February 2 will see the Paramount+ U.S. launch of animated action adventure, The Tiger’s Apprentice. The official teaser arrived on Thursday as well with a voice cast listing Henry Golding, Brandon Soo Hoo, and Lucy Liu, Sandra Oh and Michelle Yeoh.
Apart from its paltry reception in the U.S., Raman Hui’s Monster Hunt bolstered China’s box office with record numbers and was a major hit in the region. Its critical approval also stands firm as a fairly exciting and enthusing endeavor from a director boldly stepping up at the helm following a notable career on several animated projects in the U.S..
As of this Chinese New Year now, fans of the first film will finally get to set foot back into the world Hui helped build, setting the stage for Monster Hunt 2. Storied by Peter Cirlella and scripted once more by Alan Yuen, the sequel further chronicles the adventures of a baby monster destined to become king and prevent a civil war with the help of human allies.
Recent campaigning for the film saw more gags than not with some behind-the-scenes footage to boot. This time, we have some actual footage to share per the narrative with appearances by principals Tony Leung Chui-Wai, and returning cast members Jing Boran and Bai Baihe among others listed.
Pending releases for the film in the U.S. and U.K. remain pending courtesy of Lionsgate. Check out the trailer below!
2015 was a milestone year for burgeoning filmmaker Raman Hui. That CG hybrid creature fantasy, Monster Hunt, became the highest grossing film in China until this year is no easy feat to achieve and took quite the ambitious steps it needed to so and now together with producer Bill Kong, the two are back to see if lighting can strike twice with forthcoming sequel, Monster Hunt 2.
Raman Hui’s 2015 action comedy adventure, Monster Hunt was a delightful CG hybrid affair to catch. Its sequel, Monster Hunt 2 is ways away from its release in early 2018 while it has now been confirmed for Chinese New Year day-and-date releases with distribution in North America and the U.K. following its acquisition this week by Lionsgate at Cannes.
via Screendaily:
“I’m thrilled to partner with Patrick Wachsberger, Wendy Reeds and the rest of the Lionsgate team,” said Kong. “Lionsgate is a powerful creative force and has demonstrated its marketing and distribution prowess across a broad range of blockbuster films.”
The film sees the return of actor Jing Boran and actress Fay Bai along with newly added Tony Leung Chiu-Wai following the events of the first film, in which a reluctant village mayor ends up pregnant and in the care of a fugitive monster baby named Wuba, setting the two along with an aspiring monster hunter on a journey that will determine the fate of the peace between the monster and human realms. The film became a record-setting hit at the time with $400 million dollars in China, beating out James Wan’s Furious Seven.
Actor Tony Leung Chiu-Wai (The Grandmaster, See You Tomorrow) is set to stake his claim in the now-filming Monster Hunt 2 from Edko Films. Raman Hui is currently rolling cameras for a 2018 release with little plot details known while Leung is said to play a role that stands pivotal for our its principal lead CG character from the first film.
Leung will be joined by newly cast ppp icon and actress Li Yuchun and actor Yo Yang along with returning names, Bai Baihe and Jing Boran. Prior to Stephen Chow’s The Mermaid taking the title, Hui’s 2015 debut, Monster Hunt was a milestone hit for first time filmmaker following a career that landed him projects Dreamworks’ Antz, Shrek and Shrek 2, and as co-director for Shrek The Third, among others.
The first film became China’s most successful film in history grossing up to RMB 2.43 billion, as well as earning a raft of awards, including best new director for Hui. Inauspiciously though, the film had a limited release in the U.S. which evidently tanked, which is unfortunate considering how fantastic the film is, and yet this probably won’t deter a big screen release in the U.S. as well considering the growing nature of U.S. and China markets.
I think it’ll be likely, but we’ll see, and should this hit theaters, I would recommend checking it out. And as much as this is a family-friendly work of entertainment, bring the little ones as well!
H/T: Variety
On its face, Raman Hui’s 18th century short story adaptation, Monster Hunt, may seem like a kids’ movie not worth all the hype. That said, if that’s the basis for your abstinence from seeing it either this year or last year, you couldn’t be more wrong and its status as China’s highest grossing film of all time notwithstanding, the film tells one of the most heartfelt, exciting and compelling stories you’ll ever see on screen and with fun action sequences to boot as well from a script by Hui and co-scribe Alan Yuen.
This, plus the CG fare and adorable creature lore, should bode well for anyone simply looking for something fun to watch and it’s worth a rental, and you would be wise at the very least to catch it as a preamble for the sequel now underway in Beijing according to Variety. Chongqing Hot Pot star, actress Bai Baihe is returning with Rise Of The Legend co-star Jing Boran following the first film which saw a bumbling village mayor accidentally impregnated by a Monster Queen’s egg. Upon its hatching, he reluctantly pairs up with an aspiring monster hunter to protect the young creature whose royalty could very well determine peace amid the civil unrest and rift between the monster and human worlds.
The film marked Hui’s debut as director after serving as supervising animator and lead character designer for films such as Dreamworks’ Antz, Shrek and Shrek 2, and as co-director for Shrek The Third, among others. Bill Kong is back and producing the film as well through Edko Films and plot details are underwraps while more casting announcements and updates following its attendance next month at the American Film Market remain pending.
Considering China’s continuing efforts in sharpening its visionary methods for 3D fantasy filmmaking, debut director Raman Hui‘s newest offering couldn’t come at a better time. His new film, Monster Hunt, which he also wrote with Alan Yuen, is based on an 18th century short story compilation, serves up quite the for someone like Hui to deliver the same caliber of family-oriented action adventure spectacle seen aplenty in his previous work as supervising animator and lead character designer for films such as Dreamworks’ Antz, Shrek and Shrek 2, and as co-director for Shrek The Third, to name a few.
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