Movie review
January 15, 2021 · 99 min · PG
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
The story is a straightforward family fable about a working-class teen using a wish dragon to reconnect with his childhood friend while learning friendship and honesty matter more than money or status. No girl power sermons, no identity politics, no activist dialogue, and no institutional lectures on capitalism, patriarchy, or systemic oppression. The class differences stay personal and incidental to the adventure plot. Casting is all Asian voices for Chinese characters in a modern Shanghai setting with zero forced diversity.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Wish Dragon.
Woke representation / casting
Natural all-Asian voice cast perfectly matches the modern Chinese setting and characters; no forced diversity or audience-visible signaling.
Woke political dialogue
No activist or political dialogue whatsoever.
Identity-driven story themes
Personal friendship and class differences drive the plot incidentally; no identity politics or activist messaging.
Western institutional / cultural critique
Light personal take on wealth vs. working-class life in contemporary China; no modern activist critique of institutions, capitalism, patriarchy, or similar.
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
No backlash claiming the title is too woke or pushes identity politics; complaints are absent.
Creator track record context
Directorial/writing debut with no history of politically themed or activist projects.
Production
