Don't Compare Wish Dragon To Aladdin! (VIDEO SCRIPT)

Trust me Readers. I get it.

Once upon a time, a long time ago, you watched a movie, a television show, or read a book or a comic that -- either good, bad, or somewhere in-between -- introduced you to certain kinds of story beats, a list of tropes and character archetypes.

And because that combination of things was such a new experience for you at the time, it resonates with you deeply as you grow older

Then, as you grow older and you find yourself exposed to more story combos in your preferred medium of choice, you start to notice stories that are similar yet different to the one that introduced you to that same combination of methods all those years ago.

And depending on the type of person that you are and how much you’re willing to expose yourself to, you can’t help but to compare the original story to the new one in ways that’ll either make you appreciate it for both its similarities and differences, or question it's worth because you’re only able to focus on the former.

This is something that, thanks to my line of work, I willingly expose myself to on an everyday basis. And upon seeing Sony Pictures Animation’s newest film for Netflix Wish Dragon, I easily saw the signs.

/An animated movie telling the story of a lower class boy who wants to connect with an upper class girl and stumbles upon a vessel containing a mystical being that can grant him 3 wishes in order to do so, all the while a malevolent individual is out to try and obtain the vessel for themself?/

Gee, you may be asking yourself. I wonder what THAT sounds like?

And yes, I agree. If and when you watch Wish Dragon, the comparisons to the original 1992 version of the animated Disney Renaissance film “Aladdin” will, in fact, be obvious

But the reason why I’m making this video is because if the internet has taught me ANYTHING, it's that people will absolutely SLEEP on something just because there are things about it that are too similar to something they’re initially nostalgic for without seeing if it truly has something more to offer.

And Readers, as someone who has seen it  -- and as someone who understands the initial fact that original ideas no longer exist and repetition in media even at its smallest is always expected at this point...

/I guarantee you that Wish Dragon does, in fact, has within it -- to paraphrase a lyric from the movie everyone is comparing it to -- so much more to it./

Now I think it goes without saying that this video is gonna contain spoilers for Netflix’s Wish Dragon. So if you have plans to watch this film and don’t want initial plot points spoiled for you, I’d advise you to give the movie a watch on Netflix first before you continue. Cool? Cool.

So let’s start with the first comparison; Aladdin and Jasmine to Din Song and Li Na Wang.

On paper, the comparisons to each of the film's two main characters are just like how I described earlier on in the video.

/But even with the similarities, there are aspects in which Aladdin and Din and even Jasmine and Li Na differ over the course of the movie that I really appreciate and help make Wish Dragon its own unique story./

One thing I really appreciated about Wish Dragon was Din’s story of trying to reunite with Li Na for her birthday. While others try to equate it to Aladdin’s story, it branches off in ways that makes Aladdin’s ambitions and goals fairly simple in comparison.

/While Aladdin’s loneliness with the exception of Apu and his desire to be perceived as something more than just a street rat near the beginning of the film set up his want to keep up the lie he established for himself by the time he wished to be a prince, Din’s upbringing reflects what happens when there’s proper family and community surrounding you that can help you appreciate what’s important. Even if said community is nothing but drama-inducing gossips./

And then there’s the fact that his pursuit of Li Na was in no way shape or fashion romantic at all; it was purely based on wanting to rekindle the friendship they had as children and was strictly platonic.

/With Aladdin noticing Jasmine, it was very “love at first sight.” Then upon learning she was a princess and finding Genie afterward, part of the reason he wished to be a prince was to try and win her affection once he learned that -- like the Wish Dragon -- he can’t wish for people to fall in love with him./

Making this wish allowed Aladdin to kill two birds with one stone; it fulfilled his desire to be noticed as something more than just a street rat, while also allowing him the means to get his foot in the door in order to pursue Jasmine in a way that was socially acceptable.

/But in doing so, it got Aladdin so caught up that it turned him into a habitual liar./

Din, on the other hand, grew up with Li Na.

They went on adventures and experienced the same form of community before her father moved the two of them out of that neighborhood in pursuit for a higher class life.

/To Din, Li Na was always his best friend despite what others constantly implied about them. Yes, even this cutie. I have a type; leave me alone/

What sets Din apart from Aladdin when he makes HIS wish however, is that thanks to him constantly digging a deeper hole for himself in order to keep up the facade...

/Din stumbles into the facade, realized thanks to the parameters that he placed on the wish that trying to play into the facade was stupid, and that all he needs to be is himself, which ends up being the case./

And that way, unlike with Aladdin who focused more on keeping up the facade in order to try and win Jasmine, we actually see how the class divide between Din and Li Na forces Din to put things into perspective regarding getting things back to the way they were between them as children.

/How her being a socialite and him being poor is pretty much being the only thing separating him from having that goal, and is willing to throw his entire philosophy away in the form of a permanent wish in order to keep that from being a barrier. It provides such a different lens on the story a lot of us were initially introduced to in Aladdin, that I can’t help but to both see and appreciate the differences within it./

Especially if you compare and contrast Li Na’s point of view with Jasmine’s.

/She’s a model at 19 who is constantly bombarded with superficial people and has a father who she constantly wants to connect with but never can because he just can’t see that love and prosperity means more than just the fleeting sensation of financial stability and luxury./

Unlike Jasmine who is born into royalty and only really TRULY left the palace to know what it’s like past the walls, Li Na EXPERIENCED that sense of community as a child to the point of missing it as a young adult.

/Which was why after learning Don was Din and once again experiencing that love and connection to community again after all those years, it pained her to have to shut him out again because of not only the class divide, but because she knew her father couldn’t see past that era of their lives as nothing but a stepping stone to get to where they are now. And it took Li Na’s father dying and being wished back to life in order for him to realize that./

And speaking of wishes, let’s not forget that while Genie was EXCELLENT, he never really has an arc.

It’s ALADDIN who realizes that his selfishness and want to keep up with the Joneses is what was keeping him from being able to do right by Genie by wishing him free until the end of the movie.

/However with Long, the wish dragon, he has what Genie never had in the 1992 animated classic; development/

Learning Long was once an emperor who was cursed to become a Wish Dragon in order to learn humility.

Seeing Din’s humanity challenged his overall perspective of people and power over the course of the movie.

Noticing the very sense of love and community he never even had the chance of experiencing when he was a human.

/And all culminating in stopping Din from making a wish he would regret now that he had seen the error of his way as a human, sacrificing himself in order to save Din’s life, and giving up his entrance to heaven by agreeing to serve another 10 masters in order to give Din his final wish./

As much as we love Genie, was made aware of his want for freedom after seeing them escape the Cave of Wonders, and was happy to see Aladdin do right by him by using his third wish to free him, we never got an arc like that for him because they wanted to keep the focus on Aladdin learning the movie’s morals.

/Wish Dragon was not only able to do that with Din, but also provide more fleshed out secondary characters with Li Na, her father, AND Long in a way that while utilizing similar tropes, story beats and character archetypes as Aladdin produces something deeper than what it was able to narratively provide while also not insulting it./

That’s why it is ABSOLUTELY unfair to compare Wish Dragon to Aladdin in order to gain a sense of whether it's worth the watch in that regard, in my opinion.

It’s a prime example of just because one movie reminds you of another one, does not mean you should immediately write off said movie as a wash.

/Because -- just like with Wish Dragon -- you may come across something that not only subverts and ENHANCES those same archetypes, tropes and plot points, but remind you exactly why they work so well together in the FIRST place./

Y’know, unless they’re one of those straight-to-dvd movies with a SyFy Channel budget that were made LITERALLY just to ride the hype of a movie about to be released in theaters. I don’t even have to mention the names; you know EXACTLY the movies I’m talking about

But, I digress, Readers. Your homework assignment for the day:

Write in the comment section below what YOU thought of Wish Dragon if you’ve seen it.

Or, if you feel like sharing with the rest of the class, a film or television series you’ve seen that immediately reminded you of a story you experienced that ended up expanding on the tropes and whatnot in ways that you didn’t expect.

Whichever question you decide to answer, I’d love to know your thoughts.