Verified source report
Tom and Jerry: Forbidden Compass review – furry foes out of their depth in candy-coated Chinese adventure
Cat and mouse are transported to a quasi-medieval China in this luridly bright animation that has none of the inventiveness of the Hanna-Barbera originals This expensively rendered, eye-searingly bright animated feature from China rests on a truly weird premise. Tom and Jerry, the cartoon foes of yore, are chasing each other around a museum in present-day New York City when they are supernaturally transported, thanks to a magic compass doodah, to a quasi-medieval China where humans mix freely with gods and cryptozoological animals including phoenixes, gargoyles and talking rats. Which, admittedly, isn’t a massive conceptual leap from Tom and Jerry’s usual imaginary world, where a cat and a mouse can be endlessly regenerated after being flattened, sliced, diced or blown up according to comedy needs. Nevertheless, there’s some serious cognitive dissonance going on here; this is a mix-and-m
What happened
According to The Guardian’s source item, Tom and Jerry: Forbidden Compass review – furry foes out of their depth in candy-coated Chinese adventure, Cat and mouse are transported to a quasi-medieval China in this luridly bright animation that has none of the inventiveness of the Hanna-Barbera originals This expensively rendered, eye-searingly bright animated feature from China rests on a truly weird premise. Tom and Jerry, the cartoon foes of yore, are chasing each other around a museum in present-day New York City when they are supernaturally transported, thanks to a magic compass doodah, to a quasi-medieval China where humans mix freely with gods and cryptozoological animals including phoenixes, gargoyles and talking rats. Which, admittedly, isn’t a massive conceptual leap from Tom and Jerry’s usual imaginary world, where a cat and a mouse can be endlessly regenerated after being flattened, sliced, diced or blown up according to comedy needs. Nevertheless, there’s some serious cognitive dissonance going on here; this is a mix-and-m
Context
The development sits in VINI’s Culture file for readers following arts, entertainment, fashion, film, music, celebrity, and the business of culture. The original report is linked so readers can check the source account, follow later updates, and compare new coverage against the first published record. The source item is dated 2026-05-20T12:00:41+00:00.
What to watch
Open questions include whether primary sources issue follow-up statements, whether local or market impacts become clearer, and whether additional reporting changes the timeline or adds material context.
Source
Primary source: Tom and Jerry: Forbidden Compass review – furry foes out of their depth in candy-coated Chinese adventure via The Guardian. VINI cites and links the source; it does not reproduce the publisher’s full article text without rights clearance.
This source-cited VINI report links to the original publisher record. VINI does not republish third-party article bodies without rights clearance. 1 source listed.
Source links
- Tom and Jerry: Forbidden Compass review – furry foes out of their depth in candy-coated Chinese adventureThe Guardian - 2026-05-20T12:00:41+00:00
Reader comments
Moderated discussion
Comments are open to authenticated approved accounts, screened for spam and abuse, and published only after newsroom moderation unless editors change the story control.