In China they’ve made a new Tom and Jerry movie. It’s the biggest disaster of the year.

Tom and Jerry, the most famous cat and mouse in the history of animation, have turned 85. You’d think Warner, the current rights holders, would do something special to celebrate their anniversary. After all, even if they’re a bit out of fashion now, back in the day they won seven Oscars between 1943 and 1953 and gave rise to a franchise that has gradually gone downhill through a string of direct-to-video movies… which have just reached their lowest point.

Bad and Jerry

Tom and Jerry have starred in a total of 22 direct-to-video movies (including crossovers with Willy Wonka and The Wizard of Oz), each one more dreadful than the last and losing personality along the way. However, they’ve only made it to theaters three times: a terrible 1992 musical adaptation, a CGI one mixed with live action in 2021, and the latest one, a tremendous mess directed by some guy called Zhang Gang.

Tom and Jerry: The Magic Compass is the characters’ first fully computer-animated adventure (by a Chinese computer, that is) and it has turned out to be an absolute disaster. Instead of getting to know the characters and focusing on reviving their dynamics, it just throws them into a completely senseless trip through time across China, and one that nobody has liked.

The reviews haven’t exactly been kind, saying that it resembles the screams of a hyperactive child, Tom and Jerry end up as supporting characters and it’s, simply, a mess of noise and bright colors. Do you remember those shorts that won the Oscar eight decades ago? Well, they wouldn’t be embarrassed by this absolute garbage. What a disaster, folks.