As somebody who has grown up watching Tom and Jerry, filmmaker Tim Story says it was important for him to stay true to the vibe of the popular animated characters, created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, in his upcoming live-action adaptation.

The director, best known for Fantastic Four movies, believes with their slapstick, over-the-top physical comedy, Tom and Jerry transcend time when it comes to humour.

“What we’ve done with this film is to take this historical pair as you would normally see them in, say, a house, but put them on a much bigger canvas. Now, they’re inside a huge hotel and in the presence of actual humans. Not necessarily talking with them, of course, but definitely interacting with them. We stayed true to the original characters,” Story said in a statement.

The film will see Jerry move into New York City’s finest hotel on the eve of the wedding of the century, forcing the event’s desperate planner (Chloe Grace Moretz) to hire Tom to get rid of him.

The Warner Bros. Pictures project also features actors Michael Pena, Colin Jost, Rob Delaney, Ken Jeong and Pallavi Sharda.

Tom & Jerry is scheduled to be released in India on February 19 in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.