Film Name: 龙在哪里？ / Where’s The Dragon?
Before watching, “Where’s The Dragon?” was a film I had high expectations for, but after seeing it, I couldn’t help but feel disappointed. The entire movie has a gloomy, oppressive tone, and especially in terms of its underlying message, I couldn’t find any resonance or empathy.
The story of locking away the dragon, then corrupting the phoenix that replaces it, so that the cockroach can become the new zodiac animal, makes almost no logical sense. Rather than asking where the dragon is, one might better ask where the story’s meaning lies. If its sole purpose is to save the zodiac animals and humanity without exploring the seeker’s or others’ awakening, then this tale remains a superficial quest for the dragon. In fact, it pales in comparison to the more engaging and memorable subplot of the tiger and ox falling in love.
The film brims with the privileged class’s power and prejudice against others, epitomized by the ultimate villain, the cockroach.
Why are cockroaches unworthy of the zodiac? Is it merely because they’re considered lowly, filthy creatures? Why then was the rat, another member of the “New Four Pests,” granted a place among the zodiac? Cockroach hitched a ride on the sheep and secured its position through competition—how does this fundamentally differ from the rat riding the ox to win first place? Why must Cockroach suffer the fate of being eaten by the rooster, when the latter blatantly broke the rules? The Jade Emperor’s ultimate reason for executing the cockroach wasn’t its moral failings, but its accidental mockery of obesity—a trait shared by all the fat bureaucrats in Heaven, including the Jade Emperor himself. This value system for governance almost makes one sympathize with the cockroach, for it was no longer a morally corrupt creature but a powerless victim executed by tyranny.
The most ironic part is that immediately after slaughtering cockroaches in a manner reminiscent of collective punishment, the film plunges into a scene of revelry. Rather than a happy ending, it feels more like a political carnival where the strong trample over the corpses of the weak.
The film’s attempt to explore the Chinese zodiac as a cultural motif holds promise, but its imagined worldview linking the zodiac animals to humans feels utterly disconnected from reality. It could have focused either on the mythical world where twelve animals compete to become zodiac signs, or on the protective bond between the zodiac animals and humans. Either approach would have worked, but by forcing both narratives together, the film descends into utter chaos. The idea that zodiac animals are intrinsically linked to human personalities and temperaments failed to convince me. The notion that when a zodiac animal’s nature turns evil, people born under that sign also become vicious feels overly simplistic and lacks any proper grounding.
Character design is a major flaw in the film. After watching it, not only did my affection for the zodiac animals fail to grow, but I found myself wondering: Are the zodiac animals really such hideously ugly creatures? Setting aside the phoenix’s transformation into a human with a sharp, monkey-like face that bears an uncanny resemblance to the snake spirit from “The Gourd Brother,” even the protagonist’s design—with its pointed chin and small eyes—doesn’t convey the image of a broad-minded individual. Large faces with small eyes are a common trait among the film’s characters, appearing on nearly all the zodiac animals. In today’s cartoon character aesthetics, this is clearly a design choice that makes viewers want to change the channel.
The film shows little regard for plot safety. Take the opening sequence alone: children chasing each other by the river end up falling in, escaping through a window to slide down a pipe to the ground, and adding excessive seasoning to a guest’s dish—all unsafe imitation points. Using such elements as gimmicks is inappropriate.
Carrying the question “Where is the dragon?” into the story, halfway through we realize it no longer matters. The question is neither profound nor moving, nor even entertaining. A mere cockroach burrow traps the legendary divine beast. While the phoenix’s rebirth concept is clever, why must its moral alignment shift with each rebirth? This arbitrary, god-like perspective severely undermines the film’s credibility.
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