Michelle Yeoh in Animated Adventure – The Hollywood Reporter

“Tiger’s Disciple”

Paramount Pictures/Paramount+

Even in cartoon form, as a cartoon tiger, Henry Golding is handsome. It’s an avatar that features prominently in the new film based on Lawrence Webb’s 2003 best-selling fantasy novel, the first of a trilogy. Featuring a group of prominent Asian and Asian-American talent providing voiceover work, Tiger’s disciple It’s a fast-paced adventure that should be very appealing to its younger target audience when it debuts on Paramount+.

The title refers to the central character, Chinese-American teenager Tom Lee (an attractive Brandon Soo Hoo), who lives with his grandmother in San Francisco. We know right away that Tom is no ordinary teenager from the pre-credits opening credits, set 15 years ago in Hong Kong, when he and his grandmother are suddenly chased by otherworldly creatures. “They found us!” She cries in terror, before being saved just in the nick of time by similarly strange beings.

Flash forward to the present day, when Tom is mercilessly bullied at school thanks to his grandmother’s tendency to decorate their house, inside and out, with elaborate charms and amulets that make it resemble a temple. But Tom is more than capable of defending himself, as evidenced by his sudden revelation of strange powers that send his tormentor flying into the ceiling.

Upon his return home, Tom discovers a visitor in the form of Mr. Who (Goulding), who appears to be back with his grandmother. In fact, eons ago, she was revealed to be part of a long line of Phoenix Guardians, whose mission is to prevent the magic spell from falling into evil hands. Evil hands like those belonging to Loo (Michelle Yeoh), who suddenly show up to steal the Phoenix, and in the process kill Tom’s grandmother. Tom is rescued by Mr. Who, who miraculously transforms into a tiger to do battle.

As you may have already gathered from the title, Tom becomes Hu’s apprentice, teaming up with dozens of warriors in the form of animals from the Chinese zodiac – including the dragon Mistral (Sandra Oh), the Hound (Patrick Gallagher), The sky is big) and Horse (Diana Lee Inosanto) – to confront Loo and her evil henchmen.

While the complex fantasy elements may make some older viewers’ eyes glaze over, the film thankfully features generous doses of irreverent humor, as when a reluctant Tom tells Hu: “I don’t know what you’re thinking with all this trainee stuff.” “. But I don’t wax cars.” The interactions between the zodiac animal characters are often amusing, and the musical accompaniment for the climatic sequence parodies “Eye of the Tiger,” what else.

The strong sound crew is another plus; In addition to those mentioned, it includes Lucy Liu, Bowen Yang, comedian Joe Kui, and Greta Lee (Past life), among others. Debutant director Raman Hui keeps the action moving at an appropriately brisk pace, with colorful computer-generated animation providing frame after frame. Tiger’s disciple It doesn’t really have the big screen heft it was originally intended for, but it’s easy to imagine it spawning a sequel or perhaps a streaming series.