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My Thoughts on: Wish Dragon (2021)

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After finally sitting down and watching Wish Dragon on Netflix, I have to confess I have (once again) learned a powerful lesson: one should never judge a movie by its first 20 minutes alone. Because while Wish Dragon does get off to a rather slow start, it does eventually come into its own with a beautiful story to tell.

The story of Wish Dragon is set in modern Shanghai and follows a capable (but poor) young man named Din, who unexpectedly finds himself in possession of a magic teapot containing a “wish dragon” named Long who can grant him three wishes. If that sounds suspiciously familiar to the plot of Aladdin, well, it is, and on that basis alone I almost gave up on the film because, let’s be honest, Disney did that story years ago and did it very well.

But there’s a key difference between these two films and that is the titular wish dragon Long. This pink dragon is no Genie, and the film is well-written to make sure we don’t think of him that way. Long is an unexpectedly complex character; he started off irritating but slowly grew to become one of my favorite characters in the film. Long isn’t just a magical dragon, he has his own motivations that color the story and that creates a completely different relationship between Din and Long than what exists between Aladdin and the Genie. It’s a brilliant twist on this kind of story actually, and I’m glad I stuck with the film to see how this story arc played out.

Another thing I love about Wish Dragon is how this story puts a platonic twist on the “boy wants girl” story trope. When I first heard of this film and realized there was a young man and young woman involved, I rolled my eyes and thought “here we go, another YA animated romance film. Next!” And then I saw the part in the trailer where Din admits that he does NOT want Lina to fall in love with him, he just wants her back as his best friend. And that made my jaw DROP. That….you don’t see that in stories, or at least you didn’t until now. It was so refreshing to see a story where romance is NOT the ultimate goal of these magic wishes (another key difference from Aladdin).

And then there’s the film’s themes about telling the truth and friendship. Of course the most important theme in this film is friendship and how it is one of the most important things you can have, even more than money or fame. But…at the same time there’s an almost equal emphasis on telling the truth, be it about what you really want in life or being honest about who you really are. You need to be honest with yourself and the world about what you really want, at least that’s what I gathered after watching this film.

As a quick side note, I might also say that Wish Dragon also has a smaller lesson embedded in it, that being “be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.” It’s a lesson you don’t see implemented consistently with magical wish-granting stories, but Wish Dragon does make good use of it in this film, and Long even snarks about how one should “be careful what you DON’T wish for” in reference to this idea.

Now, as much as I ended up loving Wish Dragon, it does take a little while to get going. I beg you to be patient with the film’s first act because once things are properly set into motion, the story is a lot of fun. Other than that, I have no real complaints about this film. The animation is smartly done and the music, as I learned from talking to the film’s composer, is indeed a perfect blending of East and West.

Despite some minor flaws and a slow start, Wish Dragon proved itself to be everything I was promised and more. It proves a story like this doesn’t need romance to work and it also rams the lesson home that money is NOT everything nor is being rich everything it’s cracked up to be. As the credits rolled, I found myself more than happy with what I’d seen and I happily recommend checking this film out on Netflix.

Let me know what you think of Wish Dragon on Netflix in the comments below and have a great day!

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My Thoughts on: Raya and the Last Dragon (2021)

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My Thoughts on: Soul (2020)

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My Thoughts on: Trolls (2016)

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Soundtrack News: ‘No. 7 Cherry Lane’ Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Available Now

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Milan Records has release the original motion picture soundtrack for No. 7 Cherry Lane, an album of music from iconic director & writer Yonfan’s new animated film composed by Yonfan himself, Yu Yat-Yiu and Chapavich Temnitikul. Set in 1967 Hong Kong, No.7 Cherry Lane originally debuted at the 76^th Venice Film Festival in 2019, where it was awarded Best Screenplay, and has since toured film festivals around the world in advance of its opening in Hong Kong later this summer.

Described by the director as “my love letter to Hong Kong and cinema”, No.7 Cherry Lane is Yonfan’s 14th motion picture – all of which he has written, directed and produced – and his first since 2009. It is also his first animated feature. The eclectic score of lush orchestral music was composed by artists including Yonfan himself, Yu Yat-Yiu and Chapavich Temnitikul and recorded live in Prague.

YONFAN states that his motion pictures share an underlying theme of passion. A true auteur, his films are entirely self-produced, directed, written, and distributed. Yonfan began directing features in 1984, often for his own production company Far Sun Film, and has worked in Hong Kong, Singapore, China and Japan. He has made a total of fourteen movies, set in various periods and locales, first receiving international notice at the Berlin International Film Festival with the gay-themed drama Bishonen. His subsequent film, the Chinese opera-based Peony Pavilion, was named one of the year’s ten best by Time magazine in 2002, and garnered Rie Miyazawa the Best Actress award at the Moscow International Film Festival. His previous feature, Prince of Tears, was Hong Kong’s selection to compete in the Oscar race for Best Foreign Language Film, and was selected for competition at the 2009 Venice Film Festival

The theme song “Southern Cross” was composed by Yonfan and the rapper BOYoung, fusing together a 1940s, Shanghai-style melody sung by legendary Taiwanese singer CHYI YU, with a contemporary style performed by BOYoung and ZOE YU. This bold juxtaposition represents the collision of yesterday, today and tomorrow at the heart of the movie.

No.7 Cherry Lane tells the tale of Ziming, a Hong Kong University undergraduate, entangled between his amorous feelings for a self-exiled mother, Mrs Yu from Taiwan in the White Terror period, and her beautiful daughter Meiling. He takes them to different movies and through a series of magical moments on the big screen, forbidden passions are revealed. And the era coincides with Hong Kong’s turbulent times of 1967.

NO.7 CHERRY LANE (ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK)

TRACKLISTING –

1. Behind the Cherry Lane

2. Rhythm of the Breeze

3. Sunset Whispers

4. Room at the Top

5. Into the Red Chamber Featuring Wang Fang, Zhao Wenlin

6. Night Rider

7. A Love Story

8. Southern Cross Featuring Chyi Yu, BOYoung, Zoe Yu, Kenneth Tsang, Zhao Wei

9. Descending the Stairs

10. A Dream Charade Featuring Sylvia Chang

11. Winter Cometh

12. Last Romance Featuring Chyi Yu

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My Thoughts on: Trolls World Tour (2020)

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*warning: mild plot spoilers for Trolls World Tour follow

Well, it took a lot longer than I thought it would, but today I finally sat down and saw Trolls World Tour after picking the blu-ray up this morning. While I am disappointed that I never got to see this one in theaters, I was still looking forward to checking the story out.

Set some time after the events of the first Trolls movie, Trolls World Tour literally expands the world of the Trolls to reveal that their world is actually a LOT bigger than the first film led us to believe. It turns out Poppy’s Trolls are only one tribe of Trolls, each tribe devoted to a specific genre of music, those being Pop, Country, Techno, Funk, Classical, and Rock (with numerous sub-genres also being represented). This diversity is threatened when Queen Barb of the Hard Rock Trolls decides to unite all Troll-kind under the banner of rock by stealing a series of magical strings that will give her the power to control music (and by extension the Trolls). Naturally, Queen Poppy sets out to stop this from happening (with Branch in tow).

Given how much I enjoyed watching the first Trolls film earlier this year, I was certain that I would love Trolls World Tour (especially once I saw Queen Barb in the previews) and I was right! This film takes everything that made Trolls fun and multiplies it by a factor of ten. I love how each of the Troll tribes are designed, each perfectly matched for their respective musical genres. Queen Barb is especially awesome (although really ALL of the Trolls are great). I really liked how the film didn’t waste much time in hinting that Barb does have thoughts and feelings beyond merely dominating the world through rock music (it was obvious to me early on that she was fighting loneliness).

There’s also a lot of cool voice cameos in this film, one of which didn’t hit me until I saw the end credits. I knew that Ozzy Osbourne was in this film (as Barb’s father, his voice is pretty hard to miss), and I also know (as a classical musician) that Gustavo Dudamel, a famous composer, was in there as well. What I did NOT know was that Anthony Ramos (one of the original Hamilton cast members) is in this film as King Trollex (seen at the opening of the film). Having recently fallen in love with Hamilton, I thought this was really cool.

Also, I have to mention that I really enjoyed the film’s message about what it means to be a good leader (it’s important to listen to others, even if they don’t agree with you). And it’s message about the importance of diversity felt particularly relevant to me given the current situation in the world. Speaking of diversity, I like how the film ends with all of the Trolls (seemingly) living together. This looked like so much fun, I would honestly not mind if a third Trolls film was made. I’d like to see how all of the Trolls get along together.

In conclusion, if you enjoyed the first Trolls film, I’m pretty sure you’ll love Trolls World Tour as well. It was definitely a lot of fun to watch and I’m already looking forward to watching it again.

Let me know what you think about Trolls World Tour in the comments below and have a great day!

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My Thoughts on: Pokémon: Arceus and the Jewel of Life (2009)

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My journey through the Pokémon films continues with Pokémon: Arceus and the Jewel of Life, the 12th film in the series. This movie concludes a story arc that began in Pokémon: The Rise of Darkrai. The story follows Ash, Dawn and Brock as they arrive at the town of Michina, where strange events are taking place. In the distant past, Arceus, a legendary Pokémon with the power to create worlds, lent some of his power to revive the land Michina is built on in the form of the Jewel of Life. But when the time came to return the jewel, Arceus was betrayed, the jewel withheld. Now, thousands of years later, Arceus has returned to judge humans for their betrayal. But once again, things are not as they seem and it is up to Ash and his friends to uncover the truth.

Going in, I could’ve sworn that I never saw this particular film before. But as the story played out, it dawned on me that I remembered certain parts, so while I don’t remember the exact date, it seems I have seen Arceus and the Jewel of Life before, so it was great to revisit the story a number of years later.

It was fascinating to see how Arceus and the Jewel of Life ties The Rise of Darkrai and Giratina & the Sky Warrior together. The film’s explanation that it was Arceus awakening that set everything into motion makes sense and it answers a question I hadn’t even thought to ask while watching The Rise of Darkrai, which was WHY had Dialga and Palkia encountered each other in the first place?

Once again, the plot of this film reminded me of a previous Pokémon film, in this case the story reminded me in part of Lucario and the Mystery of Mew. Like that film, Arceus and the Jewel of Life requires our heroes to find out the truth of what happened in the distant past. Unlike the Lucario story, Ash and company actually get to travel back to the distant past with the help of Dialga. And this is where I have my one big problem with this film. As you might expect, Ash and his friends succeed in changing the past and returning the Jewel of Life to Arceus, who gratefully leaves. But when everyone returns to the present…not only is Arceus still there, he’s still angry and fighting everyone. This makes NO sense to me. The general rule about time travel is if you change the past, you change the future at the same time. By returning the Jewel of Life to Arceus in the past, there would’ve been no reason for Arceus to be there in the present, so he should’ve been gone when Ash and his friends returned. I understand there needs to be a dramatic climax but this went way over the line of believability in my opinion.

I also have to say, I really like how the designs of Arceus, Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina complement each other. When all four are together, you can tell they kind of belong to the same “family” of Pokémon creatures. I mention that because I think it’s a really cool example of attention to detail.

Once again, I finished a Pokémon film that I really liked by the time it was over. Arceus and the Jewel of Life is definitely one of the better films in the series, and it caps off an excellent story arc. Definitely watch this one if you get the chance (but make sure you watch the others first for full effect).

Let me know what you think about Pokémon: Arceus and the Jewel of Life in the comments below and have a great day!

My Thoughts on: Pokémon 3: The Movie: Entei – Spell of the Unown (2000)

My Thoughts on: Pokémon 4Ever- Celebi – Voice of the Forest (2001)

My Thoughts on: Pokémon Heroes: Latios and Latias (2002)

My Thoughts on: Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew (2005)

My Thoughts on: Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea (2006)

My Thoughts on: Pokémon: The Rise of Darkrai (2007)

My Thoughts on: Pokémon: Giratina & the Sky Warrior (2008)

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My Thoughts on: Pokémon: Giratina & the Sky Warrior (2008)

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My ongoing quest to watch all of the Pokémon has now brought me to Pokémon: Giratina & the Sky Warrior. This was the 11th Pokémon film in the series and serves as the follow up to Pokémon: The Rise of Darkrai from the year before. In this story, Ash and company (Dawn and Brock), find themselves accompanying an adorable hedgehog Pokémon named Shaymin to a special flower garden, while having to avoid the mysterious Giratina and a power-hungry individual known as Zero (who has an unhealthy interest in Giratina’s powers).

I was curious to see exactly how this film tied in to The Rise of Darkrai and was very pleased with what I found. Far too often, stories feature earth-shattering battles, only for a sequel to show the world operating as if nothing happened in the previous installment. Giratina & the Sky Warrior is nothing like that. This story makes clear that the battle between Dialga and Palkia had consequences so severe that Giratina felt obliged to get involved and hunt down Dialga himself to let the legendary creature know exactly how he felt about it. That appears to be the overriding message of this film, that actions have consequences, even if we can’t see them.

Beyond that, I couldn’t help but notice that the story arc with Zero trying to capture Giratina held more than a passing resemblance to Lawrence III and his plot to capture Moltres, Zapdos, and Articuno in Pokémon: the Movie 2000. Zero even has a floating vessel to get around in just like Lawrence III did. Granted their motives for doing so are somewhat different, but at their core Lawrence and Zero are both trying to contain legendary Pokémon creatures. I’m not saying this similarity is bad per se, I just find it curious that Zero and Lawrence III are somewhat similar. To be fair, a little similarity here and there is to be expected, when you have a film series as long running as Pokémon, some plot elements are bound to repeat themselves.

I also have to talk about my favorite thing in this entire film: Shaymin!! For years I thought Vulpix was my favorite Pokémon but it seems I’ve been missing out all this time. Imagine my delight when I discovered a hedgehog-like Pokémon like Shaymin exists. She’s so cute it’s almost unbearable, and she can shape-shift too! I know now, if Pokémon were real, I would have a Shaymin. That being said, I’m pretty sure they’re called “gratitude Pokémon” sarcastically, because my goodness did Shaymin have an attitude! That being said, I still love Shaymin.

The Reverse World, to put it mildly, was a mind-trip. It almost felt like being dropped into an M.C. Escher painting (well, maybe not EXACTLY like one, but close enough). I kind of love how casually Ash and his friends take being dropped into parallel dimensions, since this is the second film in a row that something like this has happened to them.

On a final note, I couldn’t help but notice that the story of Giratina & the Sky Warrior essentially ends on a cliffhanger, as the film all but states that Giratina is off to search for Dialga (presumably to continue their fight). While you couldn’t really tell that the story begun in The Rise of Darkrai would be continued, Giratina & the Sky Warrior makes it pretty obvious that the story isn’t over. On that note, I look forward to the ongoing adventures of Ash and company, and I’m curious to see how the fight between Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, and whoever else gets involved, turns out.

In conclusion, I really liked Pokémon: Giratina & the Sky Warrior. It carries on the story begun in the previous film, it has one mind-trip of a location in the Reverse World, and it has a pretty enjoyable story too. Definitely recommend it!

Let me know what you think about Pokémon: Giratina & the Sky Warrior in the comments below and have a great day!

My Thoughts on: Pokémon 3: The Movie: Entei – Spell of the Unown (2000)

My Thoughts on: Pokémon 4Ever- Celebi – Voice of the Forest (2001)

My Thoughts on: Pokémon Heroes: Latios and Latias (2002)

My Thoughts on: Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew (2005)

My Thoughts on: Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea (2006)

My Thoughts on: Pokémon: The Rise of Darkrai (2007)

My Thoughts on: Pokémon: Arceus and the Jewel of Life (2009)

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My Thoughts on: Pokémon: The Rise of Darkrai (2007)

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My quest to watch all of the Pokémon movies continued with Pokémon: The Rise of Darkrai, a 2007 film that is the first of 4 films set in the “Diamond and Pearl” era. This is the 10th Pokémon film overall and, to my knowledge, is the first to begin a storyline that is continued in a followup story (the rest of the films thus far have been standalone features).

Pokémon: The Rise of Darkrai is a weird one, even by Pokémon standards. The closest thing I can compare it to is the third Pokémon film with Entei and the illusory world created by the Unown. Actually, in hindsight, that’s not a bad comparison at all, since the Unown are spotted in the dimension where Dialga and Palkia are fighting. But I digress…before all of that, the story begins with Ash, Brock and Dawn (no more May and Max, I’ll miss them) traveling to Alamos Town for, what else, a Pokémon tournament. Predictably, their plans become disrupted when strange occurrences begin disrupting the town, occurrences that appear to be caused by a mysterious Pokémon known as Darkrai, though not everything is as it seems.

I’m embarrassed to admit that it wasn’t until I watched this film that I learned what Darkrai looks like. Right up until today, I thought Palkia was Darkrai (in my defense, I’ve never played Pokémon Diamond & Pearl so there’s no way I could’ve known). That being said, Darkrai freaked me out just a little bit, though I’m hard pressed to say why. Something about his appearance is just unsettling. You know what else was unsettling? The extended nightmare sequence where the ghostly Pokémon are floating around. That’s when things really got weird in my opinion. I get that things can get strange when you have two massive Pokémon that can manipulate time and space respectively, but still, weird is weird.

One thing I did enjoy very much was Baron Alberto, which is to say I loved to hate him. Actually the entire situation with Alberto and Alice reminded me quite strongly of Gaston and Belle from Beauty and the Beast. Alberto seems to think he’s entitled to Alice’s affections and he also doesn’t seem to be able to take no for an answer. But the biggest similarity? He’s determined to blame Darkrai for everything, he even rallies the other Pokémon trainers to take down Darkrai in an almost identical manner to Gaston rallying the townsfolk to go after the Beast. Quite an interesting parallel if you ask me.

But the thing I liked most about Pokémon: The Rise of Darkrai is the role that music plays in the climax. It was already awesome enough that the Space-Time Towers are shaped like a massive musical instrument (they vaguely remind me of a lyre), but then to have the power of music be what it takes to get Dialga and Palkia to stop fighting, that just blew me away. I feel like music doesn’t always get its just due when it comes to storytelling, and to have a story not only acknowledge but emphasize the power that music can have, that’s just something special. I loved the sequence where ‘Oracion’ plays from the Space-Time Towers; it was beautiful and so, so well done.

While Pokémon: The Rise of Darkrai did weird me out at times, I did enjoy the overall story. More than that, I’m eager to see where the story goes, since I know now that the next two films continue the story that was begun here. If you haven’t seen this one, I do highly recommend it. I’ve still yet to see a Pokémon story I didn’t like.

Let me know what you think about Pokémon: The Rise of Darkrai in the comments below and have a great day!

My Thoughts on: Pokémon 3: The Movie: Entei – Spell of the Unown (2000)

My Thoughts on: Pokémon 4Ever- Celebi – Voice of the Forest (2001)

My Thoughts on: Pokémon Heroes: Latios and Latias (2002)

My Thoughts on: Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew (2005)

My Thoughts on: Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea (2006)

My Thoughts on: Pokémon: Giratina & the Sky Warrior (2008)

My Thoughts on: Pokémon: Arceus and the Jewel of Life (2009)

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My Thoughts on: Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew (2005)

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After a lengthy delay (largely due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic that temporarily killed any desire to watch and review anything), my quest to watch all of the Pokémon movies continued with Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew. This is the eighth Pokémon film in the series and it came out in 2005. The story follows the ongoing adventures of Ash, Pikachu, Brock, May and Max as they help a Pokémon called Lucario unravel the mystery of why he was sealed away by his master, Sir Aaron, a thousand years ago. And oh yes, did I mention Mew puts in an appearance?

I’ve yet to see a Pokémon film that I didn’t like, but this definitely has to be my favorite after the first three films (which in my mind will always be the best). The story is fairly straightforward: Ash and company stumble onto an adventure, Team Rocket inevitably tags along, and Ash must to do something to save the immediate area. The story’s setting is out of this world. There’s a beautiful castle, the phenomenal Tree of Beginning that looks like a tree but is actually made of stone and crystal, and (I can’t mention this enough) some completely adorable scenes with Mew. I’ve loved Mew ever since the first Pokémon movie and this story has more than enough of the adorable critter in it.

I really like how this story uses “time flowers” as a way of looking into the past to find out what happened without resorting to true flashbacks every five minutes. It’s really interesting how the story actually seems to employ the “unreliable narrator” trope. That is, it forces you to question if you can really believe the accepted version of what happened to Sir Aaron, or if Lucario’s version of events is actually correct. The truth, once it’s revealed, is pretty heart-wrenching (but I’m discovering that’s par for the course for Pokémon films).

My favorite visual in the film has to be the secret world inside the Tree of Beginning. It’s amazing how many of these Pokémon films involve secret worlds where Pokémon thrive without any interference from humans. This one is particularly well put together, and I genuinely wished it was a real place I could explore, that’s how beautiful it was. On a separate note, it’s also fun to watch all of the Pokémon interact with each other. Even though all they do is repeat their own names, you still get an idea of what they’re saying.

The one character that surprised me the most in this story was Kidd Summers. When she initially started snooping around the castle, I was convinced that she was the bad guy for this film, the kind that would ingratiate herself with Ash and company before revealing her true colors. But not only was that not true, now that I think about it, there really isn’t a villain in this story (and no, Team Rocket doesn’t count, they don’t even really try anything this time). That shows what a good film this is, when you get totally engrossed in the story despite there not being a villain for our heroes to go against.

If you’re looking for Pokémon films to try outside of the first three films, I highly recommend watching Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew. The story was excellent and the animation was spot-on. This was truly a great story about the world of Pokémon and I hope you get the chance to check it out.

Let me know what you think about Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew in the comments below and have a great day!

My Thoughts on: Pokémon 3: The Movie: Entei – Spell of the Unown (2000)

My Thoughts on: Pokémon 4Ever- Celebi – Voice of the Forest (2001)

My Thoughts on: Pokémon Heroes: Latios and Latias (2002)

My Thoughts on: Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea (2006)

My Thoughts on: Pokémon: The Rise of Darkrai (2007)

My Thoughts on: Pokémon: Giratina & the Sky Warrior (2008)

My Thoughts on: Pokémon: Arceus and the Jewel of Life (2009)