Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, or so they say, but in the entertainment world you often need a bit more than just imitation to set yourself apart. “Wish Dragon” is a perfect example of this: it’s a perfectly fine and enjoyable movie and showcases a great new strategy of focusing on Chinese-centric stories made for and by the Chinese market by Hollywood studios, but it also leans a bit too much into another animated magic wish granting genie movie from the golden age of one of Hollywood’s best animation studios.
That being said, its leads are all delightful to watch and listen to. Jimmy Wong (“Video Game High School,” “Mulan (2020)”) voices Din Song, a college student trying to reunite with his childhood best friend Li Na Wong, voiced by Natasha Liu Bordizzo (“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny,” “The Society”), and ends up getting some help from Long, a magical wish-granting dragon voiced by John Cho (“Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle,” “Star Trek (2009)”) to achieve his goals.
Wong does a great job bringing the pathetic and lovable Din to life. He’s easy to like, if a bit apathetic, and his goals are sweet and admirable. Likewise, Bordizzo gives Li Na a spunky attitude without ever losing her sweetness. She’s plucky and funny and makes a great foil for Din’s overly cautious nature. However, both pale in comparison to Cho’s performance as Long. He’s an absolute scene stealer, bringing the same level of charisma to the role that Robin Williams once brought to his own fantastical, magical, wish granting creature years ago.
The magnetic nature of Cho’s performance helps the film maintain interest for a large chunk of the runtime. Long is the one with the emotional arc in this film, not Din, and it provides for an interesting contrast to the way these stories typically play out. The pair have great chemistry and build a believable friendship, leading to some great payoffs at the end as Long’s arc is played out.
Writing a movie certainly isn’t easy, and credit that first time writer/director Chris Appelhans (“Wonder Park”) is able to squeeze some creative concepts out of this well worn setup. Yet, he’s also written a film that has more than a little inspiration from other Hollywood animated films of the past two decades, to the point where some scenes are literally visually set up in the same way. The characters are likable, sure, but the overall plot is the result of a classic trope, diced up and reheated in a new setting. It really does showcase how great Cho, Wong, and Bordizzo are that they are able to keep characters that should be one note and forgettable alive with charm.
This also ties in to the film’s most forgettable and unfortunate aspect. Seemingly in an attempt to make the film more traditionally follow a three-act Hollywood structure or to try and build a franchise by establishing a “behind the scenes” puppet master, the film introduces a trio of henchmen who chase Din throughout the movie attempting to get the teapot Long is inside of. Yet they all feel painfully forgettable, as if they’d been written in during the last week of production.
Bobby Lee (“MADtv,” “Splitting Up Together”) voices the “Tall Goon,” who’s only quality is how much he likes puppies and Jimmy O. Yang (“Silicon Valley,” “Space Force”) voices the “Short Goon,” who’s only quality is how short he is. Maybe it’s just the comedic overblown nature that he voices with, but Yang at least manages to make “Short Goon” an entertaining and silly presence whenever he’s on screen. Meanwhile, Pockets, their leader, voiced by Aaron Yoo (“The Tomorrow People,” “21”) is just a painfully generic villain with no memorable or interesting qualities about him. He keeps his hands in his pockets the entire film, so that’s kind of interesting, but not in any way that matters. Just in an “oh, okay” way.
Will Yun Lee (“Witchblade,” “Bionic Woman”) voices Mr. Wang, Li Na’s father, and it's easy to see how a less “antagonistic” plot could’ve formed with him to still provide the film with some third-act emotional struggles while cutting Pockets and his goons. At least the film is still animated gorgeously though. It’s bright and colorful, with a distinct futuristic look mixed in with the older village Din lives in. Everything has a soft look to it, as if it's all made out of gelatin or plush material. It’s a delightful style that also manages to bring in some great lighting effects for night time sequences and disappearing dragons.
It’s disappointing because the film has a lot going for it besides that. The themes of friendship are well founded, Bordizzo and Wong have some pretty fun chemistry and Cho’s dragon Long is just such an entertaining, magnetic vocal performance. Yet, the painfully cookie-cutter plot and forgettable antagonists bring the whole thing down. It’s still an entertaining family adventure with great animation and morals, but it ends up flying just above the ground when it clearly could soar. 3/5
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