For many of us, our exposure and knowledge of the Chinese zodiac is limited and comes from paper restaurant menus or possibly the early 2000s cartoon Jackie Chan Adventures. But for people like The Tiger’s Apprenticestars Brandon Soo Hoo and Tan Kheng Hua, the zodiac holds significant cultural importance and even helps inform their personalities.
“I’m a fourth generation Chinese American, so while I am pretty tapped in with my culture. I wouldn’t say it’s as prevalent as it was for a lot of my peers growing up, but my Chinese zodiac is definitely something that I was very aware of,” said Soo Hoo who plays Tom Lee in the film. “I was born in 1995, which is the year of the pig. I grew up really, really just liking pigs. I collected little pig figurines and pig themed artwork because I was like, ‘Oh, that’s my animal.’ Pigs are loyal. They’re fortunate. We are intelligent and we also enjoy indulging in food and stuff like that. Pretty accurate, I would say.”
While Soo Hoo and his character are both Chinese American, Tom seeks to distance himself from his traditions, where Soo Hoo felt he had to prove his Chinese bona fides to the others who shared in that same culture.
“I’m from the San Gabriel Valley, which is a very densely packed Chinese neighborhood. I never felt like the minority or I never felt like I had to struggle with my Chinese identity because everybody that I grew up with was Chinese,” he said. “Because I was fourth generation, because I couldn’t speak the language, my experience was feeling very proud and very defensive, almost like, ‘No I am Chinese, look at all these Chinese cultures that I celebrate and all this stuff that I participate in.’ Instead of trying to hide my identity, I was always trying to find ways that I can showcase and celebrate my identity.”
Tan, who hails from Singapore, said that in spite of being a very modern and urbanized city, many young Singaporeans still cling to the tradition of the zodiac and use it to help ascertain aspects of everyday life, from determining future health to romantic compatibility to the fortunes of business ventures. Tan’s zodiac animal is a water tiger.
“I’m very much fierce on the outside, but inside I’m water. I am soft and a pussycat, and I would say that’s a very accurate description of myself,” Tan said. “There is still a slight taboo about women that are born under the tiger sign because older Singaporean Chinese ladies would say,’ No man is ever going to want your daughter, your daughter is going to be so fierce.’
“Thankfully, nowadays, as seen in The Tiger’s Apprentice, I think it’s all about maximizing your strengths, minimizing your weaknesses,” she added. “The wonderful playful thing about having a Chinese zodiac is that it’s very clear what each of these zodiac animals’ strengths and weaknesses are. And it’s just so fun to be able to have this framework to make decisions.”
Both Soo Hoo and Tan said they were excited to be part of a film that explores a spirituality that many people have a passing familiarity with, but not a deep understanding.
“There are so many different properties and so many pieces of work and creative art that talk about the Western zodiac, like, you know, like Scorpios, Capricorns, that stem of spirituality,” Soo Hoo said. “It’s not as explored and it’s not that represented for the Chinese zodiac, so I think it’s really exciting to be able to do a project that introduces that idea and that concept to a lot of Western audiences for the first time.”
Tan believes The Tiger’s Apprentice offers an opportunity to continue and expand conversations about diversity.
“There is space for all sorts of conversations, all sorts of new knowledge, to deepen our experience, about what it means to be diverse, and I think expanding the definition of diversity is really where all the fun is and it’s where all the purpose is,” Tan said. “It’s no longer good enough to say that we are this particular skin color. I think what is interesting, purposeful and meaningful to talk about is where do we come from, how have we changed, how will this impact our life from here on in?”
Furthermore, Tan believes that by delving deeper into the philosophy of the Chinese zodiac, The Tiger’s Apprentice can provide younger viewers with the philosophical framework to become more accepting of themselves.
“Having an animated feature featuring the Chinese zodiac is touching upon a philosophy…that every single one of us have got good points and bad points,” she said. “I really do like that sort of very three dimensional look at people and at life, that we don’t have to sugarcoat everything into being, ‘Oh, everything is going to be a success.’ It is about how things are imperfect and that’s perfectly fine. We must just try to be the best that we can and I think young people need to know that to lessen the pressure on themselves. You know, about being perfect.”