alexshistudio

RECOMMEND! We watched the premiere of the film, me and my boyfriend who didn't speak Chinese at all. He didn't really miss any humor in the movie that were story related. The strength I really want to applaud of this movie is it did not get distracted by the actual "identify switch" story trick and used it almost to perfection to carry the story along. It's so rare for movies to successfully portray what school life is like in China, let along understanding Chinese teens. This movie was so genuine and packaged with organic humor. The animation is definitely on par with some of the top ones coming out of Pixar and Disney. Character performance is close to perfect, I'd argue. It is a Chinese story, but it definitely is beyond a "local" story. Many of the school aspects are easy to relate to for people from pretty much anywhere and the main character is such an approachable kid it feels like he lives right in your neighborhood.

Many things that were touched on are universal but when put together, it becomes so true to its core and flavor of this school in the northeast part of China, where people are known to be blunt, funny, and loyal. They would do anything for the people they trust, but also causes that they believe in.