Fans of director Stephen Chow and his funny and inventive films “Shaolin Soccer” and “Kung Fu Hustle” will likely be disappointed with his foray into children’s cinema with a magical realist story about an impoverished boy oppressed by bullies at his school.
Xu Jian plays Dicky, a cute 9-year-old boy whose father (played by Chow) works in construction to send Dicky to a private school.
Dicky’s fantasy life comes alive when his dad comes home with a weird green ball that he retrieved from a trash dump. In Dicky’s hands the ball comes to life as an alien creature not unlike a big-headed dog.
Dicky names the toy “CJ7” and fantasizes about it fighting off the bullies that make his school life miserable.
“CJ7” has some moments of sweetness and CGI inflected humor, but comes off as slight compared to the filmmaker’s previous efforts.
Rated PG. 86 mins.
