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Oscar Winners and a 94% Score on Rotten Tomatoes: The New Disney+ Series to Watch

Disney may be chiseling away at Disney Plus’s entertainment library, but one bold story based on an acclaimed novel might compensate for lost content.

An enthralling telling of a teen boy swimming upstream in a culture that never felt like home, the new Disney Plus series features Ke Huy Quan and Michelle Yeoh, who enchanted audiences in the Oscar-winning film Everything Everywhere All at Once.

Michelle Yeoh
Credit: Disney

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In the super-powered series based on Gene Luen Yang’s 2006 graphic novel American Born Chinese, the story’s hero, Jin Wang (Ben Wang), has to figure out how to execute a cosmic battle of gods before the seventh-period bell rings.

If you have an affinity for coming-of-age stories featuring supernatural foes, a la “Buffy the Vampire Slayer, then you’ll appreciate the Marvel-caliber effects brought into a G-rated dramedy. “American Born Chinese” follows the relatable ride of a teen desperately trying to fit in and act as “normal” as possible. But powers reluctantly bestowed on him to engage in martial arts throwdowns with heavenly gods make normalcy a bit out of reach.

Beyond the celestial face-offs brought to life by writer and director for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Destin Daniel Cretton, “American Born Chinese” takes a deeper dive into the racial struggles that plague Wang’s high school experience.

It’s tough enough to blend in when your new friend, Wei-Chen (Jim Liu), enlists you to close the gate between heaven and earth while meeting with the Buddhist Goddess Guanyin (Michelle Yeoh). What makes life even harder for Wang is a more down-to-earth struggle: being accepted as a Chinese American.

American Born Chinese Boys
Credit: Disney

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In an interview with The New York Times, writer Gene Luen Yang shared how difficulties blending into a predominantly white American school inspired the novel American Born Chinese:

Sometimes feel like we are guests in America. We try to be good guests and not make a fuss because America feels like somebody else’s home.

Yang’s novel resonated with readers of all backgrounds as the first graphic novel to make it a finalist for a National Book Award. With Oscar-worthy cast members, a Marvel-tier director, and an award-winning plot, “American Born Chinese” is sweeping the Disney scene just one day after its release with a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes.

The series features Ben Wang as Jin Yang, Jim Liu as Wei-Chen, Michelle Yeoh as Guanyin, Daniel Wu as Sun Wukong, Ke Huy Quan as Freddy Wong, Sydney Taylor as Amelia, Stephanie Hsu as Shiji Niangniang, Yeo Yann Yann as Christine Wang, Chin Han as Simon Wang, and ​​Poppy Liu as Princess Iron Fan. Produced by Kelvin Yu and Melvin Mar that Yang, “American Born Chinese” is available for streaming now.

Kaitlin Morelli

A Disney World Guest since before she could walk, Kaitlin is a Jersey girl and former Virginia Tech Hokie. When she's not listening to the 'Moana' soundtrack on repeat with her baby daughter, she's writing, singing, and strumming the ukulele. Kaitlin is passionate about finding the best Disney Park tips n' tricks and moments when pop culture and Disney collide. She's looking forward to eventually taking her first Disney trip with her favorite fan in the making: her daughter.

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