The Secret of the Magic Gourd (2007) Bao hu lu de mi mi (original title)

Director:

Frankie Chung

Writer:

Tianyi Zhang (story)

Release Date:

29 June 2007 (China)

Genre:

Drama | Family

Plot:

A boy learns the meaning of work after a magic gourd grants him anything he wants.

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Peisi Chen	...	Bao Hu Lu
Aaron Michael Drozin	...	John (voice)
Drake Johnston	...	Raymond (voice)
Ching Wan Lau	...	Magic Gourd (voice)
Gigi Leung	...	Miss Liu
Qilong Zhu	...	Wang Bao

Directed by
Frankie Chung

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Tianyi Zhang		story

Produced by
Jon M. Chu	....	producer (as John Chu)

Original Music by
Peter Kam

Cinematography by
Chi Ying Chan

Film Editing by
Angie Lam

Production Design by
Chung Man Yee

Art Direction by
Pater Wong

Costume Design by
Dora Ng

Production Management
Vivian Cheuk	....	production manager
Wai Luen Pang	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Lanbo Cheuk	....	first assistant director

Sound Department
Boom Suvagondha	....	dialogue editor
Ben Wilkins	....	sound re-recording mixer
Traithep Wongpaiboon	....	sound re-recording mixer

Visual Effects by
Henry Kwok Ho Chan	....	visual effects artist
Cecil Man Ching Cheng	....	visual effects producer
Dy Choi Ying Chung	....	visual effects assistant:
Harry Ching Wei Hung	....	computer graphics supervisor
Ralph Chun Ho Poon	....	visual effects artist
Don Wong	....	effects supervisor: Centro Digital

Production Companies

• Centro Digital Pictures Ltd.
• China Film Group
• Walt Disney Studios

Distributors

• Buena Vista International (2007) (worldwide) (all media)
• Intercontinental Film Distributors (HK) (2007) (Hong Kong) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista International (2007) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• China Film Group (2006) (China) (theatrical)
• Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

Special Effects

• Centro Digital Pictures Ltd.

Other Companies

• Apollo Lab 2001  sound effects design
• Beijing Film and Video Laboratory  film processing
• Centro Digital Pictures Ltd.  digital intermediate
• Cine Art Laboratory  film processing
• Cinerent  camera and lighting equipment supplied by
• CyberPort Digital Media Centre  digital film output
• Kantana Laboratories Co.  post-production sound services
• Kodak (Hong Kong) Ltd.  film stock supplied by

Also Known As:

"Bao hu lu de mi mi" - China (original title)
"The Magic Gourd" - Singapore (English title)

Country:

China | Hong Kong | USA

Language:

Mandarin | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:G | USA:G

Filming Locations:

Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China

Company:

Centro Digital Pictures Ltd.

Trivia:

Wang Bao's school scenes in Hangzhou were shot in Mr. Zhang Tianyi's primary school.

Despite being a film aimed at small kids, this film has a great animated lead and several moments of real movie magic

(This review is based upon seeing the film in Chinese without benefit of English subtitles)

A young boy who dreams too much is often the laughing stock of his class. One day while fishing he reels in a magic gourd that talks and is granted what ever he wants.

A good Disney film from China, that I'm betting won't be seen in the US which is a shame. Though the story is aimed for young kids, the film still scores high points because the acting of the kid and the character animation of the gourd and the frog are excellent. The animated characters are real characters and I for one completely bought that gourd was wandering around. It helps that the actor doing the voice seems to be playing it straight, which is great. To be honest the animation here is some of the best character animation that Disney has released. I'd love to see this in English since I think this could really work for English speaking audiences. I saw this in Chinese sans English subtitles and it worked for me.(Apparently there is a subtitled version out there but I haven't found it yet) Here's a film that with a good translation or rewriting could be nice hit on DVD (I'm trying to think what writer could do the film justice). There is a genuine sense of wonder and magic in many sequences in ways that Disney US hasn't managed to manufacture in quite sometime. Sue me I loved the room full of toys, the gourd on a bird, and the out takes. To be certain the film is a bit too innocent for some audiences, and the denouncement could be seen at the start, but if you take this film for what it is I think you'll have a good time. I really liked this a great deal.

7 out of 10

(Addendum:This comes out in the US on DVD in January 2009)