Product Details

• Actors: Corbin Bleu
• Directors: Zhu Jiaxin, Zhong Zhihang
• Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: Cantonese, English
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: G (General Audience)
• Studio: WALT DISNEY VIDEO
• DVD Release Date: January 27, 2009
• Run Time: 85 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (51 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001JRB17Y
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #48,633 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Features include:

•MPAA Rating: G
•Format: DVD
•Runtime: 85 minutes

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "When you wish upon a gourd...", January 27, 2009

By 

Greg Ehrbar "'MouseTracksOnline'" (Orlando, FL) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Secret of the Magic Gourd (DVD)

The Secret of the Magic Gourd is a very lovely film and deserves more notice in the U.S. than it is getting. The first of Disney's Chinese co-productions, the film did respectable business in China, where it is titled "Bao hu lu de mi mi."

In the interest of lip synchronization, the young boy's name is changed from "Bao" to "Raymond" and the Gourd's name is "Bailey," from the Chinese "Hu lu" (could it be that the website hulu gets its name from here)?

The story, from a classic Chinese children's book, is a dreamlike, present day tale in which a boy learns to be careful what he wishes for -- a theme explored with horror in "The Monkey's Paw" and The Twilight Zone and with humor on I Dream of Jeannie. Some of the wacky antics caused by little Bailey in his earnest attempts to please his "master" reminded me very much of "Jeannie."

U.S. film and TV makers might take a closer look at Gourd, with its traditional family, caring teacher and pleasant friends. No bumbling dysfunctional parents (or lack thereof), no caricatured authority figures or no snarky, hip-holding preteens here. The kids aren't always nice to Raymond but they do stick with him in the end.

Speaking of hip-holding preteens, the presence of High School Musical star Corbin Bleu is very likely a device to allow youngsters the privilege of watching this movie without eye-rolls and loud sighs from older siblings. But don't underestimate him -- Bleu does a very creditable job. His natural likeability shines through his vocal performance. That's not easy when you've also got to act as well as focus on replacing dialogue recorded and animated for another language.

The film largely rises and falls on whether you like Raymond and especially Bailey, and it succeeds thanks to skillful work by the entire American cast, including Bleu and singer/actress Megan Hilty, under the guidance of Disney veteran Rick Dempsey, who also co-wrote the lyrics to the end title song, "Worlds of Wonder."

The English script also avoids an overabundance of pop culture references and slang. Bailey might say one or two Americanized things here and there, but he's not a boogie-ing gangsta gourd, as I'm sure the Chinese version of the Gourd is not either.

Speaking of music, the fine original score by Peter Kam is one of the things I enjoyed most about The Secret of the Magic Gourd, yet I've not seen it available either in an English or Chinese soundtrack album. I'd also like to see an English version of the book.

The bonus material is primarily Chinese promotional documentary footage with English subtitles. It would have been nice to see Bleu and the cast working on the dubbing, a very special kind of acting that takes special talent to carry off properly. All in all, though, the word "nice" is the best way to describe the film, and I look forward to the future co-productions.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars "Good Gourd!!"--What Did Such A Nice Gourd Ever Do To Deserve This?, March 21, 2009

By 

K. Harris "Film aficionado" (Albuquerque, NM) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Secret of the Magic Gourd (DVD)

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There is one thing that really stands out in the fairy tale "The Secret of the Magic Gourd"--and, thankfully, that is a wonderfully under appreciated gourd. With its crooked grin and sweet, but sad, eyes--our hero struggles to understand the needs and wants of one of the most unappealing movie youths to come around in some time. The gourd (somewhere between a squash and a pumpkin) has a vitality, a humor, and a bizarreness that left me entranced and perplexed. Giving a great, heartfelt performance, this vegetable (technically, I suppose it might be a fruit) pulls out all the dramatic and comedic stops. Its mission in life is to grant wishes to its "master," and although nothing more is ever explained in this fable about the gourd's backstory--I guess you'll either go with it or you won't.

The "master" in question, however, is a bumbling 11 year old. At first, he seems misunderstood--but as he takes the reins of his own desires, it soon becomes clear how self-involved and truly ungrateful the little brat is! His wishes create havoc and misery for everyone, and he continuously takes his furor out on his new, and only real, friend. The old adage "Be careful what you wish for..." has never seemed so true. But our boy never takes responsibility for his own actions, everything is someone else's fault. It becomes grating and irksome--but sit patiently, a big lesson is to be learned.

No real consequences, however, ever befall the boy and the film's lesson is cheapened by making the ending so rosy. The boy is embraced by all the students that he has betrayed and cheated--with no real apology. The boy, who made the swim team by cheating, works really hard and competes in the big race. But instead of the message that hard work and "trying" are their own reward that should be respected--the boy, instead, wins the race. I guess winning is a better lesson. And watch closely, when the gourd and its master part ways in the end, the closing "lesson" and moral introspection is delivered by the GOURD! THE GOURD HAS LEARNED SOMETHING FROM THE WHOLE EXPERIENCE--NOT THE BOY!

Don't get me wrong--I think kids will appreciate the visual appeal of "Magic Gourd." The are some nice moments in the visual effects. The gourd provides some genuine whimsy and surely looks delicious. But I don't think "Magic Gourd" succeeds as entertainment for the whole family. It's more for the young ones and that's not bad. I just wish the tale had given me a human lead that was half as interesting (or worth caring about) as my dear, dear gourd! KGHarris, 03/09.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "Don't forget to clip your nails!", March 5, 2009

By 

iansomniak (USA, Planet Earth) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Secret of the Magic Gourd (DVD)

(What's this?)

This is the story of a Chinese boy by the name of Raymond (a.k.a. Wang Bao) who has a creative imagination, but is chronically lazy and forgetful. Ray has a hard time getting out of bed in the morning, and he stubbornly refuses to trim his toenails on a regular basis (which, of course, can eventually wreak havoc on one's socks and shoes). The flaw that gets young Raymond into the most trouble, however, is his habitual failure to study for the rigorous math exams, administered daily by his demanding teacher, Miss Lee. It seems that in China, students work in groups, so one slacker will negatively affect the whole team's grade. Thus, Raymond's carelessness infuriates not only his instructor, but his classmates as well. One fateful afternoon, a dejected Raymond flees the jeers of his peers and heads for the lake to do some fishing. There he makes a wish, a wish to succeed in school and life without having to do any work or spend any time studying. Enter Bailey (or Bao Hulu), a diminutive genie in the form of a Chinese bottle gourd.

Bailey seems like an odd name for a gourd (Gordon would be better), but this little fellow is no ordinary gourd. Looking a bit like a dollop of soft-serve ice-cream, this anthropomorphic calabash has widely spaced button-like eyes on the upper half of his body, a hollow mouth in the middle of his belly, and no nose whatsoever. He appears to be made of plastic, like a Mr. Potato Head toy, and his rubbery limbs stretch and expand like Mr. Fantastic's. The Magic Gourd is also a shape-shifter, like the Shmoo, who can morph into anything from a speedboat engine to an alarm clock. He can melt into a puddle or grow into a giant monster...he can even burst into flames at will, without being consumed in the inferno. What's more, Bailey is an infinitely powerful sorcerer who can fly jet planes and make cheeseburgers and snack cakes materialize out of thin air. He can build robots...calculate complex mathematical problems...and YES, he can clip toenails like nobody's business! Can the gourd really free Raymond from life's day-to-day drudgeries...or will he only cause more trouble?

The Magic Gourd DVD boasts a beautifully clear and colorful widescreen transfer with Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. Bonus features consist of Bailey's computer-animated bloopers; a DVD game; a behind-the-scenes featurette; and a music video of the Chinese version of the movie's theme song. In addition to the English dub, the Mandarin and Cantonese vocal tracks are included, but the only subtitle choice available for them is the closed captioning of the English version. Since Bailey the Gourd is trying to do for nail care what Smokey the Bear did for forest fire prevention, it would have been nice if Disney had included a free pair of clippers in the DVD case. Well, maybe they're saving that for the platinum edition.

The tale of the Magic Gourd is apparently a well known story in China, but Americans will probably find the whole concept of a gourd-shaped wizard to be kind of bizarre. The folks at Disney have tried to Americanize this production by casting High School Musical's Corbin Bleu, changing all the Chinese names and having the characters say the word "awesome" a lot...but I doubt that the Magic Gourd will become the next Hannah Montana. Nevertheless, this is a pretty entertaining family film with a positive message.