The Friends of Kwan Ming

Christine Amber Tang's animated The Friends of Kwan Ming, an entry in the National Film Board of Canada's eight-volume video/book series Talespinners, is based on a tale from the accompanying book Tales from Gold Mountain by Paul Yee, in which a young man named Kwan Ming emigrates from China to America following the death of his father. Filled with the hope of building a new life for himself and later sending for his mother, Kwan makes three new friends on the voyage to the New World ("they ate, told jokes, shared dreams"), all of whom eventually land decent jobs--except for Kwan, who is forced to take a job as a shop boy for a cruel master. When the master decides to fire Kwan in a pique of anger, he offers the lad a seemingly impossible request in order to keep his position: namely, to provide the master with a woolen suit, fine boots, and 40 loaves of bread within three days. Fortunately, Kwan's friends come to the rescue in a humorous, fairytale-like resolution. Boasting a solid message about the rewards of friendship, coupled with eye-catching, colorful clay and computer animation, this video/book combination is recommended. Other titles in the series include: Christopher Changes His Name, Lights For Gita, The Magic of Anansi, and From Far Away. Aud: K, E, P. (R. Pitman)