Well Go USA
Now Streaming on Digital
Coming to Home Video on Sept 15
Fans of the Chinese animated film I Am What I Am (雄狮少年) may well be confused by the executive decision to release the second film in North America as The Kung Fu Kid. My theory is that some board of distributors believes a new and familiar-sounding title will draw in viewers who don’t know the franchise. As a standalone movie, it works, and newcomers may never realise they’re watching a sequel. But without knowledge of the first film, some of Liu “Gyun” Jiajuan’s motivations and character development are going to be lost.
That’s particularly noticeable because I Am What I Am 2 directly continues his story. The first film doesn’t magically solve this lad’s problems after the lion-dance competition. He still has to face reality, and that leads him to Shanghai, where earning money to help pay for his father’s medical treatment becomes one of his primary concerns. Strangely, according to China Daily, his name has become Ajuan, which can lead to momentary confusion.
When this movie follows some of the same beats as The Karate Kid, complete with the prerequisite blonde bad guy, it’s not difficult to understand why The Kung Fu Kid might have seemed like an appealing title for the North American market. The familiarity sells the premise without anyone having to explain the first film. While I’m okay with that marketing decision, completionists looking to buy the planned trilogy may eventually wind up with a real head-scratcher of a collection.
For those willing to forgo the North American Region A release, they’ll be glad to know the Disk Kino edition is sort of available. It’s a limited collector release that retains the I Am What I Am 2 identity and sits much more naturally beside the localized release of the first film. When I want the soundtrack that excellently complements the home media release, I’ll want the original! lThat difference in presentation is telling. The overseas release seems focused on making the movie accessible to newcomers, whereas the Chinese collector edition assumes audiences already know what 雄狮少年2 is.
Whichever version audiences watch, dubbed or subtitled, at least Well Go is taking the lion by the mane and giving the movie its own treatment. I’ll also pick up this release too just to show the love. When the dub also cleans up some of the wording found in the already existing English subtitle script, the changes to names can be distracting if you know the first film.
In the film’s own English-language credits, the returning trio are identified as Liu Jiajuan (Li Xin), Liu Zhixiong (Timothy) and Liu Fujun (Chen Yexiong). The major newcomers include Zhang Wate (Simon Wang) and Wang Zhaoyu (Cai Xinran). Since I know the first film, I’ll use the names specified in the film’s own credits rather than the alternate naming conventions introduced through localization.
By the second film, Liu Jiajuan is hoping to make it in Shanghai, but life remains just as rough when he and his two pals struggle to find steady work. Although they can get hired as lion dancers for the occasional celebration, that isn’t enough to survive. But one day, after becoming involved in an altercation inside the struggling Qiuzhen Boxing Gym, life suddenly changes.
Jiajuan helps Zhaoyu when trouble comes knocking, and pretty soon they become fast friends. She sees something special in him, and what develops between the two feels much more natural than a romance being forced into the story. More importantly, Jiajuan’s physical abilities get noticed. His years of lion-dance training have given him strength, balance and stamina, and he soon discovers just how useful those skills can be when adapted to martial arts.
Lion dancing and competitive fighting aren’t interchangeable disciplines, but the conditioning required for the former clearly gives him a foundation to build upon. When Gyun learns how much money he could earn by training under Zhang Wate and entering Shanghai Fight Night, his reluctance quickly disappears.
Pretty soon, the story starts echoing familiar beats from the first film as the young man learns his limits, discovers what can challenge him and, more importantly, realises the world around him is changing. The difference is that he isn’t starting from nothing this time. He already found something within himself through lion dancing. Now he has to figure out how those lessons apply when the opponent isn’t simply his own lack of confidence.
And life certainly isn’t a bed of roses. That expression becomes particularly appropriate when considering some of the vivid imagery used during the finale. It’s a beautiful touch that gives this second film a visual identity of its own.
Although the plot is familiar, it’s told with enough gusto to keep me invested in every frame, especially once the movie firmly establishes just how terrible Xiao Zhangyang really is. Although I can’t say the misguided John Kreese from The Karate Kid is necessarily worse, the two might share DNA from some grandfather capable of crossing between animation and live action. Kreese at least has his wartime trauma baked into his character. Zhangyang is operating on an entirely different moral wavelength.
A warped martial-arts philosophy is one thing. Criminal behaviour is another.
There’s also a neat performance detail here: Timothy voices both Zhixiong and Zhangyang according to the film’s English-language credits. The two characters couldn’t be further apart, and that contrast gives him a real opportunity to shine behind the microphone.
When the people behind Jinxin Fighting Club start considering other ways to protect their investment, well… I’ll stop offering a complete synopsis here. When Xu Reporter (Lin Su) begins noticing that something isn’t quite right with the supposedly heroic image being built around Xiao Zhangyang, that’s when things get really interesting.
It’s rare to find this level of drama and mystery woven into an animated sports story. I Am What I Am 2 demonstrates that animation doesn’t have to be designed primarily for younger viewers to appreciate. Writer/Director Sun Haipeng knows what he’s doing, and the translated version of the interview I read at nbd.com.cn is very telling.
As for Zhang Wate, the reasons he’s so personally invested come into focus as the tale progresses. Without him serving as mentor to these lads, just what they could accomplish would be up in the air. Liu Jiajuan, Liu Fujun and Liu Zhixiong may have lion dancing to fall back on, but that isn’t enough when life in Shanghai treats them this rough. The setup in the first fifteen minutes says it all, and while the weight of the world isn’t as heavy without knowing the first film, what’s presented still works. Wate’s story really does the heavy lifting when it’s finally revealed.
I Am What I Am 2, aka The Kung Fu Kid, has plenty of twists and turns to make its second half much more intriguing than its opening suggests. And when I want to know where Liu Jiajuan’s journey goes next, there’s at least reason to hope this world isn’t finished.
Although Haipeng said he never thought about a continuation, the success of the first film and his investors says we want a part two says it all. Although it underperformed at the box office, what’s made shows that this filmmakler does have a master plan that even Sensei Miyagi would approve of. And with the third film moving from lion dancing and martial arts to dragon-boat culture, what’s confirmed is that it will happen. Just how fast depends on getting the financing needed to hire the necessary talents to massage the pipeline.
The working title is Dragon Boat Boy (龙舟少年) to affix after I Am What I Am 3, written by Sun Haipeng. However, its officially filed synopsis focuses on a new protagonist, Li Juanran, whose story involves dragon boats, her ancestors and a journey through time. Whether that ultimately becomes a direct continuation of Liu Jiajuan’s story or a broader expansion of the universe remains to be seen.
Still, if Liu Zhixiong and those mad drum skills somehow find their way onto a dragon boat, I won’t complain. Give that lad the spotlight for once. He deserves it!
4 Stars out of 5
The Kung Fu Kid Trailer
(Well GO USA version)
