Warner Bros. Pictures is set to launch the animated feature Tom and Jerry: Forbidden Compass, co-produced with China, on August 9 in China.
The film will have its world premiere at the ongoing Shanghai International Film Festival.
Tom and Jerry: Forbidden Compass showcases the beloved cat-and-mouse pair as they inadvertently travel through time within a museum. During their adventure, they encounter a fascinating group of new friends and find themselves embroiled in a climactic battle against enigmatic forces.
Produced by Warner Bros. Pictures in China, Tom and Jerry: Forbidden Compass will be distributed in the region by Wu Zhou Film Distribution Co. Ltd.
Chinese director Zhang Gang took the lead on this project, having previously co-directed Kuiba 3.
Zhang also contributed to the animation of No.7 Cherry Lane, which received the Best Screenplay Award in the main competition at the Venice International Film Festival in 2019.
This isn’t the first instance of Warner Bros. adapting the Tom and Jerry intellectual property into a localized version for an Asian audience.
In 2023, WBD launched its inaugural localized version of Tom and Jerry, set in Singapore. This series of shorts premiered on Cartoon Network and HBO Go across various Asian regions, followed by a global release.
Additionally, another series of Tom and Jerry shorts was created specifically for Japanese viewers.
This year celebrates the 85th anniversary of Tom and Jerry, the iconic duo that was first introduced in 1940 as an animated cartoon series by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera.
