The new Paramount+ animated film, The Tiger’s Apprentice, is arriving just in time for the Lunar New Year (yet two years past the Year of the Tiger). Based on the 2003 novel of the same name by Laurence Yep, it follows 15-year-old Tom Lee who, in the aftermath of his grandmother’s death, becomes the apprentice to the tiger zodiac, Hu, and rise to the occasion of becoming the guardian of an ancient phoenix.

The Tiger’s Apprentice arrives at a time when Asian and Asian American representation in mainstream media has grown so much in the past several years; so much to where every main character in this film is voiced by an Asian or Asian American actor, under the direction of Hong Kong director, Raman Hui. Complemented by illuminating animation bringing to life a different take on the Chinese zodiacs, it’s undeniably difficult to not be captivated by the potential of the film from just the trailer alone.

For all the incredible expectations served, it’s unfortunate that the execution of the final product does not hold up, and the fault largely falls on one flaw: The Tiger’s Apprentice is really rushed. The character development: rushed. The relationships between the different characters: rushed. The plot: rushed. The magic system: rushed. There was just so much going on at such a quick pace, that to have any time at all to take a pause was a luxury that was ultimately nonexistent.

It’s because of how fast paced the film was that it was hard to develop any kind of emotions towards any of the characters such as Tom and Hu, the relationships between characters did not feel well cemented, the plot didn’t really allow for time to so much as breathe, and the magic system was not clearly defined enough to where one could understand all the rules, let alone the capacities in which Tom could utilize it in his new role. Not to mention that not all the actors of the cast were given much in the way of really getting to perform as their characters, which is why for some, you might hear them only two to three times throughout the entirety of the film.

The Tiger’s Apprentice was so rushed, that it was hard to even appreciate what a good job the animators did on recreating San Francisco – the main setting of the film. While the smiles in the room could definitely be felt in the San Francisco-based theater the film was shown in, as sites like Lombard Street and Chinatown appeared onscreen, the attention to detail was otherwise near impossible to explore. It really would have to take watching it on Paramount+ where you can pause the film when you can, to really see the amount of effort that went into recreating the city by the Bay.

It’s not often to critique a feature-length film – whether animated or not – for being too short. If pacing is ever an issue, it’s usually for the opposite reason. How unfortunate that The Tiger’s Apprentice is an example of a film that definitely could have taken its time and gone a little longer, especially with everything good it had going. Had it been more generous with the runtime, maybe I wouldn’t have left the theater wondering, “That’s it?”