Variety's review pans "Tom and Jerry: Forbidden Compass," a Chinese production from director Zhang Gang that grafts the Hanna-Barbera cat-and-mouse duo onto an unrelated adventure rooted in Chinese mythology. The critic argues the film abandons everything that made the original cartoons work, sidelining Tom and Jerry as bystanders within minutes and instead following new characters through a chaotic quest involving a "Phoenix Master," a villain called "Mega-Rat" and various mythological creatures.

The review notes the plot begins with a five-minute nod to classic Tom and Jerry slapstick before a magic compass transports the pair to "Golden City," modelled on Beijing's Forbidden City, after which the familiar duo becomes largely irrelevant for the remaining 95 minutes. The critic highlights visually incoherent animation, dated Orientalist tropes, and awkward musical interludes, and points out the film is produced by the state-owned China Film Group alongside Warner Bros. and Origin Animation, using American intellectual property to market what is essentially a Chinese property.