The Tiger's Apprentice

Great animation style, humor was fantastic. Great family film wood recommend to other people, the best movie I've seen this year.

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!”