Alyce Tzue Signs With United Talent Agency Ahead of Netflix Debut With Animated Comedy Steps
Animator and filmmaker Alyce Tzue has signed with United Talent Agency, which will represent her in all areas, Variety reported. The signing comes as she prepares to make her feature directing debut with Steps, an animated family comedy for Netflix.
Steps retells the Cinderella fairy tale from the point of view of the evil stepsisters. It is a fresh angle on a story most people already know, and the film puts the stepsisters at the centre rather than the glass slipper. Tzue co-directs with John Ripa, and the script comes from Jen Chuck, Felicia Ho and Riki Lindhome.
The voice cast is led by Amanda Seyfried, Bette Midler, Daniel Radcliffe, Peter Dinklage and Ali Wong. Stephanie Hsu is also in the voice cast. Netflix says the film will arrive on the service worldwide on 20 November 2026. According to the streamer's Tudum site, it runs 1 hour 46 minutes and is rated PG.
Tzue's path into features began well before Steps. She worked as an animator on Oculus Story Studio's Henry, a virtual reality film that became the first VR project to win an Emmy Award. She also served as an executive producer on the 2024 animated feature Little Emma.
Her own short films have drawn attention too. She wrote and directed Soar, which earned a Student Academy Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Variety named her one of its 10 Animators to Watch in 2016.
Her background is unusual for an animator. She studied architecture at Princeton, then earned an MFA in 3D animation at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. That mix of building design and character animation is useful on a film where the sets, the staircases and the stage-like rooms matter as much as the jokes.
Tzue will continue to be represented by The Gotham Group and Bloch Law LLP, according to the Variety report. Agencies often sign a director for a wider range of work, from film and television to advertising and development, while earlier representation continues. The signing does not change the release date or the cast of Steps.
For viewers, the calendar is simple. Steps lands on Netflix on 20 November, and it will be the first time many audiences see Tzue's name above the title of a feature.
