History Film / ThePaperTigers

* WhitestBlackGuy: A RunningGag is how Carter will [[GratuitousForeignLanguage randomly switch to Chinese]] only for Danny and Hing, who are actually Asian, to say they don't understand him.

* BaldOfAwesome: Hing is revealed to have been wearing a DodgyToupee the entire time and doesn't actually have a speck of hair left on his head. Danny and Jim actually seem to be more okay with him owning his baldness than trying to cover it up. [[spoiler:In the ending, it's shown that he's come around to leaving his head bare.]]

* DuelToTheDeath: The fight between Danny and Zhen Fan is this, with the winner getting to throw the loser off the roof, which includes Jim if Danny were to lose, [[OhCrap much to Jim's surprise)]].

* ShutUpHannibal: Zhen Fan insists on fighting to the death with Danny to determine [[spoiler:Sifu Cheung's true successor]] as "the fiercest tigers cannot share the same mountain. [[spoiler:When Danny wins their match, instead of throwing the incapacitated Zhen Fan off the roof as agreed upon, he leaves behind a phone dialing 911]] and tells him to "keep your damn mountain."

* LooopholeAbuse: After Danny shows wins the first round of his fight with Zhen Fan, instead of standing his ground in the second round when his superiorly skilled opponent gets to attack first, he tries to run out the clock before Zhen Fan can land a hit by running behind a shed with Zhen Fan having to chase him in circles. Knowing that this is a fight to the death and that Danny is actually outmatched, Jim just [[LovableCoward eggs Danny on]] while laughing himself.

** While most of the gung fu fighters have a bit of this in them, special mention goes to Carter. Unlike the Tigers, Carter had continued to train in gung fu, officially teaching in Master Wong's school and has a chip on his shoulder for the many times they defeated him. He gives {{Koan}}s in [[GratuitousForeignLanguage gratuitous Chinese]], identifies as Chinese when it suits him, gives overly elaborate opening stances, and takes obscene pleasure in humiliating the Tigers. [[spoiler:After Hing is nearly killed by the Fourth Disciple and Danny and Jim decide to confront him, [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Carter drops the smugness.]]]]

** Zhen Fan is a [[AffablyEvil darker yet more affable]] version of this. He's completely secure in his fighting prowess, having no problems showing off his physical prowess to the Tigers in order to intimidate them. When Danny asks him what the terms of the third round of their beimo are, he lightly scoffs at the idea of their fight even lasting that long. Then there's the fact that, in-between assassinations, he's been going around challenging and brutally beating other gung fu practitioners.

* ChekhovsSkill: Hing is able to tell a student's kick is weak based on the sound it makes when it hits the bag. They're later able to [[FightingFingerprint pick out Sifu Cheung's killer out of a gym full of criminals based on the sound of his kicks]].

* HappinessInMinimumWage: While discussing the late Sifu Cheung, the titular paper tigers agree that while he was more than capable of opening a dojo of his own, he was far more content being a modest chef, believing martial arts (Gung Fu) should not be used to make money. [[spoiler:This ends up deconstructed in that he expected his students to follow this same mandate leading to a domino effect of falling outs. When Danny went to him to announce they'd be fighting in a tournament in Japan, Cheung disagreed with him to the point they fought. Danny quit in shame, never telling Jim and Hing, who slowly lost touch with Cheung afterwards. All this resulted in Cheung taking on a new student, one with [[ProfessionalKiller much darker ambitions]].]]

** Sifu Cheung is first shown to be a [[SternTeacher very strict master]] whose unyielding adherence to his martial arts code partially contributed to his three pupils falling out with each other and eventually leaving him, and left him so bitter, he [[spoiler:initially]] gave up on having any more disciples. Despite that, it's implied that his bitterness came from having been close enough to his students to view them like sons, and is shown to have legitimately cared for them when the Three Tigers find an old VHS tape of the four of them celebrating Jim's birthday over dinner, with Sifu Cheung wishing Jim a warm and sincere happy birthday.

* TheMedic: Hing serves as one to the group, applying a Chinese pressure point technique to revive Danny and Jim when they get knocked out in fights. It's revealed that after those two left, Sifu Cheung switched to teaching Hing healing techniques instead of martial arts and opened a free clinic for the local Chinese community. [[spoiler:The ending sees Hing following his sifu's footsteps by reviving the free clinic.]]
* MightyGlacier: Hing's lost his agility due to his weight and leg injury, but wins his fight against the Punks through sheer knockout, not to mention being strong enough to lift and throw his opponent around.

* WeUsedToBeFriends: At the start of the film, the Three Tigers haven't seen or spoken to each other in decades. Jim resents Danny in particular due to the latter quitting a martial arts tournament in Japan they were invited to years ago suddenly and without explanation which costed him as Danny's second the opportunity to compete. It's only after it's revealed that [[spoiler:Danny had attended the tournament against their sifu's explicit wishes, to the point where they fought, and that he was too ashamed to tell anyone what had happened]], that the rift between them begins to heal.

** The Tigers themselves were this in their teen years, which is why Carter carries such a grudge against them in the present. Danny in particular seemed to get his kicks from regularly humiliating Carter in beimos, at times even going a bit overboard with his hits. [[spoiler:Them seeking out fights for glory and money ultimately was what lead to the group fracturing, as Sifu Cheung voiced his displeasure to Danny about how they were misusing his teachings.]]

* BookEnds: The film's opening montage of The Three Tigers' youth has Danny receiving an invitation to fight in Japan with Jim as his second. This would be the last time the two would be together as it ended up being the catalyst for their friendship ending. [[spoiler:The climax of the film is a fight between Zhen Fan and Danny, with Jim supporting him on the sidelines, their friendship restored]].

** Zhen Fan is a [[AffablyEvil darker yet more affable]] version of this. He's completely secure in his fighting prowess, having no problems showing off his physical prowess to the Tigers in order to intimidate them. When Danny asks him what the terms of the third round of their beimo, he lightly scoffs at the idea of their fight even lasting that long. Then there's the fact that, in-between assassinations, he's been going around challenging and brutally beating other gung fu practitioners.

[[caption-width-right:350:''"The fiercest tigers cannot share the same mountain."'']]

->''"Gung fu without honor is just fighting."''
-->--'''Sifu Cheung'''

* ShoutOut: In the {{Denouement}}, Danny calls him, his friends and his son "The Three Tigers and Franchise/TheKarateKid." Made even more funny since he says this right after Yuji Okumoto (who played Chozen in ''Film/TheKarateKidPartII'') makes a cameo.