The Karate Guard is a 2005 American animated cartoon short film, and the 163rd Tom and Jerry short. Directed by Joseph Barbera (Tom and Jerry co-creator and co-founder of Hanna-Barbera) and Spike Brandt, The Karate Guard was the last Tom and Jerry cartoon that Barbera worked on before his death in 2006. It had a limited theatrical release in cinemas throughout Los Angeles on September 27, 2005, and had its television premiere on Cartoon Network on January 27, 2006.