Why don't the animated characters Tom and Jerry ever talk?

Occasionally he talks. I have heard him talk once or twice in my 3 years of watching the show. Although Tom the Cat is a mute character, he occasionally yells usually in pain in the cartoons. But, in "Tom and Jerry: The Movie", Tom's speaking voice was provided by Richard Kind. read more

Jerry doesn't usually talk, but his relatives, like Uncle Pecos can (note Tuffy 1 in the aforelinked "Touché, Pussy Cat!") and so can his conscience. Maybe they don't talk because they need all their energy to fight each other. read more

Best Answer: Tom is the cat, Jerry is the mouse. Both Tom and Jerry talked and sang in the original Hanna-Barbera Tom and Jerry cartoons of the 40s and 50s, but that was pretty rare when that happened. In the early cartoons, they wanted to keep Tom and Jerry a little more realistic, the only speaking would be from Mammy Two-Shoes. read more