Review: Tom and Jerry are not the stars of Chinese mythology-inspired Forbidden Compass

I've been fascinated by the prospect of Tom & Jerry: Forbidden Compass since I first hear about it. This latest film in the series, which is the first fully CG-animated feature for the beloved cat and mouse, is a Chinese coproduction that transports the characters to a world inspired by Chinese mythology and folklore. My first thought when I heard about it was: Why? After a little internet sleuthing, I found out that Tom & Jerry is super popular in China (and around the world) for various reasons. A big one is that, because there's no dialogue, the show travels easily. It also was able to air on Chinese television in the nineties, which means its a nostalgic fixture for many adults there now. (It makes me wonder if the characters have a similar footing in China as the Peanuts gang does in Japan. When you go there, Snoopy is everywhere. I'll keep an eye out when I eventually visit China.)

If I found the conception of Forbidden Compass a bit baffling, I find its execution even more so. The whole time I was watching the movie, I kind of couldn't believe what I was seeing. It is such a strange movie, baffling even. It barely feels like a Tom & Jerry venture at all, the way the eponymous duo takes a backseat to the fantastical swoop of the main story. And even when they're given the spotlight, they are so far from the delightfully mischievous heights the series is known for. There's too little creativity in the chases and face-offs, too few instances of cartoon physics at play (those instances are some of the film's highlights, brief though they may be).

The film starts with Tom working as a trainee security guard at a museum hosting an exhibit of East Asian artifacts, notably the Astral Compass, which is said to possess magical powers. Jerry strolls up with an invitation in hand, but Tom attempts to refuse him entry. Jerry gets the better of him and makes it into the museum, and into the very room here the compass is held. After some hijinks, the duo accidentally activate the compass, which transports them into a magical realm. They land in the Golden City, where a portly Phoenix Master and his gang of Gargoyles (among them a sexy female cat, naturally) greet them. Phoenix Master has his eye on the compass for reasons unknown, as does a nefarious and inventive rat.

As we find our footing in this new setting, the sense of unease about all of these new characters works well. I found myself wondering who of all these new faces could be trusted, or if any of them even could be. Since everyone has their eye on the compass, and we don't necessarily know why, it makes everyone feel like an enemy, which means anyone could be a potential ally. It adds some much-needed texture to an adventure that is otherwise overwhelmingly flat, though it doesn't end up playing out in particularly interesting ways.

It was interesting watching this so shortly after Coyote vs. Acme, which took a similar pair of classic cartoon rivals and added new dimensions to their relationship. Forbidden Compass doesn't have such lofty thematic or narrative goals, but it does try to poke at and play with the rivalry a bit, to mixed results. Because they're strangers in a strange land, Tom and Jerry end up being occasional allies in this adventure, and the affection they feel for each other peeks through. It doesn't go deep, but it's a nice touch. 

And it feels like it could've made a bigger impact if our heroes didn't get lost in the shuffle of the larger, cosmic goings-on of this movie. At the end of the day, this feels like a generic fantasy adventure that Tom and Jerry were plopped into so that the IP could help carry it across the finish line. Arguably, the protagonist of the movie is Phoenix Master, since he's the only character who has a meaningful emotional journey/transformation. Everyone and everything else, including Tom and Jerry, is set dressing. Or comedic relief. The two sides of the storytelling equation never quite add up, making for a very jarring and clunky ride.

Not helping matters is the wonky animation. While the main cast looks pretty good (though often oddly un-emotive), the background characters are glassy-eyed and stiff to the point of being unsettling to look at. The movie fares much better when we aren't being subjected to looking at them. The big set piece moments tend to be pretty peppy and fun, but there isn't much to write home about visually.

While I didn't particularly enjoy my time with Tom & Jerry: Forbidden Compass (also, how weird is that title? Did Sean Parker take the "The"?), it did make me envision a cinematic universe where various Hanna-Barbera characters are dropped into mythologies from around the world. Huckleberry Hound could face off with Cerberus. Fred Flintstone could contend with Odin. The possibilities with Scooby-Doo are endless. Maybe then this movie could be remembered as a wobbly first step into something truly twisted and delightful, rather than just a strange swing/miss.