Chic and appealing adventure that makes one think of Aladin more than once but does have a very different story to tell.

The depiction of Asian technocracy living right next door to the ghetto is very immersive and the visual humor is well polished.

To be honest, I liked these characters best as kids; Dong is still OK but the other one just seems to have lost her personality in puberty. The plot is somewhat confusing because he appears to squander his wishes and is way too suggestable to the dragon.

He's the best character and he's fun to watch.

The most impressive aspect of this movie is that they were able to create a villain that was formidable and yet still no less comedic for it.

This movie was very unimpressive. I felt like I was watching a bunch of much better movies all rolled into one.

The main character is Din (Jimmy Wong). He and Li Na (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) were best friends until Lina had to move out of the area. The movie skips ahead ten years to Din and Lina being nineteen-year-olds and living their separate lives. Din is a food delivery driver in his old neighborhood while Lina is a famous model. Din has been stuck on Lina for the past ten years and wants to meet her again, but they are no longer in the same geographic area or social circles.

Then Din received a magical teapot with a magical dragon that could grant him three wishes. Stop me if you've heard this before. Not only was it a blatant copy of the genie in the lamp, the dragon reminded me of Disney's "Raya and the Dragon" that came out earlier this year.

Din's first wish was a spontaneous wish for fighting skills to fight off the bad guys who were trying to wrest the teapot away from him. If that wish could be forgiven, the next one couldn't. Din wanted a way to see Lina, but he was a poor delivery boy while she was a rich model, hence he had no way of entering her presence. He wished to be wealthy for twenty-four hours to give him the opportunity to join her social gathering. This wish was a Netflix attempt to show the rest of us how selfish we are and how altruistic and pure Din was. Because while most of us would simply have wished to be wealthy, Din didn't want wealth, he only wanted what would gain him access to his crush. What was supposed to be a move to show his nobility only showed his naivety. Yes, wealth gives you access to certain places, things, and people; that's why so many people want it!

The movie further frustrated me when Din got that coveted meeting with Lina. She didn't recognize him, which is understandable, but instead of simply saying he was her childhood friend Din, he pretended to be some rich guy named Dan because perhaps she wouldn't be interested in her simple childhood friend.

1. That's super cliche.

2. Why would you want to be friends with her if she's now too good for you?

He further made an arse of himself when they went to lunch and he couldn't even be himself because he was taking dating instructions from his dragon as if it was Cyrano De Bergerac. The dragon, named Long (John Cho),was giving the worst advice. Din would've been better off going to a fortune cookie for dating tips.

When we finally got past the absurd charade and Lina found out who he was, the movie trended upward. Din sat on his last wish for dramatic effect and then used it in a way that would make him a hero. But he wouldn't use it before we saw the bad guy Pockets (Aaron Yoo) make the incredibly dumb wish of turning everything he touched into gold. Yes, that is a King Midas reference. I don't know who wrote this, but it was asinine and played out. Pockets didn't strike me as being stupid, yet he made a stupid wish. How about wishing for a pile of gold instead of the burdensome, dangerous, and limiting wish of turning things to gold with a touch? Ugh!

This movie was trite and tired. It was unique in how unoriginal it was. I struggled to watch and only did so because my daughter wanted to see it, but what does an eleven-year-old know?

Though I am not much for modern animation, my grandkids talked me into seeing this. It is a delightful romp as it takes a young guy who was in love as a child and connects him with a dragon/genie, who can grant three wishes. The girl in question moved away from humble roots and the young man began to search for her. The fun in the story is that the dragon has a great personality. Reviewers say it's not Aladdin but it really is. Obviously, there are other plot elements (it takes place in China),but there are way too many similarities. It's a cure movie that moves along and stays engaging.