Wish Dragon

"Three magical wishes. One life changing adventure."

2021 1h 39m EN

🙌

7.8

BANGER

★7.8TMDB · 1,573

AnimationFamilyComedyFantasyRomanceAdventure

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Determined teen Din is longing to reconnect with his childhood best friend when he meets a wish-granting dragon who shows him the magic of possibilities.

“Three magical wishes. One life changing adventure.”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

NetflixSubscription

Netflix Standard with AdsSubscription

Cast

Jimmy Wong
Din (voice)
John Cho
Long (voice)
Constance Wu
Mom (voice)
Natasha Liu Bordizzo
Lina (voice)
Jimmy O. Yang
Short Goon / Security Guard 2 (voice)
Aaron Yoo
Pockets (voice)
Will Yun Lee
Dad (voice)
Bobby Lee
Tall Goon (voice)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Chris Appelhans
Writers: Chris Appelhans, Radford Sechrist, Josh Lieberman
Languages: Mandarin, English
Countries: United States of America, China, Czech Republic

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 5 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Mandarin, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: United States of America, China, Czech Republic.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Wish Dragon Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Philip Klein. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Michael Andrews shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

AWARDS

Did you know

Jimmy Wong and John Cho and Constance Wu carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Three magical wishes. One life changing adventure.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Chris Appelhans directs. Philip Klein scores. Michael Andrews cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America, China, Czech Republic. Dialogue in Mandarin, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 5 years ago.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Mandarin, English.
3International production across 3 countries: United States of America, China, Czech Republic.
4Part of the "Wish Dragon Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Original score by Philip Klein. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Michael Andrews shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Jimmy Wong and John Cho and Constance Wu carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Three magical wishes. One life changing adventure.".
9IMDB entry: tt5562070 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Released under 15 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Original score: Philip Klein
Editing: Michael Andrews
Production design: Arthur Fong
VFX supervisor: Ranjan Kurian Periakottil
Sound: Lora Hirschberg
Runtime: 99 min · 1h 39m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $25,860,000
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Wish Dragon (2021)

Part of

Wish Dragon Collection

The magical adventures of teenage Din and a Wish Dragon named Long who changes his life.

Also by

Chris Appelhans

KPop Demon Hunters
2025 · ★ 8.0

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

sank992021-06-16
★ 10/10
To be fair, I didn't expect much. Having pretty much watched everything on Netflix over the past 18 months, I had spent over 30 minutes scrolling and clicking, seemingly in vain, for something interesting. So, in an effort to avoid defeat and an early bedtime, I thought that I'd at least give Wish Dragon a try. So glad I did. It turned out to be a heartwarming, well animated, expertly acted gem. It would be easy to think that this is a simple re-telling of the Arabian Aladdin story but in a Chinese setting, yet it's so much more than that. Indeed, a little research shows that the Aladdin tale originated in China. Instead, it's a well woven story of promises lost and refound, the value and endurance of real friendships, the importance (or lack thereof) of monetary riches and the true meaning of success in life. Animation and other production values are superb and polished, characters are eminently likeable (sometimes quite loveable!) and believably evil in equal parts. It's an hour and a half of pure joy. It has a warm, wholesome, fuzzy feeling in the same vein that The Iron Giant once did. Even for a cynical old sci-fi addicted geek like myself. Highly recommended.

Production companies