| “ | Hey, guys. Talking Tom, here. I guess I need no introduction but if there are any uninitiated dudes out there, I'm the cool, good-looking one in the middle! Basically, the top cat. Enough said! | „ |
Tom[27][28][note 2] (born August 18[18][19]), better known as Thomas and also known as Talking Tom, is the titular and main character (or protagonist) of the Talking Tom & Friends franchise. Originally a model designed by Ukrainian artist Andrey Kravchenko and uploaded to the 3D model website TurboSquid, the character Tom was created when Slovenian entrepreneur Samo Login purchased the model to generate a children's app in early 2010 and effectively reach success within the mobile industry.[1][29][30] He made his debut in Talking Tom Cat, published by Outfit7 in June of 2010.
Tom is generally depicted as an adventurous, charismatic, fun-loving and wisecracking but good-willed tabby cat and is the brave leader of a group of friends[31][32] who loves being the center of attention and seeks fame. His residence and occupation vary, but he is most often seen suggesting ideas or trying crazy stunts to help himself and his friends reach fortune. His work is aided by his partner Ben, his good friend[33]/girlfriend Angela, his younger friend (and neighbor in older media) Ginger, his roommate Hank and sometimes a few others. Though their ideas often fail, Tom is quick to pick himself up and continue their work.
Tom is a large image in pop culture and him and his franchise have garnered a huge following since his successful debut app in 2010, making numerous appearances across apps, shows and even multimedia events. With several Talking Tom & Friends apps having reached over a billion downloads worldwide, the franchise and Tom himself have largely impacted the mobile industry, his franchise being considered the most successful and most downloaded app series of his first decade[34] and Tom being considered the most popular and well known character from it as of late 2014.[35]
Appearance
Tom generally appears as a gray 20 year old[2] tabby cat,[8] Felis fabulatus, who has long whiskers, green eyes, a stripy tail, a pink nose and canals and white eyebrows. He also has four fingers on each hand and three toes on each foot.
Apps
In the original version of Talking Tom Cat, Tom appeared as a bright gray cat. For facial details he had large, black whiskers, semi-realistic feline eyes and a huge mouth that spread over his face. His mouth and on his stomach had tinted white fur around them.
In Talking Tom Cat 2, Tom's design was drastically overhauled. Tom appears rather with white whiskers, a more mid-tone gray color-scheme with a more visible transfer between grey and white. His face was also optimized with visible reflection in his eyes. His jaw is also visibly smaller, and he has more realistic fur,
Starting from Tom's Messenger, Tom's visibly fatter, with wider cheeks and a more rotund stomach.
In My Talking Tom, he appears similar to his look from Tom's Messenger and Talking Friends, but with a simplified style, and no visible fur. He also varies in size depending on his age. He doesn't have whiskers either.
In Talking Tom Gold Run, Tom once again had a huge overhaul in design. He appears with his original bright gray tone, his eyes are significantly larger, and his mouth is significantly smaller, creating a cutesy Tom. Due to being redesigned to be more chibi styled, Tom is also significantly shorter, with a visibly huge head. Depending on the product, this design varies from being two and three-dimensional. His outfit also varies, depending on if he is wearing it in the game, with him wearing a green polo shirt with one visible yellow pocket in Talking Tom Gold Run (this uniform returned later on).
In My Talking Tom 2, he appears very similar to his design from the previous game, albeit with smaller cheeks and a larger head, more resemblant of his chibi look.
Talking Tom and Friends
In Talking Tom and Friends starting Season 4 onwards, he wears a red t-shirt with a thumbs-up sign on the front, blue jeans with a green belt and white and red sneakers.
Starting from "Waitress Angela" onwards, Tom can be seen wearing a blue collared polo. This outfit is used interchangeably with his Season 4 outfit during the rest of Season 5.
Personality
Talking Friends
In the Talking Friends series, Tom is the icon and the leader of the Talking Friends. His life is full of adventure and happenings, he loves trying out new things and he never says no. He loves to make people laugh, he's fun and creative, and has a lot of ideas. He fills his days and others days with fun and never lets anything get him down.
Tom believes that life is an adventure. He is always looking for new ways of getting his adrenaline pumping. All this can make Tom quite competitive. Tom is sometimes competitive and does not like losing, but if and when it happens, he's a good sport and congratulates the winner. He’s also a cat who loves his friends more than anything. He’s not afraid to pull out all the stops, he never gives up, and he’ll stick by someone's side no matter what.
When Tom is not busy trying to flirt with Angela, he loves to plan inventions with best friend Ben.
He had the least changes when the Talking Tom and Friends rebrand came around 2014.
"You're right, I couldn't look any better!" ("Multipli-Kitty")
Talking Tom and Friends
In the Talking Tom and Friends and Talking Friends series, Tom is portrayed as a very ambitious and adventurous person, as he is always suggesting ideas that might seem okay at first but slowly spiral into chaos. As the leader of his gang, the others usually follow him even if they doubt that his ideas will work. He takes chances when he sees them as an opportunity to make him either rich or famous or better yet, both. He is very confident and charismatic about himself, using every opportunity possible to compliment himself, but he also takes note of the capabilities and talents of others and will praise them. He is often wisecracking, which can be attributed to his sense of humor; Though his jokes are sometimes insulting, they are often not intentionally harmful and he simply enjoys making people laugh.[8] Although he can be reckless, he is kind and deeply cares about his friends and is always willing to lend a helping hand. Sometimes giving them advice whenever they ask for it.
He has great dignity and morals and is always willing to help those in need. However, his rash and not thought-out actions can sometimes stress the other friends in the gang.
In the My Talking Tom video game series, Tom is portrayed to be a playful cat who enjoys being with the player. He can get very sad or upset when the player does not spend time with him or assist him with his needs. He also does not feel the need for privacy, since he always leaves the door open when he is urinating, even making silly faces at the player while he is doing so.
Relationships
| “ | I like Talking Angela because she’s so talented and strong. Every goal she sets out to achieve, she achieves. I’m super inspired by her persistence – I wish I had more of it myself. | „ |
There are two backstories as to how Tom met Angela. The first one is explained in the apps Tom Loves Angela and Talking Angela via the chat feature. Tom met Angela while she was out with her friends one evening, attempting to find a music concert her and her friends found online.[37] It was dark, and the four of them had gotten lost in a large warehouse district.[38] Shortly after, Tom found the group and asked if they needed any help.[39] Tom and Angela shook paws,[40] and it turned out he was going to the same concert as her.[41] Tom also knew the band, and was able to get Angela and her friends in for free.[42] The two hung out together the whole evening,[43] and later Tom pulled her aside and asked for her phone number.[44] Angela gave him her home phone number, and after Angela arrived home, he called instantly. The noise woke Angela's parents, and she was grounded for staying up so late.[45]
The Talking Friends web series depicts Tom and Angela meeting differently in the episode "Rock the Catsbah". In that episode, Angela’s car breaks down while on her way to record a song for Feline Factor. Tom instantly falls in love with Angela upon seeing her, trying to look good in front of her and flirting with her. When Angela explains her issue, Tom lies and says that they have a recording studio, leaving Ben to build one as Tom gives Angela a tour around the neighborhood. Tom helps Angela record her song once the studio is finished, but he is so distracted by looking at her that he accidentally turns up the bass too high and causes the studio to fall apart. Luckily, Pierre recorded everything and Angela is implied to reciprocate Tom’s feelings before leaving with her song.
In the 2014 series, it is unknown how the two met, but as of Season 1 they have already known each other for at least 3 years. In Season 1, Tom and Angela are not a couple, but Tom has a secret crush on Angela. These feelings are first shown in "Future Tron", where Tom gets scared over the thought of Hank and Angela being in love. Throughout Season 1, Tom's interest on Angela grows deeper as we can see in episodes such as "Tom's Love Song", where Tom wants to write a song specifically to impress her. Although, if anyone tries to confront him about his interest, he will immediately deny what the person is saying, despite how obvious he makes his interest on her towards the people around him.
In "Parallel Universe", Tom gets close to an alternate version of Angela simply because she shares the same feelings towards him. Angela discovers this and becomes frustrated with him for loving the other Angela. Tom questions why Angela is upset as they are not dating, catching onto Angela's mutual feeling. This sets up the Season 1 finale, where Angela admits to also liking Tom in front of Ben. Angela didn't want to tell Tom about her secret, as she felt it would ruin their relationship if he declined. Tom eventually discovered her secret and they both revealed their love towards each other, kissing each other before their mind is finally wiped by Hank.
In Season 2, they find out about their erased memory through a video recording of the two kissing on Ginger's phone and which starts an awkward tension between the two. They agree to stay as just friends after a date goes wrong and go on a normal friend event together but after the rest of the gang are separated from Tom and Angela, they begin to confess that they've wanted to go on a date after the friend event went wrong and declare their relationship by telling Ginger that they're on a date, much to his disgust.
In the My Talking Tom video game series, Angela and Tom are not in a romantic relationship.[33] The two are instead presented as best friends, but sometimes there is a romantic relationship between them, though Angela is easily annoyed by Tom's clumsiness and his crazy behavior.
Ben:
Ben is Tom's childhood best friend and business partner. After meeting through bumping into each other playing the same video game, they are implied to have a great bond over the years from childhood to adulthood. They have dreamt of having a company together and used their ideas and creativity to make it. They often have fights, violent in the pilot but more shouting and insulting in the series. When Tom becomes angry at Ben, he tries to not make Ben famous and ruin Ben's projects secretly. A lot of their arguments can involve the company itself, Tom's normally leading to events of the argument.
Hank:
Hank is Tom's close friend and roommate in the studio. Unlike the rest of the gang, it is not specified how they met, but they are said to be close friends. Hank is known to share the ability that Tom has of coming up with creative ideas and thoughts. Hank had thought of the idea for My Talking Tom and the company released it. Hank sometimes supports Tom with what he is doing without thinking about what he's getting into, Hank also comes up with solutions to the gang's problems at their time of need in the climax. This is even noticed by the characters themselves as mentioned in "The Incredible Super-Fan", when Hank is not with the rest of the gang and they question what to do.
| “ | My favorite little guy! My nephew Ginger is the cutest cat! | „ |
Ginger is Tom's friend. In older media he was his neighbor as well but this has been retconned. In the 2014 series, Ginger is Tom’s neighbor, but in most other media he is simply one of Tom’s friends. Ginger usually plays tricks on Tom and the rest of the gang as he likes to laugh and have fun, as well as this, he likes to play with the rest of the gang, usually playing too well for everyone else to catch up. Ginger can sometimes be a menace towards Tom, ruining and using their inventions during the making of this one. He doesn't like anyone else taking his friends away from him and can use his annoyance on those who break their friendship in order to get them back. He can get frustrated about the friends being uptight about rules and doesn't like it when everyone ignores what he's saying, but he learns that sometimes they need to do things in order to stay where they are. He also heavily dislikes and is disgusted by love, therefore not liking Tom and Angela's relationship.
Becca:
The relationship between Tom and Becca is not shown much, but they are good friends nevertheless. Tom became the center of feud between Angela and Becca in Boyfriend Stealer, only for Tom and Angela to find out she had a crush on Hank, ending their feud.
Profiles
2011 Talking Friends Brand Guide
Tom is a mischievous [sic] little bugger who has a serious thing for milk. After his appearance on Modern Family, he is starting to be concerned that his acting is "not being taken seriously".
Outfit7 Website (2012)
Top cat is in the house! Talking Tom … the cat, the myth, the legend. He’s the center of the Talking Friends universe and he knows it too! His life is full of adventure and happenings, he loves trying out new things and he never says no. Unless the question is: “Do you wanna quit now?”
When Tom is not busy wooing Talking Angela, he loves to plan great inventions with his former school mentor Talking Ben. Flying car? Tom did it! Ship that also floats on land? Tom did it! Tom is also a great role model for Talking Ginger. Without him, who knows where Talking Ginger would be!
Outfit7 Website (2013)
Top cat is in the house! Talking Tom… the cat, the myth, the legend. He’s the center of the Talking Friends universe and he knows it! Tom is street-smart, always ready to weedle his way into a better situation. His life is full of adventure and happenings, he loves trying out new things and he never says no. Unless the question is: “Do you wanna quit now?”
He’s also a cat who loves his friends more than anything. He’s not afraid to pull out all the stops, he never gives up, and he’ll stick by your side no matter what.
Outfit7 Website (2014)
You all know Talking Tom and you all love him! Right? Right! He’s the most charming cat in the world. He’s cool and funny. Totally funny!
Tom, thanks to his totally charming self and his positive outlook on the world, has many friends. He’s very protective of his friends and would do anything to do what’s best for them. Another very important fact about Tom is that he never ever gives up and always looks on the bright side of life. Yep, that’s our Tom.
Talking Friends Cartoons
- Tireless charmer
- Optimistic crowd pleaser
- Magnificent attention seeker
A wise-cracking and charismatic star never says no to an adventure. He's prone to accidents, but luckily, he's a cat with nine lives. Ironically, his motto is: live like you've only got one! On set he enjoyed spending time with Ben, but only until Angela joined the crew. Then he only had eyes for her. Once he unfortunately didn't see the cables when running towards her. Ouch!
Talking Tom Website
It’s me, the coolest cat in the universe and I love to make you laugh! I’m fun and creative, at least that’s what my friends say. I have a lot of awesome ideas… Ben doesn’t always agree, but what does he know! I fill my days with fun and laughter and I never let anything get me down. I love my friends, my nephew, Ginger, the purrfect girl, Angela, my buddy Ben and everyone else. You definitely have to meet them all.
Talking Angela Website
Tom is super cool and everyone loves to hang around him! He has wild imagination and lots of ideas that he can’t wait to put into action. Sometimes totally unrealistic but all very unique… He’s so charming and always looks on the bright side of life. Just looking at him can bring a smile to my face. He would do everything for his friends. Especially me ♥.
Talking Friends McDonald's 2013 cards
Tom is the charismatic ringleader of the Talking Friends. He makes new friends everywhere he goes and is always the center of attention.
Talking Friends Annual 2014
- Name: Talking Tom
- Eyes: Green
- Fur: Grey Tabby
- Status: Top Cat
- Best Friend: Talking Ben
- Girlfriend: Talking Angela
- Hobby: Being a famous cat
- Tom enjoys: Everything!
- Thing he’s least likely to say: I quit!
- But just who is Tom: A charming and charismatic cat who loves to make people laugh
Talking Tom and Friends Website (2015-2023)
Hi, guys! I’m Tom. You’ve probably heard of me, right? I’m the leader of the gang. The alpha cat. The big kahuna! Our app studio is the first step on the road to fame, fortune, and… what’s another thing that begins with “F”? Oh, right – FUN!
I’m the “big picture” guy. My ideas are legendary. My dreams are BIG. We are going places, I guarantee it. We just need to work hard and come up with one perfect game or app. Well, Ben does! Haha! But seriously – my friends are the best. Especially Angela… Ahem. But yeah – keep watching the show, guys. And enjoy! The fun’s only just beginning…
Talking Tom and Friends Style Guide
Talking Tom’s sunny persona and his passion for fun and adventure put him in the center of attention immediately. He's a larger-than-life type of guy. Or, as his friends like to put it, Tom is the "big ideas" guy. When he's not coming up with the next big idea that's sure to make him and his friends famous. He loves watching TV and movies, and sometimes even reading.
Tom believes that life is an adventure. He is always looking for new ways of getting his adrenaline pumping, like jet-skiing. racing airplanes. scuba diving, rock climbing and base Jumping. All this can make Tom quite competitive. He really doesn't like losing, but if and when it happens. He's a good sport and congratulates the winner.
That is what makes Tom such a charming person. No matter how much attention he gets. He will always make sure that it's well earned. That no friend gets left behind. He always wants to make people happy. That's actually his secret life mission.
Conception
CAT CARTOON, the model which would eventually come to be known as "Tom".
In 2009, Slovenian high school students Samo and Iza Login, who studied computer science in college, decided to get into the business of apps. The two had saved $250,000 while working for local IT companies, and the Logins, alongside six friends, set up an office in the capital, Ljubljana. Their first few attempts were unsuccessful, having created a soccer app, a travel guide to Iceland, and a “wealth affirmation” tool that shared financial mantras.[29]
After some more unsuccessful attempts, Samo Login, who was not interested in making video games due to competition, came up with the idea to create an app based around a character. Samo Login purchased a $90 cat model created by artist Andrey Kravchenko off of the 3D-model website TurboSquid, which he named "Talking Tom", and handed the model to his developers, who coded the animations and talkback feature. The final result would come to be as Talking Tom Cat, which was published in June of 2010, and served as a debut for the character Tom.[30] And the rest, Is history.
Trivia
- According to the Talking Friends Annual 2014, he is a tabby cat. According to Talking Angela and Tom Loves Angela, he is also a Felis fabulatus.
- Tom shares a name and eye color with another famous cat called "Tom", a character in the popular MGM short film series and franchise Tom and Jerry.
- It is revealed in Talking Gina the Giraffe that Tom played Patty Cake in a competition with Gina, but got in third place.
- He has two vlogs: Talking Tom's Brainfarts and Talking Tom Vlogs.
- According to Talking Friends Cartoons, Tom's motto is "Live like you've only got one!"[46] This refers to the common myth that cats have nine lives.
- His original model was from a modeling website called TurboSquid.
- Though Tom himself has said that he hates dupstep,[20] he is seen spoofing the "Dupstep Hipster Cat" Vimeo video created by user Denis in an old short released on the official Talking Tom YouTube channel.[47]
- During the 2014 series, he is seen breaking up with Angela a lot.
- The romantic relationship between Tom and Angela is titled "TomGela" in a video released by the official Talking Tom & Friends YouTube channel in 2013.[48] However, this name has yet to be used in-world.
- Tom's name, which was given to him by Outfit7's founder Samo Login,[30] is likely a play on "tomcat", a term used to describe male cats which have not been neutered. This is acknowledged in-world when Angela sarcastically remarks that Tom's name is "unique" in the Talking Friends episode, "Rock the Catsbah".
- His real name, "Thomas", does not refer to any specific pun and is used on rare occasion. It is first used to refer to the character by Ben in the Talking Friends episode "Attack of the Tech!", which released in 2012. It is only used once more in the series in the episode "Multipli-Kitty". Afterwards, the name would go unmentioned until 2017, where it is used by Darren in the Talking Tom and Friends episode, "The Backup Genius". "Thomas" is later used again in the episodes "Back to School", "Landlord in Love", "Pirates of Love" and finally "The Dance Contest".
- Around June 2021, Tom was featured in a video which became an internet meme involving the original Talking Tom Cat, created by TikTok user @mezzoreeves.
- In 2012, he visited Hollywood during a promotional event for the release of the Talking Friends Superstar event.
- During 2011-2014, Tom's main catchphrase was "No, no no", which he would use in almost every app he was featured in during that timeframe.
- Tom's birthday is incorrectly stated to be on August 28 in officially licensed promotional material for Talking Tom & Friends created by Dream Theatre Ltd.,[49] ten days after its actual date.
- Tom is the only character in the franchise that has a relative that appears regularly. That is because Ginger is Tom's nephew. All the other characters only have either mentioned relatives or relatives that only have voices.
- On the TTAF S4+ style, he wears a red shirt with a white thumbs up.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "http://blog.turbosquid.com/2010/07/23/turbosquid-cat-on-iphone/", Retrieved 04-05-23
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Talking Angela Tom's age screenshot
- ↑ Talking Angela Ginger nephew screenshot
- ↑ "Rock the Catsbah" from Talking Friends (0:56) "This is my nephew, Ginger."
- ↑ "Multipli-Kitty" from Talking Friends (1:11) "I've been a bad, bad uncle."
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "talkingtom.com/ginger.html" (April 2015), Retrieved 05-21-23
- ↑ "outfit7.com/character/talking-ginger" (May 2014), Retrieved 05-21-23
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 Talking Friends Annual 2014 Pg. 15
- ↑ Talking Friends McDonald's 2013 Ginger's profile
- ↑ "radiox.co.uk/radio/shows-presenters/chris-moyles/wants-help-mystery-couple-spend-billion/", Retrieved 09-24-24
- ↑ "jaxxtheatricals.org/about/", Retrieved 05-27-24
- ↑ "https://vimeo.com/227980789", Retrieved 06-10-24
- ↑ "x.com/MictheMatt/status/1011234701640716288", Retrieved 09-24-24
- ↑ "davesoltura.com/", Retrieved 06-10-24
- ↑ "facebook.com/davesoltura/videos/this-is-what-it-feels-like-when-ive-had-coffee-sleep-and-prayerswatch-me-as-tom-/527851651405450/", Retrieved 05-27-24
- ↑ "thekitchen.tv/blog/tag/talkingtom", Retrieved 09-24-24
- ↑ "c21media.net/marketplace/cakeentertainment/talking-tom-heroes-suddenly-super/22455/", Retrieved 09-24-24
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 "http://talkingtomandfriends.com/happy-birthday-to-me-2", Retrieved 04-05-23
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 "talkingtomandfriends.com/talking-tom", Retrieved 04-05-23
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 "Happy Birthday to Me!" from the official Talking Tom YouTube channel, "It was purrfect... Until he started playing that absolutely horrible "dubstep". You call that music?"
- ↑ "Tom the Brave" from Talking Tom and Friends
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 "outfit7.com/character/talking-tom/" (May 2013), Retrieved 04-14-23
- ↑ "Talking Ben's Top 3 Jokes" from the official Talking Tom YouTube channel, (1:00), "You don't know what you're talking about, Ben. My cat jokes are purrfectly awesome!"
- ↑ "The Making of Talking Tom Shorts" from the official Talking Tom YouTube channel (1:58), "I love cheese! Yes, cheese. I know, I know, I shouldn't eat it, but I love it! I really do."
- ↑ "Tom After Tom" from Talking Friends (0:32), "I pity the fool who doesn't love the 80s."
- ↑ Talking Friends Annual 2014 Pg. 5
- ↑ "Attack of the Tech!" from Talking Friends (0:17) "I don't know what went wrong, Thomas! I followed schematics and used lots of screws, bolts, and nuts!"
- ↑ "Back to School" from Talking Tom and Friends (4:08) "Thomas! You're going to keep getting in trouble until you learn to pay attention!"
- ↑ 29.0 29.1 "bloomberg.com/news/features/2017-05-17/why-did-a-chinese-peroxide-company-pay-1-billion-for-a-talking-cat", Retrieved 11-27-23
- ↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 "fortune.com/2011/05/25/talking-tom-is-rich-outfit7-wants-to-turn-smartphone-characters-into-saturday-cartoons/", Retrieved 11-27-23
- ↑ Talking Friends McDonald's 2013 Tom's profile
- ↑ "http://talkingtom.tv/", Retrieved 05-13-24
- ↑ 33.0 33.1 "facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1910558788962533", Retrieved 05-20-24
- ↑ "prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/talking-tom--friends-is-the-1-mobile-game-ip-worldwide-by-downloads-301673377.html", Retrieved 05-18-24
- ↑ "outfit7.com/2billion" (October 2014), Retrieved 05-18-24
- ↑ "talkingtomandfriends.com/join-the-friendship" (December 2017), Retrieved 06-01-23
- ↑ Talking Angela Tom and Angela meeting screenshot one
- ↑ Talking Angela Tom and Angela meeting screenshot two
- ↑ Talking Angela Tom and Angela meeting screenshot three
- ↑ Talking Angela Tom and Angela meeting screenshot four
- ↑ Talking Angela Tom and Angela meeting screenshot five
- ↑ Talking Angela Tom and Angela meeting screenshot six
- ↑ Talking Angela Tom and Angela meeting screenshot seven
- ↑ Talking Angela Tom and Angela meeting screenshot eight
- ↑ Talking Angela Tom and Angela meeting screenshot nine
- ↑ Talking Friends Cartoons Tom's profile
- ↑ "Talking Tom Spoofs Dubstep Hipster Cat" from the official Talking Tom YouTube channel
- ↑ "Talking Friends - 1 Billion App Downloads!" from the official Talking Tom & Friends YouTube channel (0:04)
- ↑ Tom's profile by Dream Theatre Ltd.
Notes
- ↑ In Talking Angela and Tom Loves Angela, when the question "What species is Tom?" is asked, Angela will refer to him as a Talking Cat or Chatting Chat, other names for the Felis fabulatus.
- ↑ Unlike characters like Becca Sparkles or Maurice Claremont, Tom is not given a last name. In Talking Angela and Tom Loves Angela, Angela claims that anthropomorphic cats such as herself do not have last names, meaning Tom's full name is simply "Thomas".
