Aladdin has come to China, sort of.
Based on its own folk tale that is similar to Aladdin, a young man trying to reconnect with his childhood friend acquired a cup that spawned a dragon that could grant him 3 wishes.
Even though the premise sounded like an Aladdin copycat, the style and tone were completely different from the classic Arabian tale. The best aspect was the humor, which came mostly from the dragon, voiced by John Cho, experiencing the modern world. For the first half, I was laughing at the silly moments. The jokes weren't fancy or elaborated, but I'm a simple man, so goofy jokes were enough to get my facial muscles going.
The animation was pretty typical like the modern Disney animations. The dragon was fluffy and pink, which looked goofy.
The relationship between our main boy, Din, and the wish dragon was also another fun part. Again they were goofy and annoyed each other, which provided more funny jokes.
The weakest part was the story, which followed many tropes of a Disney-like animated movies. The theme follows a common yet valuable lesson that money can't buy happiness, and that people should cherish those around them. I did like the theme, but I didn't feel a lot of impact because of the predictable storyline and the theme itself, which was told a hundred of times before (but it's still important and relevant).
Overall, a simple, enjoyable, and funny story despite the predictable story and theme. 7/10.
Based on its own folk tale that is similar to Aladdin, a young man trying to reconnect with his childhood friend acquired a cup that spawned a dragon that could grant him 3 wishes.
Even though the premise sounded like an Aladdin copycat, the style and tone were completely different from the classic Arabian tale. The best aspect was the humor, which came mostly from the dragon, voiced by John Cho, experiencing the modern world. For the first half, I was laughing at the silly moments. The jokes weren't fancy or elaborated, but I'm a simple man, so goofy jokes were enough to get my facial muscles going.
The animation was pretty typical like the modern Disney animations. The dragon was fluffy and pink, which looked goofy.
The relationship between our main boy, Din, and the wish dragon was also another fun part. Again they were goofy and annoyed each other, which provided more funny jokes.
The weakest part was the story, which followed many tropes of a Disney-like animated movies. The theme follows a common yet valuable lesson that money can't buy happiness, and that people should cherish those around them. I did like the theme, but I didn't feel a lot of impact because of the predictable storyline and the theme itself, which was told a hundred of times before (but it's still important and relevant).
Overall, a simple, enjoyable, and funny story despite the predictable story and theme. 7/10.