Disney’s “Wendy Wu” Smells Awfully Familiar
Author: Stephen Gerding
May 17th, 2006
I know there’s “no original ideas” left in Hollywood, but man, at least try to dress things up a little bit when you’re promoting your new shows. From the Wikipedia entry on “Wendy Wu…”
Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior is a new Disney Channel Original Movie. It’s about an Asian-American girl with dreams to become homecoming queen. But then a young monk named Shen comes to tell her that she’s the reincarnation of a Chinese warrior and must save the world.
Let’s see….
Wendy Wu: Homecoming WarriorBuffy: The Vampire Slayer is a newDisney Channel Original MovieWB Show. It’s about anAsian-All-American girl with dreams to become homecoming queen. But then a youngmonklibrarian namedShenMilesGiles comes to tell her that she’s thereincarnationof a Chinese warriorlatest in a line of vampire slayers and must save the world.
Yeah - that sounds about right! (see also: “Juniper Lee”)
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60 Responses to “Disney’s “Wendy Wu” Smells Awfully Familiar”
May 23rd, 2006 at 6:07 pm
i want to see this movie bad
May 23rd, 2006 at 9:56 pm
The Buffy comparsion is a bit of a stretch.
May 24th, 2006 at 9:48 am
The Buffy thing is a really big stretch, and even if it isn’t, SO WHAT? what is wrong with that? I still want to see it, and I think that it will most definately meet or better my expectations.
May 24th, 2006 at 9:52 am
who is this buffy and what is are they saying about copying, like everything is the same these days and any who.. vampire slayer and chinese warrior are miles apart in difference
May 27th, 2006 at 10:01 am
i don’t see anything that really the same i mean how is asian and american the same??
May 27th, 2006 at 1:02 pm
Jenn, my wife is Asian (Chinese) and she’s Amercian. As to the rest of the comments, I don’t see how you CAN’T see the similarities between the concepts. Bear in mind, I’m not commenting on the quality of either show - Wendy Wu may very well end up being a better show than Buffy - I’m just noting how amazingly similar the pitch is to Buffy, and lamenting the lack of creativity in promoting a new show.
May 27th, 2006 at 4:27 pm
Steve, if you think that’s an amazing similarity, then you must finally give in that Harry Potter is an amzing rip off of Tim Hunter.
May 27th, 2006 at 4:46 pm
Basic similarities I’ve never denied, and Wendy Wu may very well go the same route as Potter and be completely different. However, since Buffy was a pretty popular movie/show, I’d have thought they’d try to show how different the Disney creation is rather than how similar.
As for the Hunter/Potter similarities, Gaiman’s response to the accusations of Rowlings ripping him off sums it up best:
May 27th, 2006 at 6:21 pm
And you think that Wendy and buffy aren’t both stealing from the same sources?
May 31st, 2006 at 6:39 pm
i was wondering she appears so happy doing martial arts i sometimes wonder how many people she beat and sent to hospitals. asking for autographs or just going up to say high. most kids her age look for people weak so they can lok like there a real fighter.
June 2nd, 2006 at 12:55 pm
uuuuh…who cares? I mean is it seriously that big a deal? I see the similarities but frankly so what? Buffy was a good show and I don’t see why this Wendy Wu thing can’t fall in the same line.
sides at least the main character is asian for once. yay xD
June 5th, 2006 at 2:44 pm
i like this movie because its new hope its not boring. thoe some people might tink its lame but thats okay. my faviorte actor in this movie is brenda song because she makes me feel not scared when my fears make scared of somthiing. also she a great actor and fighter she is a very good idol. i also like her clothes she puts alot of good taste in her clothes. i ws curios abot if brenda desighn her own clothes well i hope you like my letter and i hope you send me some letter after like 10 senconds i eamil you.
June 8th, 2006 at 10:07 am
stfu you bitches, brenda songs so damn hot. id hit that any day
June 9th, 2006 at 11:36 am
I really want to see the premire on disney channel,I hope it starts tomarrow
June 10th, 2006 at 11:39 pm
Hi brenda song I love your movie and how you where rich in the suit life of Zack and Cody by.
June 11th, 2006 at 9:51 am
hi laura i love your show zack cody
it is so funny ilove your movie
i know your rich i like zack he is so
funny .
June 12th, 2006 at 3:10 pm
I SAY WENDY WU HOMECOMMING WARRIOR IS THE BEST AND NOTHING CAN CHANGE MY MIND.IUSE TO LIKE BUFFY BUT ITS OUT OF STYLE TO ME ,,,,,,,NOW SO ALL OF YOU NEED TO GET A LIFE.
June 12th, 2006 at 4:25 pm
YEAH! GET A LIFE! TYPE IN ALL CAPS LIKE A REAL G!!!
BEEEYATCHES!!!!!!!!!
June 13th, 2006 at 4:28 am
What the hell is going on here?
June 14th, 2006 at 3:54 pm
WWWWWWWHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOO!ccccccccccaaaaaarrrrreeeeeSSS
June 14th, 2006 at 5:55 pm
Hi i’m sandy i do not know what you guys are talking about but brenda you are a grest actress and i also love delan which is zack.
June 14th, 2006 at 6:08 pm
Hi brenda you are a grest actress,i just love the way you act.I also love zack he is so cute and funny.
June 15th, 2006 at 8:51 am
Hi, I’m T Unit and I love brenda in a way that would probably put me on a Dateline special.
June 15th, 2006 at 3:31 pm
hey waz ^ brenda i luv ur personality its lik my personality i really luv cole which is (cody)hes better lookin than dylan(zack)eeeewwwwwwwww!!!!!!
June 16th, 2006 at 8:44 am
You called Giles “Miles”… thats a terrible mistake to make…
June 16th, 2006 at 9:54 am
Disney and creativity - two concepts that never mixed. It’s “Disney’s Hunchback of Notre Dame, Disney’s “Hercules”, Disney’s Little Mermaid. Get it? Hugo, Greek myths, Hans Christian andersen - ,they are all so…before Disney!
June 16th, 2006 at 1:47 pm
Apparantly a lot of people on here either don’t see the similarity or don’t care but personally I noticed it the first time I saw a commercial for it. I’m amazed at how many ideas are taken from “Buffy” these days but no one has yet been able to duplicate the stylish intelligence of that show. Many have tried but no one has come close but I still enjoy watching the finished product of those who try.
June 16th, 2006 at 1:52 pm
OMG Disney pretty much took Buffy and altered it to be an “original” (and I use the term loosely) story. This is totally a knock off of Buffy. They have some pretty big shoes to fill and I hope they’re up to the task. Buffy went seven seasons (after a horrible movie) and had a five season spin off (Angel). Can Wendy Wu measure up? Only time will tell.
June 16th, 2006 at 5:26 pm
I’m watching it right now. They are even using some quote from Buffy! “If the apocalypse comes beep me” Anyone remember that one?
It’s a little bit annoying, it’s too much like buffy…My girl watch Buffy, I dont really like it, but still this disney movie is a total rip off!
June 16th, 2006 at 6:20 pm
brenda you are is the best actress in the world and you are hot keep up the good werkand i love wendy wu homecoming warrior.
June 16th, 2006 at 7:39 pm
Ok first of all Wendy Wu is not a TV show it is a TV movie all American and Chinese American what is the simalarity of this theory without it having the word American in it? Dude honestly #1 have u even seen the flippn show or wht? Come on Juniper Lee is different to so wht if they have 2 save the world but because of different reasons buffy has nothing to do with asian history as 4 juniper its not a copy and there aren’t any mystical creachers in Wendy Wu its all about kung fu and stuff and real chinese backround!Juniper Lee is a cartoon, the only(powers) she has is super strength and being able to see magical creachers!So believe wht u want but just don’t go dissing a MOVIE B4 u’ve even seen it!Oh yah n sissy or whatever you have some major spellin errors and THOSE R’NT PART OF ANY KINDA SLANG
June 16th, 2006 at 7:48 pm
oh yah n,THE ONLY REAL REASON THIS ALL SOUNDS RIGHT is because your changing everything and your just like TRYING to find things that SEEM like their from other shows,but AREN’T. kk so why don’t you guys just chill and stop trying to make everything sound like its 4rom buffy.
June 16th, 2006 at 11:49 pm
rip off!!
June 17th, 2006 at 12:11 am
Okay.
Disney is not known by they original characters.
Let’s See… most of all movies are adaptations of popular tales, Cinderella, Aladdin, and so…
Others are rapes of mitology, like Hercules.
And other are simply copies of popular stories or films. Like Atlantis (is a copy of an Anime serie and Stargate movie..), Lion King (copy of Kimba, the white lion).
Else we can see copies of characters in the movies, like the evil mongol from Mulan, a copy of Lobo, a comic character of DC.
So, they are going to copy Buffy. Big deal.
Buffy’s plot is not so original. The story of a normal persona that is called to a big destiny is as usual as the companions police movie.
So, maybe they are copyng Buffy, or maybe not. Anyways, all the disney movies are copies of the same, a good guy/girl, the love of her life, the evil one with funny minion, the comic reliefs, one smart one silly, parents absent, or one dead…
Sorry about my english, but is too early and im little rusty with it.
June 17th, 2006 at 10:54 am
A big argument here is the difference in heritage but what did you think Disney was going to do? As much as they are obviously copying off of Buffy for this show, they are not going to make it exact. They took the plot and premise and changed things like her ethnicity and backround to make it their own. All they did was change some of the characters around but besides that it’s pretty much the same. Also, the fact that they actually took dialouge from Buffy is even more pathetic. The people at Disney must be big Buffy fans because Kim Possible and High School Musical probably was also created with Buffy in mind.
June 17th, 2006 at 11:02 am
In addition, I totally understand that every idea for a tv show or movie comes from somewhere but at least Buffy was made in an originally creative way. It was unlike any other show out there at the time and it’s popularity probably had a lot to do with supernatural shows being created after it. At least when Buffy took an idea from somewhere else they admitted it and gave the original entity credit within interviews or dvd commentaries.
June 17th, 2006 at 6:04 pm
who cares if its like that, BRENDA ROCKS! THE MOVIE ROCKS! nuff said
June 17th, 2006 at 8:51 pm
When I saw Buffy, all I could think about all the Hong Kong movies and series I’ve seen over the years.
June 18th, 2006 at 6:48 am
Steve,
When they say original movie, they mean it is a new movie made especially for Disney Channel. My ten year old daughter really enjoyed it and it was very clear to her that she wanted good to triump over evil. The movie was clean, entertaining and the message was good. You can’t beat that! They even taught the younger ones when it was okay to fight back! Sorry Steve, the movie was not made for an adult male to enjoy. What movies do you watch anyway?
June 18th, 2006 at 6:49 am
Oops! I spelled triumph wrong. I hope everyone got the point.
June 18th, 2006 at 7:21 am
Doesn’t matter. Buffy fans will see what they want.
June 18th, 2006 at 8:56 pm
OMG! I LUV THIS MOVIE! I CAN WATCH IN 24/7..NO JOKE…BRENDA SONG AKA WENDY WU IS MY IDOL! I’D LUV TO BE IN HER SHoES!
June 18th, 2006 at 9:08 pm
i dont understand why people make a big deal , if it was copy from buffy. Brenda is a great actor. i really love that movie i just hope she makes another movie.
June 19th, 2006 at 7:38 am
Wendy Wu compared to Buffy the idiot vampire slayer??? And even if the two shows are even vaguely similar, who cares. Wendy Wu is a great movie and I think Brenda Song is a way better actress. Not to mention that Brenda is a real-life blackbelt. Buffy has absolutely NO cultural background whatso ever! Buddists and karate in China are REAL everyday events, vampires ….in America???……OK……
June 19th, 2006 at 8:09 am
Karate is Japanese, not Chinese.
June 20th, 2006 at 10:01 am
ok so if oyu want to be technical i think that i am going to boycott disney (only joking) any who i think that (being a buffy fan my self) wendy wu is a totaly ripoff!!!!! like they tweaked it but not really is there a really hot boy who was once the big bad? is there a master? is there a best friiend and a best boy that is her friend? quirky and smart? willow and xander? that is just my thoughts!!!
June 20th, 2006 at 10:04 am
Yeah, Buffy’s a real idiot show. I mean, because it went seven seasons and all that and has a huge fanbase, but okay…she’s an idiot, I understand. Really, I do. (I love sarcasm!)
Anyway, Buffy the Vampire Slayer didn’t have any cultural heritage, and that was one of the main points. How many blonde all-american cheerleading homecoming queens in 1997 were seriously going to be able to fight back?
And the vampires in America thing was all metaphors. Wendy Wu is just entertainment, but Buffy had so many meanings.
Brenda Song is also a Disney child actor. How much better than Sarah Michelle Gellar could she actually be, if better at all?
Just my fourteen cents.
(And yeah, I’m an idiot too for liking a show like Buffy, I mean seriously, Wendy Wu is so much better! *chokes*)
June 20th, 2006 at 10:08 am
Oh yeah, another Heritage/culture comment…
Slayers could come from any religion or culture. This show gave strength to all women and helped remove many feminine stereotypes, not to mention all stereotypes.
Wendy Wu only gives strength to 16-year-old Japanese-fighting Chinese-Americans. LOL.
June 20th, 2006 at 10:11 am
nad i agree with orpheus a little bit.
June 20th, 2006 at 10:12 am
and***
June 20th, 2006 at 4:45 pm
I really don’t f*ckin’ care if they’re almost the same, Buffy is way different from Wendy. Plus, Wendy Wu is better
June 21st, 2006 at 6:19 am
Yeah, Wendu Wu may be ‘good’ from someone else’s perspective, but it doesn’t mean that it’s NOT a Buffy ripoff. So many shows about girls with superpowers/strength came out after Buffy, but there were very few before Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Also, Lizbeth, if they’re really almost the same, then why is Buffy way different from Wendy? And, I think you should have said “Wendy is way different from Buffy” because Buffy came first, and Buffy carries more emotional impact than Wendy, obviously.
I mean, did you watch Wendy Wu and get excited or cry or get angry or scared? Doubtful. Disney isn’t known for it’s sense of really good movies. Some may be ‘okay’, but when compared to other network’s shows and tv movies…
June 22nd, 2006 at 12:30 pm
no one cares! it is a good movie anyways! PLuse the comparison of buffy to wendy is bad really bad! all this proves is that someone has way to much time on their hands1:):)
June 25th, 2006 at 9:09 am
Shannon is comepletely right! u people just need to all get a life Wendy Wu is cool so is buffy.Buffy was a TV show Wendy Wu was a movie not a series.Stop sayin tht its a rip off because u actually watched the whole friggin thing and then decided 2 randomly call it a rip off?u people have issues…
brenda + buffy are actresses
these shows and movies are not real
don’t go crazy but its the truth
July 3rd, 2006 at 2:08 pm
I totally whant to see wendy wu in person
July 14th, 2006 at 10:40 am
love it
July 24th, 2006 at 8:45 pm
The movie WAS a rip off. If you look at the end when she brings “Shen” back to life its a LOT like matrix. Another similarity: the way she learns martial arts.
November 10th, 2006 at 4:19 am
My sister told Brenda Song what to wear in Wendy Wu.She and her friends!
August 11th, 2007 at 9:15 am
i love branda and shen
this moie is a oraginal movie i hope that the movie be a first movie on the world
thanxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
December 6th, 2008 at 3:28 pm
Nah. The bringing Shen back to life scene… Believe me, it exists in a LOT of chinese movies. Yes, so Wendy Wu and Buffy are slightly similar, but this is probably out of coincidence. Seriously.
Homecoming queen: almost every girl dreams of being queen, and why be surprised if you see it in a movie/show?
Saving the world: hey, it’s completely common in action shows like these!! And, obviously the protagonist HAS to be informed by someone that they’re a hero, right?
Besides, martial arts exist. Vampires don’t. But then again, it’s still fantasy about that legend coming true in Wendy Wu. But, hey, tons of shows/movies have fantasy stuff/plot line.
The fact is, both are great shows. Who cares if they’re similar; those are common points in movies/shows!!
Okay, I’m gonna go now. Don’t care IF anyone is going to argue back at me, so bye.