Beautiful, moving film.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

Saw the whole film on Youtube, both in Chinese and the English dub, after seeing its trailer watching Disney's 'Mulan' on DVD yesterday. 'The Secret of the Magic Gourd' is not a terrible film, there are hundreds of far worse films out there and it's watchable, but it isn't magical or exciting enough to warrant repeat viewings.As to which version is better between the Chinese and the English, the Chinese version, while still less than great, has a more natural feel and isn't hurt by as much awkward and odd translations, stilted synchronisation and voices that sound mismatched. Of the voices, Corbin Bleu is a good fit for the titular character Gourd, bringing to the role mischievous sass. Elsewhere it's too mismatched, with characters voiced by people who sound like they should be voicing other characters than the ones they are voicing. For example, Drake Johnston tries but sounds too mature and near-adolescent for a character that looks younger and one expects to sound cuter.The story has moments of wonder and excitement, but these are moments in a film with a fairly short running time albeit with a story that's far too slight (being more suited for a 20 minute TV episode) and comes over as too derivative ('Aladdin' was an obvious influence here), predictable and repetitive. The dialogue in the dubbing can sound awkward.Didn't see the point of the frog character, a character that brings little contribution to the story and has next to nothing to do. The acting generally in the Chinese version is less than stellar, Gigi Leung in particular is very bland. While 'The Secret of the Magic Gourd' mostly looks good, it at times looks a little over-saturated colour-wise and some of the transitions from one scene to another are choppy. The message is a good one and is very well-intended, but the film does rely heavily on it and hammers it home a little too much.However, Gourd is a fun character and Bleu brings him to life well. Peisi Chen is an earnest human lead and the two characters work very charmingly together in a film heavily revolved around them. There are moments of genuine charm and fun, and there are a few exciting, if lacking in magic, set pieces that will leaves younger audiences entranced.It, as aforementioned, is a very well-intentioned film, while the music score has the right amount of sparkle and whimsy. The best thing about 'The Secret of the Magic Gourd' is the special effects, if there is an asset of the film that actually has a sense of wonder it's the effects which are aesthetically colourful and imaginative in scale and how they're used. Visually, while with short-comings, it looks vibrant and it's dazzlingly photographed with beautiful scenery (some of it reminiscent of fantasy).On the whole, watchable but uneven in both language versions. 5/10 Bethany Cox

This film is a Disney product. It's cutesy, kitschy, full of small … yech … children, and partly animated. The only problem is that it's cutesy to the max, kitschier than "Leave It to Beaver", and the animation! …well, the animation's OK, I guess.The "Secret of the Magic Gourd" is that it's awful. There certainly isn't any other secret, because what the magic gourd does is telegraphed to you right up front, and the appearance in the narrative is even less of a surprise than the appearance of an E.T. in "E.T.". About the only surprise in the whole thing is that the M.G.'s finger doesn't light up. Imagine the Disney imagineers forgetting that! The gist of S.o.t.M.G. is that there is a Magic Gourd (yeah, OK, so?) and it will grant you your every wish. Gourds are singularly unattractive objects (despite the opinions of deluded people who use them as decorations). Why not a genie? Disney does great genies. But no. We get a yellow gourd with big eyes and an off-side mouth. A yellow gourd that … well, here comes the plot.Raymond Bao is your typical 11-year-old boy. He's Chinese, which makes him statistically typical. He's lazy and not interested in doing what it takes to be successful at whatever school wants him to do. He's heard the story of the Magic Gourd and of course wants to find it. As things turn out, it finds him.Gourds are, as you will recall, basically hollow. This one is no exception, especially in the upper part, where the brains ought to be. It therefore never thinks wishes through, but grants them very literally, including brainless (of course) speculations as to what "master" really wants.The results are naturally disastrous. Over and over and over … and OVER … again. You would certainly think somebody would catch on. The audience ought to right away, but most of reviews of this film seem to indicate a gourd-like quality in the reviewers. The gourd seems to have caught on in the end, sort of. Raymond catches on at last and gets rid of the gourd. He then actually works for a goal (winning a track meet), which of course he does because this is a Disney film. Not for Disney the moral complexity and ambiguity of trying to explain how it's all right to practice your guts out and still not quite make it.I'm sure some of you are waiting for the other bits like subplots, subtexts, secondary plots, or anything to make this more than a very long 8-minute cartoon. Actually, "Magic Gourd" is even less complex than an 8-minute cartoon. Animated humor for children is most successful when it aims some of its content toward adult viewers. Adults need not apply here.What we have here is a film that's got a moral point to hammer home, and hammer it does – so much so that even the most retarded 3-year-old will get the point by the time the story's half-way done. This klutzy production has nothing on its … um, … mind but beating its little viewers about their collective heads with a single point. The lack of variety is positively stultifying. I was riveted to my seat with boredom. Any child with half a brain would be, too – I would hope. Nobody, however immature, should be subjected to this nursery rhyme gone mad.On the other hand, I can see how children might actually like things like this. The results from our schools indicate that the little troglodytes flee from mental challenges, despise learning, and are generally less attractive than the pre-Gourd Raymond Bao. This sort of explains why, for instance, the study of evolution is so unpopular in intellectually challenged areas such as the inbred South and the Midwest. It's so complicated and hard to understand – like long division. It's so much easier to believe that some Magic Gourd in the sky made everything.You can, if you wish, inflict this simplistic film on your children, in between episodes of Barney, Yu-Gi-Oh, Sailor Moon, Pokemon, and other mind-rotting fare. At least this thing has a worthwhile moral to hammer them with, assuming they enjoy being hammered.

If there was ever any doubt that China couldn't make ...something (anything!), then this film should put that to rest.A Disney feature shot entirely in China and dubbed for American audiences (in this version), THE SECRET OF THE MAGIC GOURD is a mixture of Disneyesque proportions with heavy Chinese influences. Although not troubling in terms of entertainment, it is if you're in the entertainment industry. How far will we go to save an extra buck? The story itself does battle with inconsistencies and an incredibly simple — if not downright ridiculous — premise. It is the story of a boy and his ...well ...gourd. A magic gourd rumored to live not far from Bau Hu Lu (Chinese child star Peisi Chen) and spoken of in fable form by Bau's grandmother. The gourd, it is rumored, will grant any wish to whomever is its master. For Bau, who is lazy and wants nothing to do with his school work, it seems like a dream come true when he meets up with the Magic Gourd. But having all your wishes granted can turn to nightmares, as Bau learns. And the lesson is easily transparent for adults and kids alike. Perhaps too transparent.Bau learns a few life basics by doing his own work and becoming a better person for it. No surprise.One of the bigger story issues I had was the occasional incorporation of a frog-friend to the gourd who seemed to have no other purpose than to hop around and croak at us a few times. What gives? Nothing remotely challenging can be found in this hybrid Chinese/American fantasy. Move along.

(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)