Animation Domination: The Tiger’s Apprentice

Tom Lee (Brandon Soo Hoo) is your average teenager trying to survive high school in San Francisco.  He is bullied because he lives with his grandmother (Kheng Hua Tan) who hangs magical protective charms all around the outside of their home.  One day, while being pushed around by some larger schoolmates, he taps into some kind of power and throws one of his attackers high into the air hitting the ceiling.  This use of power alerts Loo (Michelle Yeoh), an ancient and powerful being.  Before his grandmother and her friend, Hu (Henry Golding) can explain to him what is happening to him, they are attacked by demon like creatures and his grandmother sacrifices herself to protect Tom and the necklace she gives him.  Tom learns from Hu that he is the Guardian of the Phoenix and that Loo is after its power so she can destroy all human life and make the world as she sees fit.  Hu and the other protectors are part of the Zodiac, magical beings that can change into the animal representations of the Chinese zodiac, each one with a different power.  Hu is the tiger, who takes it upon himself to prepare Tom for the coming battle while Tom tries to comprehend what is happening to him and the loss of his grandmother who raised him.  Loo eventually gets the Phoenix, and the team comes together to prevent her from using it, culminating in a final battle for the very survival of mankind.

The Tiger’s Apprentice is based off of the 2003 book series by Laurence Yep.  It combines modern day San Francisco with ancient Chinese mythology.  Originally the Cartoon Network held the rights to the movie and was planning on producing a live action / CGI hybrid, but that never came to fruition, with it eventually coming into Paramount’s possession. It was originally scheduled for a 2022 theatrical release, but that date got pushed out due to covid and the studio kept pushing out the date until it eventually removed it from theatrical release and to its streaming service. It is directed by Raman Hui and has a star-studded cast with Michelle Yeoh, Sandra Oh, Lucy Liu, Jo Koy and many other top names. Animation with provided by Mikros Image Europe, making this the second collaboration with Paramount, after Sherlock Gnomes.

I am a fan of all mythology and its gods and villains, but am not versed well in Chinese myths, so I was very excited to see this film.  I loved the premise and the animation looked intriguing.  I was not disappointed but wasn’t “Wowed” either.  The story is good and there are some heartfelt moments.  The characters are mostly likeable and there are some nice comical moments interspersed within the dramatic ones.  I feel like there might have been a bit too much story to try to cram into one movie, so there were parts of it that felt rushed without giving the audience enough time to really connect or for true character development. Visually the movie is quite stunning with vibrant uses of colors and light and the action scenes are very well mapped out and executed.  The enlisted cast, as mentioned, is, full of some very well-known actors and they do an amazing job.  Michelle Yeoh can do no wrong lately and her character reflects an evil presence that is felt throughout, in addition her character just looks cool!  By far, Mr. Hu / Tiger played by Henry Golding was my favorite, but that might be because I am a cat person (technically I love all animals). Overall, this was a fun and exciting film but relies too much on action and not enough on character development to really have the emotional impact it could have had.