Tag: Chinese

Going ‘Back to the Past’ is No Stormy Ride In This Tribute

A long-awaited follow-up to a beloved TV series, Back to the Past delivers time-travel spectacle, nostalgic fan service, and lingering questions about destiny, even if some ideas feel better suited to a longer format.

Back to the Past 2026 Movie PosterWell Go USA
Mild spoiler alert

No prior knowledge of the 2001 Chinese TV series A Step into the Past is required to enjoy Back to the Past (尋秦記). Those familiar with the series will spot how the film connects to its small-screen origins, though the transition isn’t seamless. The budget behind the more ambitious stunt work doesn’t always disguise the green screening, and a bit of suspension of disbelief is definitely required. Still, it’s manageable. My lingering question is how much of Ken’s troops and equipment were conveniently waiting to be teleported along with him. There is an answer, and I won’t spoil where the technology came from.

Although the film took many years to reach screens following the series finale in 2001, fans of the historical drama about Hong Siu-lung (Louis Koo), a modern man trying not to distort the past too much for fear of altering the future he knows, will feel right at home. Over the course of the series, he becomes part of a trusted inner circle and is eventually made Grand Tutor. Much of the story revolves around avoiding temporal paradoxes, and anything essential is neatly recapped in the film’s introduction.

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The Royal Cat (金陵御猫) In Review: A Hair’s Breath of Whisker of Mystery and Bewilderment

Cao Liang’s The Royal Cat delivers a playful, mysterious blend of talking‑animal charm and Eastern folklore. A rare North American release, The Royal Cat colourful and whimsical but never quite scratches beneath its own magic.

The Royal Cat Movie PosterWell GO USA
Coming to Digital Oct 14, 2025

Liang Cao’s The Royal Cat (金陵御猫, The Imperial Cat of Jinling) may be one of the few Chinese animated features in recent years to secure proper North American distribution—a rare catch for curious cinephiles who love a whisker of something different. While I’m happy that other animation studios can show off their style worldwide, Light Chaser Animation’s White Snake 3, Chang’an, and Curious Tales of a Temple remain hard to find on this continent. As for a physical home video release? That’s a mouse most likely to escape the kitchen.

This film offers a variation on the Puss in Boots formula rather than Kung Fu Panda. Zhan Ao (Tu-Te-Ha-Meng), a talking tabby cat, doesn’t wear shoes and lacks a tail—a bold fashion choice for a feline hero. He’s a skilled fighter who once loyally served General Kou. After his master’s death, however, he reinvented himself as a Robin Hood–like figure, prowling the streets with cause and cunning. That missing tail? It’s not just a style statement; it hints at something mystical. When Ao becomes a wanted fugitive, it raises the suspicion that there’s more to his nine lives than meets the eye. In this world, other animals can also converse with humans—which means the line between myth and reality is as slippery as a fish in a pond.

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All The Fears About Strange Tales of Liaozhai: Lanruo Temple Are Revealed With The Final Trailer

The upcoming Strange Tales of Liaozhai isn’t a simple anthology as far as _ is concerned!

Strange Tales of Liaozhai- Lanruo TempleLight Chaser Animation

As the date nears for Strange Tales of Liaozhai: Lanruo Temple to hit theatres, fans of this studio’s works will finally get to know more about the book Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio (Amazon link). This work contains many short stories, and we finally have confirmation of which tales are being adapted. They are:

  • The Taoist Priest of Laoshan Mountain: A classic zhiguai story about a wandering Taoist encountering supernatural threats.
  • Princess Lotus: A spirit romance centered on a flower fairy—echoing themes of love across realms.
  • Nie Xiaoqian: A melancholic ghost tale where a female specter falls in love with a scholar—the inspiration behind many film/TV adaptations.
  • The Painted Skin: A chilling demon tale where a beautiful woman is revealed to be a monstrous spirit.
  • The Daughter of Magistrate Lu: A supernatural courtroom fable where a magistrate in the afterlife judges the dead.

The main narrative, set at Lanruo Temple, will incorporate each of these works. This historical building sits on the Yangtze River, and locals call it a “little-known travel destination.” With the final trailer out, with subtitles, fans from around the world have a better idea about what’s going on. Although it primarily focuses on one tale, it’s easy to tell there’re multiple stories involved.

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On Ne Zha 2, Cultivation and The Grander Plan

Although Ne Zha 2 was years in the making, the wait is worth it! This superhero style retelling of the Chinese novel Investiture of the Gods is all about the wow rather than being fully faithful to the source material.

Ne Zha 2 PosterSpoiler Alert

Anyone who loves the 2019 Chinese animated film about a spunky demon-child (no, not Lil’ Hellboy) will be glad to know Ne Zha 2 is finally here. Having some knowledge of the prior events (or reading my movie review from before and my past coverage) helps because this latest takes place moments after.

Both this kid (Lü Yanting) and Ao Bing (Han Mo) have no mortal shell, and if they don’t have a simulacrum to inhabit, they’ll soon dissipate. Thankfully, with Taiyi Zhenren (Zhang Jiaming) around, a possibility of getting their bodies back exists. However, all do not go according to plan. When the Sacred Lotus lacks the power to build, the result is ectoplasm! This leads to a hilarious intro, and I was in stitches.

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In Dragonkeeper, Why Is There Only One Protector?

Part of the charm in Dragonkeeper is because of Ping. She’s a character whom some may associate with Ray from Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Dragonkeeper DVD Case
Available to purchase on Amazon USA

Shout! Studios

Ping (Lucía Pérez) is the Dragonkeeper, and if she’s to help Danzi (Mario Gas), an elder oriental dragon, she better learn how to train the next generation too! That’s because someone asked her to deliver an egg to a magical pool so it can hatch. As for whether this baby will bond to the human, that’d be saying too much.

Although the choice to have mostly European voices instead of Chinese for this production is very unusual, all I had to do was imagine Michelle Yeoh and James Hong’s voice over what’s heard. Technically, the British/Australian casting isn’t out of place when considering who wrote the book. Carole Wilkinson is an Australian whose series did quite well when it was released down under. I suspect the producers wanted to keep this flavour.

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White Snake 3: Afloat Needs To Surface in North America! Every Explosive Trailer Released.

The movie, White Snake 3, has made its debut in China, and hopefully the plan to bring this latest Light Chaser Animation to North America will be soon!


White Snake 3 Unofficial PosterRelease Date in China:
August 10th, 2024

Light Chaser Animation Studios continues to delight fans of the White Snake series with their latest entry, White Snake 3: Afloat (白蛇：浮生). While the literal translation of the title is “Floating Life,” “Afloat” or even “Rebirth” better captures the intended themes of renewal and emotional drift.

Whatever name you prefer, I can’t wait to see this next chapter! For those unfamiliar with the series, the first film is available online and on Amazon USA, while the second is streaming on Netflix. You can also check out my reviews of Part One and Part Two.

As for why these films feel disconnected, I suspect the North American distributor wasn’t aware this story was always intended as a trilogy.

This fantasy romance raises two big questions: Will the sisters reunite? And will Bianca (Xiao Bai, voiced by Zhe Zhang) see Xian (Tianxiang Yang) again? There’s a third thread too—according to the source material, the couple has a child! The ending of the first film teases this possibility, but in the sequel, Xian is sidelined when time travel complicates everything. During a climactic battle, Verta (Xiao Qing, played by Xiaoxi Tang) is hurled into a future that’s anything but welcoming.

In that timeline, the Baoqing Fox takes on a larger role in the chaos. While the trailers don’t reveal much about her involvement, what little we see is intriguing—and I’m eager to learn more.

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