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Home Movies Reviews ‘Wish Dragon’ Movie Review: A Chinese Update of Aladdin with Fantastic Animation

‘Wish Dragon’ Movie Review: A Chinese Update of Aladdin with Fantastic Animation

Din and Long set off on a hilarious adventure through modern-day Shanghai in pursuit of Din's long-lost childhood friend, Li Na

Ritika Kispotta - Sun, 13 Jun 2021 10:38:46 +0100 3604 Views
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The film is a retelling of the antique genie-in-a-lamp tale, with a small alteration—the lamp is a Chinese teapot, and also the disembodied spirit whooshing out of it is a flossy pink dragon. Din (Jimmy Wong) and Li Na (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) have outgrown their young promises, as adulthood and standing barriers pull them in several ways. Whereas Din grows up along with his single mother in their little Shikumen-style house incommodious with snoopy neighbors, Li Na grows up in an empty, palatial house with an absent father. Now, the story might have simply gone the route of the longing doomed lovers’ figure. However, Chris, fortunately, has larger, higher plans for his Oriental retelling of the fairytale. He chooses to focus on the ability of friendship.


Writer/director Chris Appelhans’ script provides a good quantity of substance and maturity to form this acquainted tale contemporary rather effectively. The film starts with the budding friendship of Din (Jimmy Wong) and Lina (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) as childhood besties from totally different walks of life. Din is a working-class student who is sensible and inventive however has high expectations set by his mother (Constance Wu), whereas Li Na is a wealthy girl with a father who showers her with money but pays zero attention. Therefore as they get older and apart, you see Din probing for the sole person in the world who made him feel less alone: his best friend. The film has associated spookily correct depiction of aging and relationships between individuals as time rolls on. For a youngster's movie, it nails such a relative motivation for the lead where he’s already content with the life he however for the one person who makes him feel whole.


The biggest point here is Din himself. Wish Dragon flips the Aladdin script by creating Din the earnest optimist who thinks friendship matters over category or standing, whereas Long is the cynic who believes money can solve everything. Din’s positivity brings a beautiful sense of buoyancy to the primary half of the film, and it permits Wish Dragon’s third act to tread into some darker territory as he learns that the realities of adulthood are more difficult than the straightforward truths of childhood. Although Din’s relationship with Long never reaches the extent of pathos Disney conjured with Aladdin and the disembodied spirit, Wish Dragon manages to supply a unique riff on the classic “be faithful to yourself” narrative. In this case, Din doesn’t have to be compelled to amendment his outlook; the remainder of the planet simply must bend towards his egalitarian attributes.


The relationship between Li Na and Din could’ve been better written and more laid out once they commit to reconnecting as adults. Although Din’s motivation begins from an awfully pure and platonic place, I wish it might have followed through on those notions rather than going the expected route. It’s cute what Appelhans does with them nonetheless to feature a lot of depth into their relationship, but darn, we’ve seen the romance angle too again and again. Given the range of freshness this update provides, it would’ve been the ultimate detail to elevate the story overall.


However, the animation is amazing. The spin to the oft-recounted disembodied story is well price participating. The eponymic dragon is beyond question the division of the film, and his uproarious wit and pessimism will go a long way in giving this project an endeavor within the arm. Wish Dragon does possess enough moments that could have been both different and better, but at the end of the day it is an animated fantasy film of a wish-granting creature residing within the orbit of a small inexperienced magic pot– and for that reason alone, it deserves some leeway. The moments of mirth during this 98-minute effort promise to overshadow a lot of mediocre ones.


Final Score – [7.7/10]
Reviewed by – Ritika Kispotta
Follow her @KispottaRitika on Twitter (https://twitter.com/KispottaRitika)

 

 

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