Which Tom and Jerry: Forbidden Compass Character Are You?

Learn More About Tom and Jerry: Forbidden Compass

Tom and Jerry: Forbidden Compass marks a genuine milestone for one of animation's longest-running rivalries: it's the first fully computer-animated feature film in the Tom and Jerry franchise, a significant visual departure from the traditional 2D style the characters have worn since the 1940s. Produced through a collaboration between Warner Bros. Pictures, China Film Co., and Origin Animation, and directed by Zhang Gang, the film sends the eternally warring cat and mouse somewhere neither of them has ever been — a fantastical world drawn from Chinese mythology.

The story kicks off with a familiar setup: a chase through a museum, chaos in tow, property damage guaranteed. But this time, the chase leads Tom and Jerry to a mysterious compass that doesn't just cause more mayhem — it actually transports them into another realm entirely. Suddenly cut off from home, the pair have to set aside their decades-long rivalry, at least temporarily, to find a way back.

That forced partnership is really the emotional engine of the film. Tom and Jerry's dynamic has always worked because their conflict never actually threatens their strange, cartoonish bond — they need each other, even when they're actively trying to destroy each other. Dropping them into unfamiliar territory raises the stakes on that relationship in a way the classic short-form cartoons never could.

Along the way, they pick up new allies pulled from the film's mythological setting, including guides and companions who understand the rules of this strange new world better than our two heroes do. These new characters give the film a chance to build out lore and world-building well beyond the format's traditional slapstick roots, while still leaving plenty of room for the physical comedy the franchise is known for.

It's a bold swing for a franchise built almost entirely on wordless, six-minute theatrical shorts, and the shift to a fully animated fantasy-adventure format shows real ambition to bring Tom and Jerry to a new generation raised on modern animated blockbusters rather than Saturday morning reruns.

Whether you've got Tom's relentless drive, Jerry's cleverness, Phoenix Master's wisdom, Jade's loyalty, or Ten Ten's fearless curiosity, this quiz will help you find your match in this brand-new mythological world. Looking for another animated adventure? Check out our Jumanji: Open World quiz.

Early reactions to the shift in animation style have been mixed but largely curious — longtime fans of the classic shorts have debated whether a fully CG format can capture the same rubber-hose physicality that made the original cartoons so endlessly rewatchable, while newer viewers introduced through recent films have embraced the more polished, adventure-driven format. Either way, Forbidden Compass represents a real bet that this ninety-year-old rivalry still has room to grow in entirely new directions.

Warner Bros. has been notably tight-lipped about whether this new mythological setting will return for a sequel, but the studio's willingness to fund a fully computer-animated feature suggests real confidence in Tom and Jerry's box office pull heading into an increasingly crowded animated movie marketplace.