My goodness, how ever did this Disney Classic slip by me until now? It's Disney's "The Secret of the Magic Gourd", now available on DVD!! This film marks Disney's first film produced in China and hopefully it will lead to many more films about native Chinese delicacies. Gosh, he's just so cute and enchanting and, yes, he's actually voiced by none other than High School Musical's Corbin Bleu! (Son of Cordon?)
I do think the little rascal could use some clothes though, so he doesn't get cold. Maybe some nice red shorts like I'm suggesting in the sketch below. One minor criticism of the character, by the way: He does seem to be all squash and no stretch...
(Thanks to Animated News for the link to this item.)
*Addendum*
Yes, as someone asked me in the comments section, I was being quite sarcastic with the above post. However, my objection to the film is primarily in context of it being a Disney release, with the typical American "hip attitude" in the gourd's english dubbed dialogue for the domestic market. Listen to the ridiculous sitcom dialogue spoken with plenty of 'tude by tween idol, Corbin Bleu, then compare it to the Chinese dialogue in the original. I must admit, there is a certain charm in the original, as the magic gourd comes across like an older and wiser little forest sprite, similar in tone to Yoda or Dr. Seuss's "The Lorax". In the redubbed version, however, the gourd is an obnoxious little hipster with an annoying teen persona, like a young Jim Carrey type. (And I personally can't stand Jim Carrey!) My guess is that the marketing idiots at Disney can't bear the thought of any lead character talking like a real adult. Here are both versions for you to compare:
Original charming version:
Disney's obnoxious re-dub:
