James Hong catapulted back into the spotlight after the runaway success, commercially and critically, of Everything Everywhere All At Once. Now, he returns to the silver screen with the fantasy The Keepers Of The 5 Kingdoms. Zack Ward and Ace Underhill pen the screenplay based on a story by Hong. The beloved icon produced the film alongside James Cullen Bressack and Underhill (who also served as the director of photography), with Ward tackling editing and directing duties. The independent film is undoubtedly ambitious, using CGI, puppetry, and animatronics to create a fantasy world based on Chinese folklore. Did the filmmakers reach everything they strived for, or did their reach exceed their grasp?
Patsy Lee (Michelle Mao) is studying herself silly to try and get into a good college and escape her small Arizona town. Her mom is always working while her grandfather, Chuck Lee (James Lee), seems to dislike that Patsy doesn’t speak Chinese and has very little interest in learning about her cultural heritage. However, she does have support from her best friend, Squirrel (Anna Harr), who is a human person and not an animal/pet. Hopper (Matthew Sato) is also a good friend, though he and Patsy are tiptoeing around becoming something more.

“From harmful butterflies to disguised ogres, the Wu Witch, and a hopping vampire, Patsy and her loved ones must embark on a thrilling journey…”
One day, a personified rat and chicken, Frank (Dante Basco) and Hank (Dave Sheridan), respectively, come searching for a particular item. Well, after an encounter with them, Patsy finds the magical box the duo wanted, and she, Squrriel, Hopper, and Chuck are transported to a mysterious land full of magic, wonder, and evil. Said evil is Lord Kuang (Bai Ling), who sends various forces, including Trader Joe (Gedde Watanabe), to retrieve the box the humans have, as it’ll free her to unleash her full power. From harmful butterflies to disguised ogres, the Wu Witch (Jon Bailey), and a hopping vampire (Scotch Hopkins), Patsy and her loved ones must embark on a thrilling journey to get back to their world. However, they do have a few allies, such as the wise tortoise Ao (George Takei), to help them.
The Keepers Of The 5 Kingdoms is a wonderful cinematic achievement. The characters, especially Patsy and Chuck, have a lot of dimensions that are explored throughout the 1-hour and 50-minute runtime. Patsy is frustrated that she doesn’t have a whole life, as she feels pressure to study and not do much else. Things got even worse once after her dad died. Chuck’s standoffishness towards his granddaughter slowly begins to make sense. Even Squrriel and Hopper have more going for them beyond just being the best friends. Kuang’s motivation and backstory work perfectly and really highlight the themes of the story by the end. It is true that Patsy’s mom and Hopper’s sister, both stuck in the real world, are thin, but they play an essential role in things overall.