Din e o Dragão Genial

Chic and appealing adventure that makes one think of Aladin more than once but does have a very different story to tell.

The depiction of Asian technocracy living right next door to the ghetto is very immersive and the visual humor is well polished.

To be honest, I liked these characters best as kids; Dong is still OK but the other one just seems to have lost her personality in puberty. The plot is somewhat confusing because he appears to squander his wishes and is way too suggestable to the dragon.

He's the best character and he's fun to watch.

The most impressive aspect of this movie is that they were able to create a villain that was formidable and yet still no less comedic for it.

The comparisons to Aladdin are apt. A funny genie, a lower-class guy and upper-class girl connecting on similar emotional state, inability to wish for love, wishes to be a prince(ling), the villain has been looking for genie for a long time, themes of trust and lies. It gets away with it, though, by recognizing the connection and finding ways to subvert it. Long the Dragon's arc is strong, there are several very funny moments (traffic scene is excellent), and the animation is beautiful.

Going into this film I was worried it was going to be a soulless piece of entertainment for babies but after watching to the end it's quite funny and has a personality with a likeable array of Characters and with jokes for all ages. It's a good family film and if you have nothing to do I suggest you go give it a watch. It doesn't shake the industry and it's a bit predictable but it's a good time.

Set in Shanghai, China, Din Song (Jimmy Wong) is a working class college student living with his strict but loving mother (Constance Wu) while working a side-job as a delivery driver hoping to one day reunite with his childhood friend Li Na Wang (Natasha Liu Bordizzo). During a delivery Din delivers a meal to an eccentric old man (Ronny Chieng) in a demolished part of the city who claims to be a god and instead of paying with money he gives Din a jade teapot saying Din is pure of heart. Din soon discovers the teapot contains Longzhu (John Chu) a wish dragon who has the power to grant Din three wishes and encourages Din to wish for gold and opulence so he may ascend to the spirit world but Din being of humble means only desires to reunite with Li Na. However a trio of mysterious thugs lead by Pockets (Aaron Yu) are searching for the Jade teapot at the behest of an unknown third party.

Wish Dragon is a 2021 animated film from Sony Pictures Animation produced as a co-production with Chinese based companies Base FX and Tencent Pictures. The film is the writing and directing debut for Chris Appelhans a concept in Visual Artist who has worked on several projects in the industry including Monster House, Princess and the Frog, and Rise of the Guardians just to name a few. The movie covers the well worn tale of "three wishes" down to even having similar parallels to the original Aladdin story from the original Arabian Nights (such as taking place in China and the protagonist having a mother) but despite covering well worn ground Wish Dragon manages to keep it engaging.

While the animation is slightly more frugal than comparable titles such as Mitchells vs. The Machines, the design work on the characters and Shanghai gives the film a unique visual identity so that we become engrossed in the film's depiction of Shanghai and the modern day residents. Jimmy Wong makes for a likable protagonist as Din and has some fun exchanges with Constance Wu as his mother, and Natasha Liu Bordizzo is quite strong as Li Na with some solid moments of chemistry between her and Wong. But stealing every scene he's in is John Cho's portrayal of Longzhu "Long" the titular wish dragon and while the animation used to convey the character does bare some similarities to Robin Williams' Genie from 1992's Aladdin, Cho manages to find his own identity for the character playing the wish granter as a cynic who thinks he knows everything there is to know about humans and desire. The character is more at the forefront of this story than the Genie was in Aladdin and it really is Long's story of redemption rather than Din since Din is a goodhearted man who appreciates his situation and it makes for a dynamic that separates itself from comparable pieces.

Wish Dragon is a solid rendition on the well worn story well of wish fulfillment and with a likable cast of characters and stylish and unique locale I was kept entertained.

First, this is not Aladin... this is based partly on chinese mythology and represents the gap between poor and rich in China pretty well and how people behave in China, comparing more like what people own and represent instead of their live experience and happiness. Life in China during these times is pretty hard if you are poor and have nothing to show and it's very rare that a couple coming from a poor and rich side, can come together and are "allowed" to fall in love. Some wealthy families will not allow here daughter / son to marry someone poor. That's a fact.

Back to the movie.... i was very pleasantly surprised of all the work which was put into this, story, characters and of course the special effects... this movie has more spirit (pun!) than most of the Disney stuff of today.

Heartful, enjoyable storyline which concentrates on the good in people. The Wish Dragon is not only for kids, every adult should watch it as well and let the spirit capture you. I loved the movie personally 10/10

btw. Long is so cute :) and so is Li Na.