Prominent Chinese-American Scholar Praises All Wishes Come True!: Traditional Mythology Blends with Modern Comedy to Showcase Distinctive Eastern Aesthetics

LAPost/Los Angeles, CA (August 13, 2026) — On the eve of the nationwide theatrical release of the animated feature All Wishes Come True! on August 14, CMC Pictures hosted a grand Los Angeles premiere on the evening of August 13 at the AMC Century City. Experts and scholars from UCLA, members of the Los Angeles Chinese-American Expert Film Viewing Group, and nearly 300 guests from the Chinese and American cultural communities attended the event. Huang Hongjiang, Deputy Consul General of the Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles, delivered remarks before the screening.

The premiere featured an elaborate and creative setup. Cutouts of the Eight Immortals, a traditional Chinese archway bearing the phrase “All Wishes Come True,” and a red carpet transformed nearly 200 meters of corridors and stairways throughout AMC Century City into an immersive world inspired by All Wishes Come True!. The presentation demonstrated the distributor’s commitment to and investment in the film’s North American release.

Min Zhou: A Bold Reimagining of Traditional Mythology Brings the “Immortals” Back to Earth

The Los Angeles Chinese-American Expert Film Viewing Group invited Min Zhou, an elected member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, as well as Distinguished Professor and Chair Professor in the Department of Sociology at UCLA, to attend the screening. Following the film, Zhou praised All Wishes Come True! for its creative approach to traditional Chinese mythology.

Zhou said she “had not watched a Chinese film on the big screen for quite a long time,” and that All Wishes Come True! left “a rather deep impression” on her.

In her view, the film is filled with imaginative ideas and offers a bold and creative adaptation of a familiar traditional myth. By combining legendary folk figures with comedy, the film brings the traditionally elevated “immortals” back down to earth, making them more relatable, approachable and relevant to contemporary audiences.

The story follows eight ordinary mortals, including Zhongli Quan and Lü Dongbin, who embark on an adventure in search of a Glazed Glass Lamp. Through their intelligence and courage, they overcome a series of challenges and ultimately become immortals.

Zhou particularly praised the film’s dialogue, noting that it has the rhythm and humor of contemporary language. While preserving the flavor of traditional mythology, the dialogue also adds a lighthearted and witty modern sensibility.

She also highlighted the film’s visual presentation. The Penglai fairyland depicted on screen is magnificent, fantastical and delicately rendered, showcasing a rich Eastern imagination. The action sequences, meanwhile, incorporate strong elements of Chinese wuxia, with fluid and graceful choreography that highlights the distinctive appeal of Eastern aesthetics.

Zhou said that for audiences in China, All Wishes Come True! successfully combines traditional mythology, contemporary comedy and Eastern aesthetics in an innovative way. For overseas Chinese audiences, she added, the film’s bold storytelling and visually striking presentation inject new vitality into the traditional mythology genre.

Richard Ren: A Hollywood-Level Premiere and Constant Laughter from the Audience

Richard Ren, convener of the Los Angeles Chinese-American Expert Film Viewing Group and a film critic, said in his professional review after the screening that the distributor’s premiere production was “completely at the highest level of Hollywood,” while the film itself proved to be a major surprise.

He noted that “the entire theater was filled with laughter,” suggesting that the film’s humor and character-driven storytelling resonated strongly with the audience.

Ren particularly pointed to the film’s use of contemporary elements, internet slang and various pop-culture “memes,” which are naturally incorporated into the conversations among the eight characters. These elements help remove the sense of distance traditionally associated with mythological figures.

In his view, All Wishes Come True! may appear on the surface to be a hilarious adventure about eight ordinary people pretending to be immortals and embarking on a series of challenges, but its deeper theme remains rooted in the choices and growth of ordinary people.

The eight characters initially come together for very different reasons. Some are motivated by money, some want to prove themselves, while others join the group almost by accident. Rather than portraying the characters as flawless, larger-than-life mythological figures, the film gives them weaknesses, personal struggles and their own agendas, making them feel much more human.

For overseas audiences unfamiliar with the mythology of the Eight Immortals, Ren said, the film’s world-building and character development are sufficiently clear to make the viewing experience enjoyable and accessible, with plenty of humor throughout.

Xia Bobo (Brian O’Shea): Seven Years in China Created a Deep Connection to Chinese Culture

Well-known blogger Xia Bobo, who also attended the premiere, gave All Wishes Come True! a positive assessment in an interview following the screening.

Xia Bobo lived in China for seven years and developed a deep understanding of Chinese history, culture and society. As a result, he has developed a strong personal affection for traditional Chinese culture.

He said one of the aspects of All Wishes Come True! that impressed him most was that the film does not simply reproduce a traditional myth. Instead, it retells the classic story through the language of contemporary cinema.

In his view, the film makes traditional cultural figures more vivid and accessible, allowing overseas audiences to encounter Chinese mythology in a lighter and more easily understandable way.

Xia Bobo also noted that Chinese mythology contains an enormous wealth of stories, but finding ways to make those stories accessible to younger generations and international audiences is an important part of cultural communication. In that respect, he said, All Wishes Come True! represents an effort worth watching.

Singer 2026 American Singer Albert Stanaj: “Surprised and Excited” to See Sun Wukong

American singer Albert Stanaj, who previously participated in the recording of Singer 2026, also attended the Los Angeles premiere.

After the screening, Stanaj praised the film overall and was particularly surprised and delighted to see Sun Wukong, the legendary Monkey King, appear in the film.

For an American singer, Sun Wukong is an especially recognizable figure from Chinese culture. His appearance in the film provides an additional cultural connection for international audiences familiar with the iconic character.

Stanaj said the film was not only highly entertaining but also gave him a sense of the unique imagination and visual appeal of Chinese mythology. For him, seeing Sun Wukong appear in a contemporary Chinese animated feature was one of the most memorable moments of the screening.

The reactions from these two viewers from different cultural backgrounds also reflect one of the film’s central ambitions: to preserve the core elements of traditional Chinese culture while using contemporary comedy, animation and an internationally accessible narrative style to invite audiences unfamiliar with the Eight Immortals into its world.

Green Landscape Painting and the Penglai Fairyland: Eastern Aesthetics at the Center

Beyond its comedic elements, the visual design of All Wishes Come True! is another major strength of the film.

Inspired by the traditional Chinese qinglü shanshui style of green-and-blue landscape painting, the film creates a fantastical Penglai fairyland featuring pavilions and towers floating above seas of clouds, a magnificent world of immortals, and color designs influenced by Chinese folk New Year paintings and traditional art.

The film also draws inspiration from traditional Chinese culture and ancient imagery. For example, transportation within the city is inspired by fish-drawn vehicles depicted in Han Dynasty murals, while the Penglai fairyland incorporates the ancient Chinese legend of the giant sea turtle carrying Penglai.

These elements give traditional cultural imagery new visual life within a contemporary animated world.

Nearly Six Years in Production, Looking Toward the Global Market for Chinese Animation

All Wishes Come True! was produced with the participation of Pearl Studio, whose credits include Kung Fu Panda 3, Abominable and the Academy Award-nominated Over the Moon, in collaboration with CMC Pictures. The film was written and directed by Mu Zhengyang and produced by Cao Linlin. Hong Kong Film Award winner Su Hang contributed to the action design, while Chen Hao served as voice director.

The film was in production for nearly six years, including approximately three years devoted to refining the screenplay. The creative team sought to combine traditional mythology, contemporary comedy, action-adventure and Eastern visual aesthetics to introduce the traditional Chinese cultural symbol of the Eight Immortals to global audiences in a younger and more contemporary form.

Against the backdrop of Ne Zha 2 grossing more than $2.2 billion worldwide and the continued expansion of Chinese animation into international markets, the North American theatrical release of All Wishes Come True! represents another effort by Chinese animation to reach audiences overseas.

From Min Zhou’s scholarly appreciation of the film’s treatment of traditional mythology and Eastern aesthetics, to Xia Bobo’s emotional connection to Chinese culture, and Albert Stanaj’s surprise and excitement at seeing Sun Wukong, the Los Angeles premiere demonstrated one of the film’s notable strengths: audiences from different cultural backgrounds can find their own point of connection within this Chinese mythological animation.

All Wishes Come True! opens nationwide in U.S. theaters on August 14.

(By: Richard Ren/LAPost)