The Tiger's Apprentice (2024)

​“The Tiger’s Apprentice” stars Brandon Soo Hoo, Henry Golding, Lucy Liu, Bowen Yang, Jo Koy, Sherry Cola, Leah Lewis, Sandra Oh, and Michelle Yeoh. Released on Paramount+ on February 2, 2024, the film has a teenager protecting a mystical phoenix egg from a nefarious sorceress.

The film was directed by Raman Hui, who is best known for directing the “Monster Hunt” movies. He also worked as an animator, character designer, and story artist for DreamWorks Animation and co-directed “Shrek the Third”. It is based on the 2003 novel by Laurene Yep. The first weekend of February brought us two animated family movies catering to those who don’t want to pay $50 to see one in the theater. One was the latest feature from DreamWorks Animation involving the dark, and the other had mystic Chinese zodiac animals and a battle between good and evil. The one I’m looking at today is the latter because I haven’t reviewed that many movies from Paramount+ on my blog. Regarding its concept and trailers, this movie seemed like a good place for me to start. This was another film that was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, as it was originally scheduled for a theatrical release before switching to a Paramount+ release. Considering the poor box office streak of Paramount Animation after "Sponge Out of Water", that decision makes sense the more I think about it. But is it the right choice regarding the quality? More importantly, does it provide family-friendly entertainment as mystic as a spiritual tiger? Let’s find out.

The story centers on Tom Lee (Soo Hoo), a Chinese-American adolescent attempting to fit in at school. However, he learns that it’s far from easy when he unexpectedly discovers his newfound mystic abilities. Tom also finds that his eccentric grandmother (Kheng Hua Tan) is the guardian of the mystical phoenix egg, which unlocks untold power. When his grandmother dies in battle, Tom, knowing his true lineage, is chosen to be the egg’s protector while being mentored by the Tiger guardian, Mr. Hu (Golding). With the help of a group of magical exotic creatures representing Chinese zodiac signs, Tom must harness his ancient magic to protect the egg from Loo (Yeoh), an evil sorceress seeking world domination.

“The Tiger’s Apprentice” was my first exposure to the source material the film is based on. I had never heard of the novel until I first heard of its development, mainly because I was more focused on other books during my childhood, mostly comic books, junior novels, picture books, and schoolbooks. Can you guess which ones were less exciting than the rest? However, my lack of experience with the novel gives me the advantage I need to review “The Tiger’s Apprentice” as its own thing with an open mind. I also have a soft spot for movies relating to Asian culture, especially ones involving fantasy elements, and its cast is quite stacked with some big names like Michelle Yeoh and Henry Golding. But, of course, those expectations must combine well with the film’s storytelling and concept to make a first impression on its audience, primarily fans of the source material and families. After finally finding the time to watch the film, I can see why this was dumped on Paramount+ instead of in theaters.

“The Tiger’s Apprentice” has many intriguing elements that would’ve made it another stellar piece of Asian representation for American audiences. It has the basic story of an ordinary protagonist chosen to protect the world, its martial arts sequences, and Chinese folklore, mainly the zodiacs. This could be the next “Kung Fu Panda” if the right cards are played regarding its characters, messages, and storytelling, meaning it has to have something exciting for kids but also thematically enthralling for adult viewers. Sadly, that isn’t the case. While there were a couple of enjoyable factors that made it slightly watchable, the film is a surprisingly mediocre display of narrative qualities that the other movies, either animated or fantasy, did better.

“The Tiger’s Apprentice” is a fundamental, by-the-numbers tale of a protagonist learning to harness their destiny to defeat an ancient evil. In this case, Tom discovers he’s part of a family lineage known as the Guardians, tasked to protect the Phoenix from Loo. With Tom next in line and Hu as his mentor, he’s thrust into a battle that’ll see him grow as a person and learn that there are other ways to solve problems other than violence. I believe this movie has the potential to be an excellent tool for educating younger viewers about conflict resolution through peaceful means, even though it features zodiac animals fighting demons. However, while trying to deliver its message, the film fell extremely short by taking multiple shortcuts instead of exploring its ideas more deeply. Its screenplay was written by David Magee and Christopher Yost, with the former having a decent track record with movies like “Finding Neverland” and “Life of Pi”. But even with these talented writers on board, the film struggled to provide anything else exciting in its lackluster formula, mainly for its world-building.

Part of the reason is the pacing. The movie is less than an hour and a half long, which is common for animated family films. However, what really matters is how much story it’s representing with that length, which is not that much, to be honest. The film’s pacing flew faster than a monkey on rollerblades, which can be enough to keep the kids distracted, but with the cost of damaging its narrative flow. The movie introduced plenty of elements in the world it portrayed, including the Guardians and the zodiac animals, which would make for a magical and immersive experience. Sadly, because of the swift pacing, they came across as subpar and empty in the movie’s emotional stakes and characters. If the writers took an additional ten to fifteen minutes to flesh out its world and formulaic characters more, then maybe the film would have a shot at being slightly average.

Despite its flaws, it’s hard to ignore that “The Tiger’s Apprentice” expressed its Asian culture through its concept and the cast of actors from Asian American heritage. While the characters weren’t anything too special regarding their personalities, the cast made some effort in their performances to compensate, even if they weren’t fantastic. Brandon Soo Hoo, known for playing Tran in “Tropic Thunder”, was hit-and-miss regarding his role as Tom Lee. While his attempt at providing charisma and humor for Tom was admirable, his performance wasn’t strong enough to make Tom as lovable as the other charismatic movie teenagers. Henry Golding and Sandra Oh were also suitable as Mr. Hu and Mistral, the Dragon guardian, respectively, and Lucy Liu had a couple of humorous moments as Cynthia, the dumpling shop owner. Liu also voiced Nu Kua, the empress of the spirit world. It’s also nice that Leah Lewis is getting more work after voicing Ember in Pixar’s “Elemental”. She voiced Rav, Tom’s love interest, who happens to be pretty one-noted narrative-wise, although I wouldn’t blame Lewis for that. I thought she did okay.

Finally, we have the animation. Funny enough, the animation in “The Tiger’s Apprentice” is produced by Mikros Animation, the same company that worked on DreamWorks’s “Orion and the Dark”, which I reviewed a few weeks ago. Man, the animators from that company are really keeping themselves busy this year. While “The Tiger’s Apprentice” isn’t cartoony like “Orion and the Dark”, it does attempt to go for a realistic and stylish feel for its environments and action sequences. The result is just…all right. At times, the animation looked like it was made as a television movie, or in this case, a direct-to-streaming film regarding the character’s expressions and backgrounds. However, there were also moments where the presentation shined as bright as a mystic zodiac animal, mainly for the action scenes. The action choreography was smoothly fluid and mildly fun, primarily due to Raman Hui’s vision and its cinematography. It’s too bad the rest of the film wasn’t as exciting as the animals battling a sorceress.

Overall, “The Tiger’s Apprentice” lacks the mysticism and wonder to harness its concept’s wondrous magic of Chinese zodiac animals on a thrilling and ambitious level. While there are a few enjoyable moments that would likely impress young kids, the film is a mediocre and half-baked representation of the great animated fantasy movies that came before it. The voice cast was okay in their roles, and the animation was passable for its action scenes. Sadly, they weren’t enough to destroy the dark forces containing a formulaically bland plot, below-average characters, and inconsistent pacing. It’s not the worst animated film I’ve seen, but it’s still an unfortunate disappointment for the medium. It’s available on Paramount+ if you’re interested in watching it regardless, but chances are you’ll probably forget about it in a day or two.

D+