SummaryThe story centers on a normal boy, Tom, who gets drawn into this world against his wishes when his eccentric grandmother who he lives with in San Francisco's Chinatown turns out to be the guardian of the phoenix egg. When his grandmother perishes in battle and is spirited away in a ghost cart, Tom must apprentice with an unlikely mentor ...
SummaryThe story centers on a normal boy, Tom, who gets drawn into this world against his wishes when his eccentric grandmother who he lives with in San Francisco's Chinatown turns out to be the guardian of the phoenix egg. When his grandmother perishes in battle and is spirited away in a ghost cart, Tom must apprentice with an unlikely mentor ...
IN A NUTSHELL:
Based on the popular children’s book series of the same name by Laurence Yep, THE TIGER’S APPRENTICE follows Chinese-American teenager Tom Lee (Soo Hoo), whose life changes forever when he discovers he is part of a long lineage of magical protectors known as the Guardians. With guidance from a mythical tiger named Hu (Golding), Tom trains to take on Loo (Yeoh), a force that is as powerful as a Guardian but with evil intentions to use magic to destroy humanity. To have a fighting chance against Loo, Tom must reunite all twelve Zodiac animal warriors and master his own newly discovered powers.
The family-friendly film was co-directed by Paul Watling and Yong Duk Jhun.
THINGS I LIKED:
The voice cast is terrific and includes Academy Award winner Michelle Yeoh, and Lucy Liu, Sandra Oh, Henry Golding, Patrick Gallagher, Bowen Yang, Leah Lewis, and Brandon Soo Hoo.
I love that the movie features Hong Kong at the beginning of the movie. My daughter-in-law grew up there! The movie, then, jumps to San Francisco and features Chinatown in that city. I grew up south of the Bay Area and have many memories of going to Chinatown there. I love that Asians are being featured in so many movies lately.
Fun soundtrack.
The movie starts off with a colorful action sequence with interesting characters.
There is some visual, as well as spoken humor.
The animation is lovely, featuring very expressive faces, impressive details, and gorgeous colors.
Dim sum. I love dim sum and the cute shop shown in the film looked authentic with all of those dim sum baskets. I used to do a lot of business in China, and I loved going to those dim sum shops.
Fun soundtrack. Eye of the Tiger. Ha ha
We learn about “Chi lines” and Chi in general.
The animation, itself, is lovely, colorful, and creative.
THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:
Not all of the humor lands.
Lots of bickering.
There’s a part at the end that is supposed to be super sad because an important character dies, but then, magically, the consequences are reversed.
It would have been fun to learn more about all of the Zodiac animals, but the story focuses on just a few. It makes sense, though, because there really isn’t enough time, but still…
TIPS FOR PARENTS:
There are some scary-looking green monsters that might frighten younger children.
Kids will learn about the Chinese Zodiacs. When I traveled to China, many times, I went during the Chinese New Year and Spring festivals. It was amazing to see how the entire country decorated and celebrated the featured Zodiac sign for the new year. What Zodiac sign you’re born under is a big deal there.
Animated violence with various weapons
Lots of destruction
People and creatures in perilous situations
Potential profanity is replaced by silly phrases like “Holy Shrimp Fried Rice!”
The powerhouse voice cast is another plus; besides the aforementioned, it includes Lucy Liu, Bowen Yang, comedian Jo Koy and Greta Lee (Past Lives), among others. Director Raman Hui, making his feature debut, keeps the proceedings moving at a suitably brisk pace, with the colorful CGI animation providing one diverting image after another.
The Tiger’s Apprentice is not an awful movie per se—some of the animation is striking and there are a couple of funny moments—but it is one of those frustrating exercises that seems to have assembled all the elements for a genuinely innovative film and then fails to make much of them.
The problem with “The Tiger’s Apprentice” is it sacrifices character and story for the repetitive mind-numbing action we have come to expect from such fantasy and superhero films.
This wasn't bad at all. Nice story line. The animation was interesting and the action scenes were well done. We're not talking anything deep here. We'd give it: "a popcorn munching movie to enjoy."
Gosto do visual da animação e de como trabalha muito bem com os personagens vindo do horóscopo chinês, sem dúvidas a homenagem ficou bonita. Mas o roteiro... Prepare-se para acompanhar uma hora e meia de uma perseguição absurda, sem muito espaço para momentos contemplativos, reflexivos, ou ao menos emocionante (tirando uma morte importante, que aliás foi algo corajoso mas totalmente funcional a um roteiro capenga). De resto, o velho clichê da vilã que se mostrou bem domável ao final.