<Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> Release </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Original release </Th> <Td> February 10, 1940 (1940 - 02 - 10) </Td> </Tr> <P> Tom and Jerry is an American animated series of short films created in 1940, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera . It centers on a rivalry between its two title characters, Tom and Jerry, and many recurring characters, based around slapstick comedy . </P> <P> In its original run, Hanna and Barbera produced 114 Tom and Jerry shorts for Metro - Goldwyn - Mayer from 1940 to 1958 . During this time, they won seven Academy Awards for Animated Short Film, tying for first place with Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies with the most awards in the category . After the MGM cartoon studio closed in 1958, MGM revived the series with Gene Deitch directing an additional 13 Tom and Jerry shorts for Rembrandt Films from 1961 to 1962 . Tom and Jerry then became the highest - grossing animated short film series of that time, overtaking Looney Tunes . Chuck Jones then produced another 34 shorts with Sib - Tower 12 Productions between 1963 and 1967 . Three more shorts were produced, The Mansion Cat in 2001, The Karate Guard in 2005, and "A Fundraising Adventure" in 2014, making a total of 164 shorts . Various shorts have been released for home media since the 1990s . </P>

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