Tom and Jerry is an Academy Award-winning animated cartoon series of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer theatrical short subjects created, written and directed by animators, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. One hundred and fourteen Tom and Jerry cartoons were produced by the MGM cartoon studio in Hollywood from 1940 until 1957, when the animation unit was closed down. These shorts are notable for having won seven Academy Awards for Best Short Subject (Cartoons), tying it with Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies as the most-awarded theatrical animated series. It is widely considered one of the best animated cartoon series ever.