Were Wish Dragon not a blatant Aladdin ripoff I’d call it one of the best films of the year. I’m really torn here … I loved the film. I’ve seen it thrice already, but there’s no way Aladdin doesn’t deserve a ton of credit instead.
Let me show where I am coming from: Wish Dragon tells of a poor boy named “aladDIN” hot for a wealthy, protected girl, and stumbles upon a magical teapot containing a Wish Dragon … that is to say a shape-shifting genie-like dragon that grants the bearer three wishes before moving on. Oh, but there’s more than just that – the boy is selected for wishes by his purity of heart [read: “diamond in the rough”], the genie has his own POV and agenda, the girl feels trapped by her circumstances, and the limitations on wishes are almost the exact same as those given by the genie in Aladdin. Oh, and there’s a powerful bad guy connected to the girl fully aware of the dragon’s power and will stop at nothing to get it.
That’s a ton of similar. That’s “cribbing your friend’s paper” similar. That’s Melania at the 2016 GNC plagiarism similar. Yeah, I have a problem with that presenting as original. You can’t at least give credit to Disney or Scheherazade, really? Hey, maybe you did and I didn’t see it. If so, I apologize, but as of this writing I have seen no evidence of such on either imdb or wiki.
What I did not 
have a problem with: Pretty much everything else, including the execution and resolution of the same plot lines, which were fantastic.
Din (voice of Jimmy Wong) and Li Na (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) grew up in the same neighborhood, drawn together as kids whose imaginations outweighed their classroom discipline. After bonding over everything, Din and Li Na have to split up cuz her dad is a mover/shaker, and Din doesn’t have a dad. Years later, Li Na has returned and Din is battling to get back in her life, but it ain’t easy; Li Na has become a minor celebrity and may or may not have completely forgotten about Din in-between photo shoots.
Enter the dragon – also a fun film, seen it? Anyhoo – a minor god takes the form of an old man and presents Din with a jade magic-dragon-containing teapot. The kid doesn’t know what it is, and is still baffled when the bad guys show up. I loved this part – the head thug doesn’t use his hands, ever. He just clobbers people left and right using lethal, dexterous feet.
One of the HUGE and wonderful differences between Wish Dragon and Aladdin is that the kid really is pure of heart. I like Aladdin, sure, but nobody is gonna convince me that’s the best “diamond in the rough” Agrabah has to offer. When the dragon offers the standard “pile of gold” package, Din isn’t tempted. At all. His eyes don’t get big as saucers and he doesn’t have visions of grandeur. To him, the dragon is simply a means to an end; the end is 
reconnecting with Li Na. In fact, he and the dragon (John Cho) have a very pointed argument over what constitutes worth.
The kid’s heart is exactly where it ought to be; it’s the Wish Dragon that needs a personality overhaul. And that is precisely why I think this picture is so lovely. Tempted with whatever riches he can imagine, Din only wants his friend back; his happy-ever-after doesn’t includes a palace and a pile of gold. Tell me that isn’t the best lesson you could teach your children.
There’s also a great relationship between Din and Li Na and their neighborhood. Being Western and a middle child, I have been reluctant to buy into the value of family. Wish Dragon is one of the few films in memory that hammered home the point without … hammering home the point. Li Na battles her dad (Will Yun Lee) just as Din battles his mom (Constance Wu), but the batting reflects not a division rather than a need for greater communication. Even if Din got everything he ever wanted and his mother was a constant source of aggravation, he’d never abandon her; that’s not the kind of relationship they have.
And I’m making this picture sound a lot heavier than it is; this is the kind of cartoon where one simpleton gets his own turn with the genie and asks for a pet-store worth of puppies and another asks for longer legs. Wish Dragon is an adorable and at times very moving film; my first and only wish is that it didn’t seem so much like Aladdin.
A poor kid, a magic genie, and some danger
Huh, you know this plot ain’t exactly a stranger
Don’t “Wish” to get in your bizney
But if you’re gonna remake Disney
Maybe you could start off with The Lone Ranger
Rated PG, 98 Minutes
Director: Chris Appelhans
Writer: Chris Appelhans, Xiaocao Liu
Genre: Aladdin
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: People who can separate this film from its Disney inspiration
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: People who cannot
