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Michael Jackson was almost in ''Tom and Jerry: The Movie''
Michael Jackson loved cartoons! Stars, they're just like us!
Two titans at the tops of their games had a meeting in 1992 that could have changed cartoon history forever. In one corner, you have Joe Barbera, co-creator of the Hanna-Barbera animation empire and creator of hundreds of beloved classic cartoons. And in the other corner was his biggest fan, Michael Jackson. They were meeting to discuss Jackson potentially voicing a character in the upcoming feature film for Tom and Jerry.
Tom and Jerry wasn't just any cartoon franchise for Barbera, it was the very first cartoon that he and his professional soulmate, William Hanna, directed together at MGM. It brought them success, sure, but more importantly it established them as a powerhouse team in the animation world. This was a very special project, one that needed the King of Pop's special starpower.
Michael Jackson was a huge cartoon fan. In a 1983 interview with Rolling Stone, Jackson said “Cartoons are unlimited. And when you’re unlimited, it’s the ultimate.” Jackson had nearly been in a cartoon himself: in 1971, Rankin/Bass and Motown Productions coproduced Jackson 5ive, a fictionalized version of Jackon's family band. When the show was created, the Jackson 5 were at the height of their success and facing high demands as a band. While Jackson loved cartoons, his touring and recording schedule was too jam packed to stop and voice act. Jackson and his brothers were played by voice actors, Donald Fullilove played Michael. Funnily enough, Diana Ross played herself in the cartoon! Another cartoon opportunity presented itself to Jackson later on, in 1987 when Ideal Toys partnered with Jackson to create "Michael's Pets". Like Ideal Toys had done with Hanna-Barbera before, the idea of a cartoon to promote the toy line was discussed. The initial plan was that Jackson would play himself and the main character would be his chimpanzee and inspiration for the toy line, Bubbles.The cartoon series never made it past development.
Despite his personal cartoon setbacks, Jackson was an avid collector of all things animation. In a 1987 interview with Rolling Stone he said “I’m a collector of cartoons...All the Disney stuff, Bugs Bunny, the old MGM ones...It’s real escapism. It’s like everything’s all right. It’s like the world is happening now in a faraway city. Everything’s fine." Then in 1992, Jackson reached out to Barbera. In his autobiography My Life In Toons, Barbera wrote "Michael Jackson, an avid cartoon buff, contacted me to discuss the possibility of working on some project together. Who could say no? My thought was to make a deal for him to sing a song in the Tom and Jerry feature."
Barbera drew and signed five sketches of Tom and Jerry and gave them to Jackson. Then, Jackson pulled a photo of himself and his niece and autographed it for Barbera. The two met five times to discuss the project and their mutual love of cartoons. Unfortunately, according to Barbera, Great American Communications (which owned Hanna-Barbera at the time) told Barbera that they had no interest in working with Michael Jackson. Barbera said of Jackson "My meetings with him were delightful, and I found him to be laid back, courteous, and a gentleman - which is a great deal more than you can say about any number of people in our industry."
The Tom and Jerry movie continued on without Michael Jackson. Hanna-Barbera did not replace Jackson with another rock star or big celebrity. In fact, most of the actors in the film were voice actors who weren't bringing in viewers with big Hollywood brands. Likely, Barbera wanted to work with Jackson not just because of his star power, but because of his great love and personal connection to cartoons. Jackson later wrote to Barbera, "To my hero of yesterday, today, and tomorrow, with many thanks for all the many cartoon friends you gave me as a child. They were all I had. – Michael".
