Customer Reviews

Yeh-Shen: A Cinderella Story from China [VHS]

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Hey! I used to own this movie ... It's been lost in a few moves, but I still remember it ... I loved version ... It is based a bit more on the original story, which did happen in China, not somewhere else; and it was an Asian girl, not a blonde. Anyway, if you come across a copy, hold on to it!

I think this movie is really funny, and I learned that it is thousands of years older than Cinderella!!!

The storyline told in this film is alright, but the animation in depicting the characters is terrible and disappointing, leaving much to be desired. The film is based on a Chinese story that was passed down through the ages. According to Chinese oral tradition, the story of Yexian (Yeh-Shen) took place several millenia ago -- in the time well before the first imperial dynasty, Qin (221-206 B.C.). Nonethess, the animators drew the characters in the style of nineteenth century caricatures of pigtailed Chinese of the last imperial dynasty, the Qing dynasty, which ended in 1911. Only during the Qing dynasty (1644-1911), when China was ruled by the foreign Manchus, did Chinese men wear pigtails. The depiction was, thus, historically inaccurate. Worse yet, though, was the grotesque stereotypical caricatures of the Chinese (for the bad characters) that reflected American nineteenth century's mean, stereotypical depictions of Chinese men with mean, Fu Manchu-style expressions and features, together with the flying pigtails. The animators needed to do their homework on Chinese history and culture. I would highly recommend a re-make, following Disney-style animation...