Wish Dragon - Movie Review

As a child Din did not have any friends and was mocked because his mother were always late to pick him up. That was until he met Li Na whose father also often were late to pick her up. The two became inseparable friends but it would not last as Li Na moves away when her father get new job opportunity. Ten years later Din spends all his time obsessing over his old friend Li Na when he finds a jade teapot with a dragon inside it that gives him three wishes. With these three wishes Din will try to get back his friend.

Wish Dragon is fun and entertaining story with a very familiar feel to it. And that is because it is based on the genie in a bottle story and therefore has very strong parallels to Disney's Aladdin. It also got a small Cinderella moment in the mix. But it got some different twists that sets it apart from Aladdin like it is set in a modern Chinese village. But with the modern setting also comes one big flaw that even kids will be able to recognize. Li Na only moved a couple of hours away meaning that they never had to lose contact in the first place. Thereto comes modern technology, at any point through out the ten years they have been apart Din could have picked up his smartphone and sent a friend request on any kind of social media app or just called and reconnected with Li Na.

But still the movie is a fun and entertaining take on an old concept and good to watch with the family or friends. And besides the plot it got nice animations with an important message about how love, friends and family is more important than power and money. I give Wish Dragon four out of five stars. There are some minor inconsistencies like the Midas hand not always turning things to gold. But those are minor details compared to the whole social media thing mentioned.