The story begins at a sacred temple buried
in the heart of China. One young Monk, Shen, is given a task to protect the
warrior that will bring balance to the earth and defend it from an evil
reincarnation of an emperor, Wo-Lin. The Monk is handed by his mentors a scroll
with the face of Wendy Wu, a beautiful girl who has been incarnated over and
over again to defend the world from this evil force. Then, the story switches
over to Wendy, a shallow, superficial, Asian-American girl whose main goal in
life is to become Homecoming Queen. Her family has made a conscious decision to
separate themselves from their culture. She prides herself in being perfect and
when she meets Shen, her entire world is turned upside down. Shen trains Wendy
to realize her skill as a Kung-Fu warrior and embrace her purpose in life.
This Disney Channel Original Movie was actually really well done. While it silly at parts, Wendy battles her desire to fit in and not be different, however, Shen makes Wendy realize that it is okay to accept your culture and embrace who she actually is. This movie was in vein of Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon in the way that the story focuses on a young girl who does not want to accept that she has a greater purpose in life, however, an event forces her to defeat the supernatural evil that threatens the safety of all mankind. The movie was very fun and I highly recommend it. The main themes that were in this movie were embracing of culture (Moon Cakes, the wearing of the HanFu, the traditional Monk and his clothing, the meditation) and self-actualization. There is some sweet romance in there as well, however, it was really fun to see Wendy progress throughout the movie and almost endure all of Joseph Campbell's Hero Journey.
The bibliographic information is as follows: Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior. (2006) Disney Channel Original Movie. Directed by John Laing. Starring Brenda Strong (The Social Network), Shin Koyamada, and Susan Chuang.
The interest level for this movie would be any individual who likes High School based movies, Chinese Culture, or fantasy/sci-fi movies. I think a similar television show is Samurai Girl which is very similar to this feature, however, focusing on Japanese Culture as well. This movie would be for ages 9 and up and gives "tweens" an impression of what High School is like through a fantastical viewpoint.
The main characters are as follows:
Wendy Wu-slightly superficial Wendy is campaigning for Homecoming Queen when the monk Shen enters her life and reveals to her that she is the reincarnated warrior and it is her destiny to protect the world. However, Wendy does not want to be a warrior at all. All she wants to do is make cupcakes, find the perfect dress, and go on and live her slightly fake life. However, with persuasion of her Grandmother and Shen, she does transform from a culturally ignorant girl of someone who is representative of her culture.
Shen-a Chinese monk who is reincarnated over and over again to sacrifice himself for the warrior that is destined to take out Wo-Lin.
Grandma-lives with her daughter and her family and is saddened to see that they have not embraced the cultural way of life. However, she loves her granddaughter and accepts her for who she is. However, when Shen comes into the house, Grandma recognizes what the monk represents and helps the monk convince Wendy to embrace her culture and her destiny to become the next great warrior.
This Disney Channel Original Movie was actually really well done. While it silly at parts, Wendy battles her desire to fit in and not be different, however, Shen makes Wendy realize that it is okay to accept your culture and embrace who she actually is. This movie was in vein of Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon in the way that the story focuses on a young girl who does not want to accept that she has a greater purpose in life, however, an event forces her to defeat the supernatural evil that threatens the safety of all mankind. The movie was very fun and I highly recommend it. The main themes that were in this movie were embracing of culture (Moon Cakes, the wearing of the HanFu, the traditional Monk and his clothing, the meditation) and self-actualization. There is some sweet romance in there as well, however, it was really fun to see Wendy progress throughout the movie and almost endure all of Joseph Campbell's Hero Journey.
The bibliographic information is as follows: Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior. (2006) Disney Channel Original Movie. Directed by John Laing. Starring Brenda Strong (The Social Network), Shin Koyamada, and Susan Chuang.
The interest level for this movie would be any individual who likes High School based movies, Chinese Culture, or fantasy/sci-fi movies. I think a similar television show is Samurai Girl which is very similar to this feature, however, focusing on Japanese Culture as well. This movie would be for ages 9 and up and gives "tweens" an impression of what High School is like through a fantastical viewpoint.
The main characters are as follows:
Wendy Wu-slightly superficial Wendy is campaigning for Homecoming Queen when the monk Shen enters her life and reveals to her that she is the reincarnated warrior and it is her destiny to protect the world. However, Wendy does not want to be a warrior at all. All she wants to do is make cupcakes, find the perfect dress, and go on and live her slightly fake life. However, with persuasion of her Grandmother and Shen, she does transform from a culturally ignorant girl of someone who is representative of her culture.
Shen-a Chinese monk who is reincarnated over and over again to sacrifice himself for the warrior that is destined to take out Wo-Lin.
Grandma-lives with her daughter and her family and is saddened to see that they have not embraced the cultural way of life. However, she loves her granddaughter and accepts her for who she is. However, when Shen comes into the house, Grandma recognizes what the monk represents and helps the monk convince Wendy to embrace her culture and her destiny to become the next great warrior.
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