Wish Dragon movie review 2021

MOVIE TITLE: Wish Dragon

This colorful animation is now available only on Netflix.

RATING: PG

LENGTH: 1 hour 38 minutes

IN A NUTSHELL:

Sony Pictures Animation combines efforts with a Chinese animation company to introduce a more modern, Chinese spin on the Disney classic Aladdin. In fact, the protagonist’s name is Din, shortened from Alladin. This is Sony Animation’s second Netflix exclusive movie after the hit The Mitchells vs the Machines, which is a super cute movie I recently reviewed.

Writer and Director Chris Applehans explained that he was inspired by Aladdin but then wanted to veer off with some unique Chinese mythology and settings. He is best known for his animation work on movies like Coraline, Disney’s The Princess and The Frog, and more recently, WONDER PARK.

THINGS I LIKED:

One of my sons married a lovely girl from Hong Kong and they now have their own sweet baby boy. I’ve been to Hong Kong and mainland China many times and absolutely love the Chinese culture. I love that this movie does a great job teaching Americans and others more about that amazing country and culture. The movie captures so many little details of Chinese life and I’m so glad that Asia has been in the spotlight lately with quite a few movies on Netflix and elsewhere.
The Wish Dragon is voiced by John Cho in the English version, but the Mandarin version uses legendary Jackie Chan as the dragon’s voice! Jackie Chan is also the film’s producer. John Cho also did the voice acting in the cute Netflix movie OVER THE MOON.
The beautiful Constance Wu from Crazy Rich Asians voices the mom in the movie.
Other famous voice talents included in the cast are Jimmy Wong, Will Yun Lee, Bobby Lee, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Ronny Chieng, among others.
There’s a quick scene that shows how fast Shanghai has grown. No kidding. I love that city. It really celebrates the ancient with the modern.
The animation is simple but very colorful and sweet with great textures and depth. Lots of purples and pinks are used. The film also incorporates different styles of animation to illustrate specific things.
There is a lot of humor for all ages. Lots of cute visual humor that made me laugh out loud. Pay attention to the writing on signs and the body movements.
It’s really fun to watch the Wish Dragon discover technology and all the magical things that exist in our modern world today.
The backstory of the Wish Dragon is revealed slowly but when we learn more, it’s concise and extremely powerful.The conversation about what the dragon had learned about humans during the hundreds of years of his life was really profound. Ironically, capitalism is huge right now in China. The entire country is focused on money and fortune. I wonder if the Chinese will actually take notice of this important life lesson in the movie about money and what’s truly important in life.
The Kung Fu action and kicking sequences are hilarious. One of the characters fights only with his feet while he’s wearing a suit and his hands are in his pockets. So funny.
The movie’s focus wasn’t solely focused on love and romance, offering so much more.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

A lot of American viewers might be turned off, thinking this is yet one more thing China has stolen and copied, saying The Wish Dragon is a complete rip-off of the genie in Aladdin and not give this film a chance. While there are a lot of similar elements in the two films, this one really does offer something unique that is worth a watch.
Some of the voices didn’t quite match the characters’ faces.
It’s really hard to feel sorry for a rich, young, famous, and beautiful girl.
There are some endearing side characters that I wish we could have had more time getting to know. Two of the villain’s henchmen really didn’t blossom until the last few minutes of the movie.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

Toilet humor. In fact, American kids won’t understand the bidet joke because the typical home in America doesn’t have a bidet in the bathroom.
There is a nod to the King Midas story that younger children might not be familiar with.
Lots of animated violence.

THEMES:

Friendship
Reconnecting with lost friends
Imagination
Be true to yourself
Promises
Greed
Power
Family and their expectations
Community
The value of wisdom
Status
Money
Pressures from society

FUNNY LINES:

“So smart and yet so stupid.” – Wen (Gabriel Lee)
“You reject the will of the gods?” – Pipa God (Ronny Chieng) “Kinda.” – Din (Jimmy Wong)
“The sun is moving faster than us.” – Wish Dragon talking about traffic. Traffic in China is NO JOKE! It’s crazy!
“Careful what you don’t wish for.” – Wish Dragon

INTERESTING LINES:

“What could be more important than friendship?” – Din (Jimmy Wong)
“But the things you care about, your friends, your family are worth more than anything I ever possessed and no amount of gold can ever buy that.” – Wish Dragon
“I’m sorry I can’t give you a better life.” – Constance Wu “You’ve given me a lot, everything that matters.” – Din (Jimmy Wong)