Japanese Artist Turns Tom and Jerry’s Most Brutal Moments Into Hilarious Sculptures

(TMU) — Tokyo-based artist Taku Inoue has become a phenomenon over the past year for his creative work depicting the most wild and hilarious moments from the classic animated series Tom and Jerry—specifically, those scenes of Thomas “Tom” Cat suffering brutal injuries.

The iconic series of short cartoons by legendary animators William Hanna and Joseph Barbera was released in movie theaters from 1940 to 1967 and featured brilliantly and creatively-depicted slapstick battles between Tom the housecat and Jerry the mouse.

Tom and Jerry had a dynamic, violent, and energetic style that almost always depicted Tom meeting a harsh fate at the end of each short.

Tom’s suffering took many forms including heavy steam irons plummeting down on his head, leaving a mark that he shook away before resuming his chase and garden rakes brutally smacked him in the face as he pursued his rival. At the end of one episode, Tom ends up on the guillotine and in another, he even goes to Hell!

There’s no question that the iconic cartoon would have a tough time reaching television screens these days—unless it was being broadcast on Adult Swim or with a new TV parental guidance rating.

But for Japanese artist Taku Inoue, the cartoon has given birth to his brilliant new hobby of creating Tom and Jerry sculptures that perfectly capture the wild nature of the cartoon. The artist told Buzzfeed:

“Tom and Jerry had a big impact on my childhood, it’s influential to my creative work … I’m very happy to see new Tom and Jerry fans created as a result of my work! Thank you Hanna-Barbera!”

Here are some of the best moments recreated by Inoue, which come from his Twitter account:

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Twitter: @inouetable

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Twitter: @inouetable

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By Elias Marat | Creative Commons | TheMindUnleashed.com