‘Tom and Jerry: Forbidden Compass’ Gets a Shocking Rotten Tomatoes Score

Tom and Jerry have been making audiences laugh for generations, but their latest big-screen adventure is having a very rough time with critics. Tom and Jerry: Forbidden Compass has arrived with a story that takes the famous cat and mouse far away from their usual world, yet the new direction has not gone down well so far.

The movie currently has a 0 percent critics score on Rotten Tomatoes from 10 reviews. That makes Forbidden Compass one of the lowest-rated Tom and Jerry projects to date. The score is especially surprising for a franchise that has been around for decades and has gone through many different versions over the years.

This new movie takes a very different approach to the characters. The story begins when Tom and Jerry get into another fight over a strange artifact. Their latest battle causes a portal to open, sending them into another time and place. They then have to work together to find a way back home.

That sounds like the kind of wild adventure that could fit the Tom and Jerry brand, but critics have not been impressed with the result. According to Rotten Tomatoes, all 10 critic reviews counted so far are negative. The movie also has a 24 out of 100 score on Metacritic, which places it in the site’s “generally unfavorable” category.

One of the biggest problems reviewers have pointed out is that Tom and Jerry do not feel like the main characters for much of the movie. After they enter their new world, the story spends a lot of time with other characters connected to Chinese mythology and folklore. That has left some critics wondering why the movie is even called Tom and Jerry when the famous duo often feels pushed into the background.

Variety was also critical of the movie’s visual style, describing it as a mix of traditional Chinese landscape painting, manga-style action, and classic Hollywood slapstick. The combination seems to have created a movie that feels messy rather than smooth. Another review from Film Obsessive was even harsher, calling the story a disaster and comparing it unfavorably with the already poorly received 1992 movie Tom and Jerry: The Movie.

That comparison is worth noting because the 1992 film has long been considered one of the weaker entries in the franchise. It currently has a 14 percent critics score on Rotten Tomatoes. Forbidden Compass has now fallen below that mark, at least among the critics who have reviewed it so far.

The new movie also stands apart from Warner Bros.’ recent attempts to bring Tom and Jerry back to theaters. The 2021 Tom & Jerry movie mixed live action with animation and received mixed reviews, but it still performed well enough at the box office. Forbidden Compass instead takes the franchise into fully computer-animated territory.

The film was made mainly for the Chinese market through a partnership involving China Film Co., Warner Bros. Pictures, and Origin Animation. It was released in China in 2025 and later reached the United Kingdom before its US theatrical release. That means international audiences had already seen the movie before American viewers got their chance.

Interestingly, audiences have been a little more forgiving than professional critics. Rotten Tomatoes currently shows a 38 percent Popcornmeter score from audience members. That is still low, but it suggests that not everyone watching the movie feels the same way as the critics. Some viewers appear to enjoy seeing the familiar characters again, while others agree that the movie does not give Tom and Jerry enough to do.

For a franchise built around simple comedy, fast action, and the never-ending battle between a cat and a mouse, Forbidden Compass may simply be trying to do too much. The movie adds time travel, mythology, a new setting, a different animation style, and a much larger cast of characters. That could make the film feel more like a completely new animated adventure with Tom and Jerry placed inside it.

Whether the 0 percent score changes as more reviews arrive remains to be seen. For now, though, Tom and Jerry: Forbidden Compass has earned a place in the franchise’s history for a reason nobody at Warner Bros. was hoping for. The famous duo may have survived countless chases and traps, but this time, it is the critics that have delivered the biggest hit.

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments.