Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior (Kickin' Edition)

Very good and very caring

Good condition

Wendy Wu Homecoming Warrior(2006) is a fun Disney Channel movie starring Brenda Song and Shin Koyamada. It was shot in English in New Zealand on a low budget. The story borrows ideas from Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer. There's a spoof of Shaolin Soccer(2001) in one scene. High school student Wendy Wu and a monk from China battle an evil demon that has the power to move from body to body. Wendy Wu is campy and over the top, but it is fun and lightweight. Brenda Song is superb as Wendy Wu. Song has tried to shed off her squeaky clean image with movies such as The Social Network(2010). She's acted in movies such as Like Mike(2003) and Leave It to Beaver(1997) and TV shows such as The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. Shin Koyamada(The Last Samurai) is quite good as a Chinese monk. At one time, Song was cast as a monk. Koichi Sakamoto(Drive, Power Rangers) staged the fights for the TV movie. Tsai Chin(You Only Live Twice, Casino Royale) plays Wendy Wu's grandmother.I can see why Song has fans. She's talented, charming, and sensual. Wendy Wu is 91 minutes of cheesy fun.

Anyone who is a regular Disney fan has loved Brenda Song as the ditsy heiress in the "Suite life..." series. Here she gets to play a reasonably normal teenager who has to move into an entirely different world and, along with her mentor, has to actually save the world.Great kung fu type action and contrasts of character as the whole family learns more about their Chinese heritage and realizes that our roots are important.The action makes it fun for all ages.

Fun??? This thing is RIDICULOUS. Brenda Song is beautiful, and her character, Wendy has to fight many impossible battles just to get to her homecoming leave alone anything like being Queen. Somehow, she pulls it together; including her very understanding parents, a very weird karate instructor monk, and a raft of other normal people. I was down with the flu when this was shown on Disney channel; it really cured the blues.

Gone were the days of binge watching on Disney Channel's, "Suite Life" and "Suite Life On Deck" late at night. I know it, you know it, everyone knows it, as that shows was mainly watched for London Tipton! If you miss that show, pick this movie up to get your fix of a stereotypical Asian and martial arts comedy. Lols

Every time this would air on Disney Channel (very late at night) we would record it and watch it the next day, so we decided to go ahead a purchase it. It's a family friendly movie with enough action for my son and drama/plot for my daughter. It's a cute movie with a good message.

The jacket cover on the DVD I purchased is a little different from the one Amazon displays on this page, but I checked by UPC bar code number and it is the same. I think I have an earlier version of the cover where it does not state Extended Ending in a banner at the bottom. The extended ending is listed in the back along with the other extras, which are Homecoming Warrior in Training (which didn't play on my copy), Cast Connections With Brenda Song (basically a promo for the other actors' Disney appearances), and a Special Episode of The Suite Life of Zack and Cody (which was probably a commercial attempt to get fans of that show to buy this DVD).As far as the extended ending, it's only 40 seconds long and, to me, not worth making a big deal about, except to squeeze out more sales.The extras are something to be desired, but have no effect on the ratings I gave it. Not a movie I'd generally pick up and watch, I was very pleasantly surprised. It is silly, and that silliness extends to some of the action scenes, sort of a beginner's level Jackie Chan type silliness mixed with Jet Li style flying.Of course, it is predictable. She is the top contender for Homecoming Queen. The spirit of an evil warrior possesses various people, and the last one it chooses is Wendy's school rival. Wendy must make a decision of going to the Homecoming Dance, or saving the world. We know at the end, she will make the right decision.The one nit I have is that the grandmother is an immigrant and it is assumed that the father is the son of immigrants. Not all Asians are recent immigrants. Chinese immigration into the United States started in the 1850's and was a significant ethnic group when talking about the history of Northern California and about building the Western half of the transcontinental railroad. I know I'm revealing a chip, but I kind of wish that as long as the writing had Wendy and her family rediscovering their Chinese heritage, that they also make a mention of the rich and deep history of the Chinese in the United States.The chemistry among the cast was excellent, and that's a main reason why this film works, and the director didn't try to make it more than what it is: an enjoyable hour and a half.