Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior (2006) (TV)

User Rating:

5.4/10   

Director:

John Laing

Writers (WGA):

Vince Cheung (written by) &
Ben Montanio (written by) ...

Release Date:

16 June 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Family

Tagline:

Pretty. Tough.

Plot:

It is the story of an average, popular American teenager named Wendy Wu who discovers that in order...

Plot Keywords:

Martial Arts | Disney Channel Original Movie | Character Name In Title

Cast

Brenda Song	...	Wendy Wu
Shin Koyamada	...	Shen
Susan Chuang	...	Nina Wu
Justin Chon	...	Peter Wu
Michael David Cheng	...	Kenny Wu
Andy Fischer-Price	...	Austin
Ellen Woglom	...	Jessica Dawson
Tsai Chin	...	Grandma Wu
James Gaylyn	...	Mr. Medina
Michael Saccente	...	Mr. Garibay
Sally Stockwell	...	Coach Gibbs
Timothy Raby	...	Mr. Tobias (as Tim Raby)
Anna Hutchison	...	Lisa
Sally Martin	...	Tory
Geoff Dolan	...	Security Guard (as Geoffrey Dolan)

Runtime:

USA:91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Mandarin | Cantonese

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:TV-PG | Australia:PG | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Auckland, New Zealand

Company:

Rice and Beans Productions

Trivia:

The movie takes place in the fictional city of Fair Springs, California. According to a local weather report that Wendy sees on TV, Fair Springs is located around the actual city of Modesto, California.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In the scene where Shen is seen walking down the road as he tries to hitch a lift, you can see all the cars are driving on the right side of the road. However, in some background shots you can see the traffic moving on the left side of the road as it is supposed to in New Zealand where the film is shot.

Quotes:

[on Chinese culture]
Nina Wu: We never cared about this kind of thing when we were young.
Kenny Wu: I know. "Everybody Wang Chung tonight" was as cultural as we got.

Movie Connections:

References Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

Soundtrack:

I'm Not That Girl

Not bad at all, definitely worth a look

I would definitely give this at least one try before saying no. Granted there are several of the "matrix" type of effects, but there are also a great deal of legitimate martial arts moves and much of it is very well choreographed and well done. At some parts the stunt doubles are more obvious than others, but that is to be expected.

This movie does hit on a very poignant topic in todays society...too many children (and all too often their parents) do NOT have enough of an idea of their history. We spend too much time living up to cultural stereotypes and then getting angry at producers for showing them to us. I do wish there had been a little more legitimate focus of some Chineese history and perhaps more about the monastery life and such, since those were supposed to be large parts of the movie...but it is only a 2 hour movie made for TV. I do hope it brings home the point that many of us do not know ourselves as well as we really should.

Definitely worth watching.