceedingly low expectations, you may enjoy it, but even then, I doubt it. Uncreative and dull, the movie turns into a tedious 48 minutes of monotony. The Blu-ray brings excellent visuals along with adequate audio and a pair of bonus shorts. With all the quality holiday entertainment out there, you can do much better than this.