''The Tiger's Apprentice'' is a 2024 American animated

fantasy film Fantasy films are films that belong to the fantasy genre with fantastic themes, usually Magic (paranormal), magic, supernatural events, mythology, folklore, or exotic fantasy worlds. The Film genre, genre is considered a form of speculative fic ...

based on the 2003 novel by

Laurence Yep Laurence Michael Yep ( zh, t=葉祥添, s=叶祥添, p=Yè Xiángtiān, j=Jip6 Coeng4 Tim1; born June 14, 1948) is an American writer. He is known for his children's books, having won the Newbery Honor twice for his ''Golden Mountain'' series. I ...

. Produced by

Paramount Animation Paramount Animation is an American animation studio, serving as the animation division and label of Paramount Pictures, a subsidiary of Paramount Global. The division was founded on July 6, 2011, following the critical and commerical success of P ...

and Jane Startz Productions, it is directed by Raman Hui and co-directed by Paul Watling and Yong Duk Jhun (in their directorial debuts) from a screenplay by David Magee and

Christopher Yost Christopher Lee Yost (; born February 21, 1973) is an American film, television, animation, and comic book writer best known for his work for Marvel Studios' Marvel Cinematic Universe with '' Thor: The Dark World'' (2013) and '' Thor: Ragnarok'' ...

. The film stars the voices of

Brandon Soo Hoo Brandon Soo Hoo (born November 2, 1995) is an American actor and martial artist. He is known for playing Tran in the 2008 film ''Tropic Thunder'' and for his series regular role on the Cartoon Network sketch comedy series '' Incredible Crew''. Soo ...

, Henry Golding,

Lucy Liu Lucy Alexis Liu (; born December 2, 1968) is an American actress, producer, and artist. Widely regarded as a trailblazer for Asian Americans in arts and entertainment, Asian American representation in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood, she is t ...

Sandra Oh Sandra Miju Oh (born July 20, 1971) is a Canadian and American actress. She is known for her starring roles as Rita Wu in ''Arliss (TV series), Arliss'' (1996–2002), Cristina Yang in ''Grey's Anatomy'' (2005–14), and Eve Polastri in ''Kill ...

, and

Michelle Yeoh Yeoh Choo Kheng (; born 6 August 1962), known professionally as Michelle Yeoh (), is a Malaysian actress. In a career spanning over four decades, Yeoh has appeared Michelle Yeoh filmography, in projects encompassing a wide array of genres, a ...

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...

originally opted to produce a live-action/CG hybrid television film adaptation of the novel in the late 2000s, but it never came to fruition. Paramount later acquired the rights for an animated film in March 2019, with Carlos Baena attached as director.

Mikros Animation Mikros Animation is a French production company specializing in the creation of digital visual effects, post-production, and animation. With studios in Paris, London and Montreal, the company was acquired by Technicolor SA in 2015 from its prev ...

provided animation. Much of the voice cast was revealed between 2020 and 2022, following Golding's casting in July 2020. Hui later replaced Baena as director in January 2022. Steve Jablonsky composed the score. Originally planned for theatrical release by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

, ''The Tiger's Apprentice'' was released on

Paramount+ Paramount+ (formerly known as CBS All Access in the United States and 10 All Access in Australia) is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, stream ...

on February 2, 2024, after being delayed several times due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. The film received mixed reviews from critics.

Plot

In 2009 in Hong Kong, Mrs. Lee and her baby grandson Tom are chased by

yaoguai Yaoguai ( zh, 妖怪, p=yāoguài, s=妖怪, t=妖怪) represent a broad and diverse class of ambiguous creatures in Chinese folklore and Chinese mythology, mythology defined by the possession of supernatural powers and by having attributes tha ...

. Mrs. Lee fends them off with the help of the Zodiac Warriors, a group of shapeshifters rooted in the

Chinese zodiac The Chinese zodiac is a traditional classification scheme based on the Chinese calendar that assigns an animal and its reputed attributes to each year in a repeating twelve-year (or duodenary) cycle. The zodiac is very important in traditional ...

, before confronting Ms. Penny Loo, a sorceress controlling the yaoguai. 15 years later, Tom, now living with his grandmother in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, faces a bully at school, partially for the Chinese appearance of his house, when he inadvertently unleashes a magical force. After school, Tom removes some charms from his home, which unbeknownst to him were protecting against the evil spirits. Soon after, Mr. Hu, the tiger of the Warriors, visits after sensing that the charms have been dispatched. During the fight, Mrs. Lee throws the stone to Tom, making him the guardian right at that moment, before activating all the protective charms together, which results in a blast intended to kill her and Loo, but the latter survives. Hu brings Tom to a safe place where he learns of the Zodiac Warriors and how they swore to protect the guardian. Later that night, Tom has a dream where he sees a bright Phoenix being covered in darkness, and a woman tells her that now he walks two worlds: the world of mortals and the world of magic. Soon the whole group of Zodiac Warriors are reunited at the Temple of Twelve. However, some of the Zodiac Warriors don't show up, which leads to an uneasy situation. In the meantime, Tom goes to confront Loo, who's revealed to be the mother of Räv, the new student at Tom's school. The Zodiac Warriors arrive, learning that the missing members were captured by Loo, and another few become trapped as well. Tom, Räv, and the remaining members eventually escape. Tom focuses on his training. To gain complete power as a guardian, he must be able to see the Phoenix inside the stone, which Tom's lineage can see. Mistral, the dragon, tells Tom one night that during the fight between Mrs. Lee and Loo, Hu died protecting him. After defeating Loo in the battle, Mrs. Lee gives a part of her soul to save Hu. Tom overhears Hu saying he may never be able to see the Phoenix and feeling lost, he goes to his old home. Tom then sees his grandmother but Räv appears and tell him it is a trick and it's really Loo. As they are escaping, Loo steals the Phoenix Stone from him. After Tom informs the Warriors, Hu reveals that Loo will use the stone on the eve of the Lunar New Year when the sun sets. On that day, Tom and the Warriors find Loo and a large battle ensues. Hu is briefly captured, but with Räv's help, he and the other Warriors are freed. However, Loo activates the Phoenix stone to suck all the souls out of the mortals. Just then, Tom finally sees the Phoenix inside the stone. Tom removes the darkness torturing the Phoenix, reversing the effects and defeating Loo. Tom's sacrifice results in his death and his soul is about to leave his body. Hu, with the help of the other Zodiac Warriors, performs Nu Kua, which leads him to the Ocean of Tears. There, Hu pleads to the Empress to give away a part of his soul to save Tom, which is accepted. Later, Hu offers his shop as Tom's new home. In the mid-credit scene, Tom, as a result of containing part of Hu's soul, is able to transform into a tiger.

Voice cast

as Tom Lee, the new guardian in training ** Lydie Loots as Baby Tom * Henry Golding as Mr. Ted Hu, Tom's mentor and the Tiger guardian *

as Nu Kua / Cynthia, Nu Kua's the empress of the spirit world. Cynthia is a frog who owns a dumpling shop and is guardian of the temple of the 12 *

as Mistral, the Dragon guardian *

as Penny Loo, an evil sorceress * Bowen Yang as Sidney, a thief and the Rat guardian * Leah Lewis as Räv, Loo's foster daughter and Tom's love interest * Kheng Hua Tan as Mrs. Diane Lee, Tom's grandmother * Sherry Cola as Naomi, the Monkey guardian * Deborah S. Craig as Pig * Jo Koy as Rooster * Greta Lee as Rabbit * Diana Lee Inosanto as Horse * Patrick Gallagher as Dog *

Poppy Liu Poppy Liu ( zh, c=柳波, p=Liǔ Bō) is a Chinese-American actress known for her roles in '' Sunnyside'', '' Hacks'', ''iCarly'', and '' Dead Ringers''. Early life and education Liu was born in Xi'an, China. Her family moved to Minnesota whe ...

as Snake * Josh Zuckerman as Rudy * Ryan Christopher Lee as Liam * Raman Hui as Radio Announcer

Production

Development

In October 2008,

announced a television film adaptation of

's 2003 novel, '' The Tiger's Apprentice,'' set to premiere on the network in 2010''.'' Produced by

Cartoon Network Studios Cartoon Network Studios Inc. (abbreviated as CNS or CN Studios) is an American animation studio owned by the Warner Bros. Television Group division of Warner Bros. Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. The studio is the producti ...

, the film would have been a live-action/CG hybrid, with David Magee penning the screenplay and Jane Startz executive producing. The project never came to fruition. In March 2019,

announced an animated adaptation of the novel set to be theatrically released in February 2022. In June 2019,

announced that Carlos Baena would direct the film, with Magee and Harry Cripps writing the screenplay, Startz producing, and Raman Hui and Kane Lee executive producing. In July 2020, the film was delayed until February 2023 due to the

. In January 2022, it was revealed that Hui would instead direct the film, with Paul Watling and Yong Duk Jhun co-directing and Bob Persichetti producing. Baena would still remain in an executive producer role.

New Republic Pictures New Republic Pictures, LLC is an American production company and independent financier of feature films founded by Brian Oliver (producer), Brian Oliver in 2017. The first film co-financed and produced by the company was ''Rocketman (film), Rocket ...

co-financed the film, but is not credited.

Casting

In July 2020, Henry Golding was cast in the film as Mr. Hu. In September 2020,

was cast in the film as Mistral, with

, Bowen Yang, Sherry Cola, and Kheng Hua Tan also added to the cast in unspecified roles. In November 2020, Leah Lewis was cast in the film as Räv. In July 2022, it emerged that

had been added to the cast in a starring role. In December 2023, along with the trailer, it was revealed that Deborah S. Craig, Jo Koy, Greta Lee, Diana Lee Inosanto, Patrick Gallagher, and Poppy Lui had joined the cast.

Animation

Animation was provided by

in Paris. The film had a team of 80 animators and had a 4-year production. Animators from Spain, England, Belgium and Canada did remote work.

Post-production

Post-production was finished in mid-2023. On the day the film was released, two crew members who worked on the film revealed on Letterboxd that the film went through a turbulent production. The first user, identified as didiwa, cited harassment and rewrites occurring until 2023, along with some of the production crew doing multiple jobs and working several pay grades above actual roles, with no vacation allowed while others flew across Europe with paid expenses. Devon Manney, the second user, worked as an apprentice story artist from June to December 2019, and was laid off with the rest of the story team a few days before Christmas of that year, saying that Paramount "wanted to make a ''

Spider-Verse Spider-Verse is a comic book series issued by Marvel Comics since 2014. Its first major event/storyline started on November 5 in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' (2014) No. 9 along with an individual issue named ''Spider-Verse Team-Up''. This event ...

'' knock off".

Music

In December 2023, it was announced that Steve Jablonsky would compose the film's score.

Survivor Survivor(s) may refer to: * one who survives Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Survivors, characters in the 1997 KKnD series#Armies, ''KKnD'' video-game series * ''The Survivors'', or the ''New Survivors Foundation'', a fictional ...

's "

Eye of the Tiger "Eye of the Tiger" is a song by the American rock band Survivor. It was written as the theme song for the 1982 film ''Rocky III'' and released that year as a single from Survivor's third album, '' Eye of the Tiger''. Sylvester Stallone, the di ...

" was covered by Zhu and released on January 26, 2024. Japanese girl group

Atarashii Gakko! Atarashii Gakko!, known in Japan as , is a Japanese girl group formed in 2015. The group is jointly managed with Asobisystem, Twin Planet and TV Asahi Music. It made its Japanese debut in June 2017 under Victor Entertainment with the single "D ...

released the song "Hello" from the movie's soundtrack as a single on February 9, 2024.

Release

''The Tiger's Apprentice'' had its world premiere in Los Angeles on January 27, 2024, and was released by

on February 2, 2024. It was given a theatrical release in Australia on April 4. The film was originally scheduled for theatrical release by

on February 11, 2022, but due to the

, it was delayed until February 10, 2023, and later December 20, 2023. It was then further delayed to January 19, 2024. However, in September 2023, the film was removed from Paramount's theatrical release schedule and was moved to a streaming release on Paramount+ on an unspecified 2024 date instead. In December 2023, along with the teaser trailer, the film's final release date was revealed.

Reception

References

External links

''The Tiger's Apprentice''
on