American Born Chinese
By Ashley Moulton,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Tween drama/fantasy mashup celebrates Chinese culture.
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American Born Chinese
Community Reviews
Based on 2 parent reviews
too confusing
Interesting complex characters, smart, funny, wildly entertaining
What's the Story?
In AMERICAN BORN CHINESE, Jin Wang (Ben Wang, Chang Can Dunk) is a comic-loving 10th-grader desperately trying to fit in with the cool crowd. He's also one of the only Chinese kids in his school until new student Wei-Chen arrives. At first Jin is annoyed that dorky Wei-Chen is hindering his popularity quest, but Jin soon learns that there's more to his new friend. Wei-Chen is the son of the heavenly Monkey King, and he's come down to Earth to thwart the Bull Demon's uprising. The Monkey King isn't happy with his son's decision to come Earth-side, so the goddess Guanyin (Michelle Yeoh) comes down to smooth things over. Meanwhile, a racist clip from a 90s sitcom has gone viral, starring character Freddy Wong (Ke Huy Quan). Jin and Wei-Chen realize that they have to use the power within to navigate the three somehow-connected worlds of high school, heaven, and TV -- and rescue humanity in the process.
Is It Any Good?
The fun conceit and superb acting make American Born Chinese a great family watch. Everything Everywhere All at Once stars Yeoh and Quan shine alongside star Ben Wang. The high school and family "real life" scenes are fairly subtle, without the eye-roll-inducing cliches of many tween-oriented shows. Fantasy scenes can be a bit cheesy with some subpar special effects and weird monkey/human makeup. That said, there's a lot of heart to the show with its message of self-acceptance and working through family conflict.
While some of the second-generation Chinese immigrant storylines are familiar, they are textured and fully fleshed out. The show fully celebrates Chinese culture, and the fantasy element centers Chinese mythology and religion. American Born Chinese is a fun watch for any fantasy-loving families with tweens.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how Jin and Wei-Chen's Chinese background influence how they're treated at school. How do you think things like everyone mispronouncing their names and assuming that they'd be friends because they're Chinese make them feel? Do you think you've ever made an assumption based on somebody's race, even if you didn't mean it?
Jin really wants to fit in at school, and sometimes that feeling makes him do things that he's not very proud of. Do you find it hard to be your true self sometimes, or do you think you have more confidence like Wei-Chen?
TV Details
- Premiere date: May 24, 2023
- Cast: Michelle Yeoh , Ke Huy Quan , Ronny Chieng , Ben Wang , Daniel Wu
- Network: Disney+
- Genre: Action
- Topics: Magic and Fantasy , Friendship , Great Boy Role Models , High School
- TV rating: TV-PG
- Award: Common Sense Selection
- Last updated: August 28, 2023
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