The Secret of the Magic Gourd, (宝葫芦的秘密), or The Magic Gourd
Directed By: John Chu; Frankie Chung
Approximate Run Time: 85 minutes
Rated: G
The cast, from what I could decipher:
Qilong Zhu ... Wang Bao
Peisi Chen ... Bao Hu Lu
Gigi Leung ... Miss Liu
Drake Johnston ... Raymond (voice)
Ching Wan Lau ... Magic Gourd (voice)
Plot:
A young dreamer desires to have the ability to get what he wants with little to no work. Soon thereafter, he discovers a talking magical gourd that can grant his every wish.
My take:
This is a cute film! I was actually surprised and a little skeptic when I found out that a Disney movie had come from China, but I found it decent! It has recently been released in the US in an English version with Mandarin and Cantonese voice options, so it is available, if rare. The movie itself is aimed toward a younger audience in an attempt to teach them that working for your goals is much better than having everything handed to you. The animation at first is a bit shoddy but after a while you barely even notice it except for, of course, the talking gourd. The interaction between human actors and animations is extremely smooth while the plot seems reasonably plausible and a bit transparent. This is a wonderful kids movie filled with toys, amazement, and innocence. Although I personally probably wouldn't watch the movie again, I definitely recommend the film to anyone with kids or anyone who's still a kid at heart.
Final Rating: 84%