'Wish Dragon' Review
PG: Mild action and rude humor
Runtime: 1 Hr and 38 Minutes
Production Companies: Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation, Beijing Sparkle Roll Media Corporation, Tencent Pictures, Base FX, Flagship Entertainment Group, Boss Collaboration, Cultural Investment Holdings
Distributor: Netflix
Director: Chris Appelhans
Writer: Chris Appelhans / Xiaocao Liu (Mandarin Dub)
Voice Cast: Jimmy Wong, John Cho, Constance Wu, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Jimmy O. Yang, Aaron Yoo, Will Yun Lee, Ronny Chieng, Bobby Lee
Release Date: June 11, 2021
Netflix
Din, a working-class college student with big dreams but small means, and Long, a cynical but all-powerful dragon capable of granting wishes, set off on a hilarious adventure through modern day Shanghai in pursuit of Din's long-lost childhood friend, Lina. Their journey forces them to answer some of life's biggest questions – because when you can wish for anything, you have to decide what really matters.
After Sony Pictures Animation changed the entire game of the animation industry with Spider-Verse, the studio announced during Annecy 2019 they were expanding their reach with two new film divisions: an “alternative” one to develop adult animated works and an “international” one to have more universal stories told. The first film in their international wheelhouse is Chris Appelhans’ Wish Dragon, a modern take on a familiar folktale set in China.
I recently said in my Spirit Untamed review I find it depressing that a variety of new beautiful animated films are going straight to streaming while something as cheap and generic as that gets a theatrical push. Sony’s move to shift Wish Dragon to Netflix from its original theatrical plan in the States, along with The Mitchells and the Machines and Vivo, adds to this notion. With animation produced by China-based VFX studio Base FX, the film displays a distinct, colorful, and vibrant aesthetic of modern Shanghai. It’s not going for a hyper-realistic look, but instead has its own cartoonish approach in both visuals and movements. Though I’m not particularly keen on animator-driven movies that are style over substance, this has a great balance of both. Plus, all the visual gags are hysterical throughout. Much like Sony Animation’s Hotel Transylvania series, the film is heavy on slapstick and visual gags, but it delivers them in such an inventive manner that you and ya kids will be enthralled. Its kinetic energy is so fluid and fun to witness, especially during the action set pieces. Throughout the film, Din has to face off goons who are after his magical teapot, led by a tall, lanky gangster (Aaron Yoo) who uses his legs for EVERYTHING as his hands stay stuck in his pockets. The way he would move would fascinate me as much as it would crack me up. I also love Long (John Cho), the magical dragon’s character design and movement. Unlike the traditional Chinese dragon, he’s more rectangularly shaped and fluffy so in closeups you can see the detail of his fur, which makes you wanna pet him. Because he’s as super-cynical as he is magical, he’s giving so much cartoonish movement and expression as you’d expect a magical genie dragon to have. You can tell the animators had a blast with Long and John Cho’s incredible vocal performance in making this jaded dragon come to life.
The film is a Chinese update of Aladdin, which brings the folk story back to its origins but with a contemporary setting and a surprising amount of depth. Writer/director Chris Appelhans’ screenplay provides a great amount of substance and maturity to make this familiar tale fresh rather effectively. The film starts off with the budding friendship of Din (Jimmy Wong) and Lina (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) as childhood besties from different walks of life. Din is the working-class student who is smart and imaginative, but has high expectations set by his mom (Constance Wu), while Lina is a rich girl with a dad who showers her with wealth but pays zero attention. So as they grow older and apart, you see Din longing for the only person in the world who made him feel less alone: his best friend. The film has an eerily accurate depiction of aging and relationships between people as time rolls on. For a kids movie, it nails such a relative motivation for the lead where he’s already content with the life he leads but only wishes for the one person who makes him feel whole.
There’s a central theme of the new money class between Din and Lina and it plays a part in their characters. To another extent, class plays a major part in Long's character arc. The strongest aspect of the narrative lies in the dynamic between Din and Long where you have this impatient, selfish dragon adamant that Din gets his three wishes over paired with a grounded college student who aims low from his heart. Long would constantly rush Din to center all his wishes around materialistic things right when he is summoned from his teapot, but when they go deeper into his character, it gets to a dark area, which is rather unexpected yet strong. The film doesn’t try to talk down to kids, but instead handles mature themes with nuance and wit. I’ve never seen an animated movie focused on a working-class college student, and the way Din is depicted and his aspirations are surprisingly fresher than expected.
Because of the transparent Aladdin inspiration, you can tell where a ton of the beats will lead to. There are set pieces that mirror exact moments from both the folklore and the beloved Disney film. While it adds emphasis to its China-based setting, there are areas where it feels derivative. Granted, it has an added weight of emotional maturity to make it stand out, it still falls short in various areas. The villainous goons are extremely weak and hardly make any sort of an impression outside the boss’s lanky legs. His fellow henchmen are meant to be comedic relief, and while funny whenever present they feel unnecessary.
The relationship between Lina and Din could’ve been better written and more laid out when they attempt to reconnect as adults. Though Din’s motivation does start off from a very pure and platonic place, I wish (no pun intended) it would have followed through on those notions instead of going the expected route. It’s cute what Appelhans does with them nevertheless to add more depth into their relationship, but darn, we’ve seen the romance angle too many times before. Given the variety of freshness this update provides, it would’ve been the final detail to elevate the story overall.
I try my best not to criticize a movie for reusing character design assets, which is very common practice for animated movies with not that large of a budget, but there are many scenes where this can be so clearly seen. There’s a woman, one of Din’s neighbors, who I swear is also in the scene where Din and Long (in human form) crash into Lina’s birthday party as the one flirting with Long in an admittingly edgy and hilarious bit. And then I’m going,”Wait, is this woman both rich and poor, or did they just recycle the same character model?” It’s not distracting, but at times it can be. And that minor character gets an ample amount of speaking lines, making the illusion harder to dismiss.
Overall, Wish Dragon is a mature, contemporary update of the Aladdin folklore with its own style, character, and wit. The beats may be familiar, but there is still enough freshness in the writing and direction to strengthen the emotional component. Like many of the animated films being diverted to streaming these days, it deserves a fate better than the small screen for its hysterical humor and huge heart.
