Just Another Pandora's Box

Just Another Pandora's Box, also known as Once Upon a Chinese Classic, is a 2010 Hong Kong parody film directed by Jeffrey Lau, starring Ronald Cheng, Gigi Leung, Betty Sun, Eric Tsang, Huang Bo, Guo Degang, Gillian Chung, and Patrick Tam. It is a spiritual successor to Lau's two-part 1995 film A Chinese Odyssey. Athena Chu, who starred in A Chinese Odyssey, makes a guest appearance in Just Another Pandora's Box.

Just Another Pandora's Box
Film poster
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese越光寶盒
Simplified Chinese越光宝盒
Directed byJeffrey Lau
Written byJeffrey Lau
Produced byJulia Chu
Xu Jianping
Jessica Kam-Engle
Li Li
Liao Qianshan
Yang Yang
StarringRonald Cheng
Gigi Leung
Betty Sun
Athena Chu
Eric Tsang
Huang Bo
Guo Degang
Gillian Chung
Patrick Tam
Wu Jing
CinematographyEdmond Fung
Edited byMarco Mak
Music byMark Lui
Production
companies
Beijing Bona Cultural Exchange Co., Ltd.,
Beijing Galloping Horse Film & TV Production,
Pearl River Film Co., Ltd.,
Beijing Galloping Horse Film Co., Ltd.
Distributed byMei Ah Entertainment
Release date
  • 18 March 2010 (2010-03-18)
Running time
92 minutes
CountryHong Kong
LanguageCantonese

The film's Chinese title is a pun on the Chinese title of the first part of A Chinese Odyssey, Yuè Guāng Bǎo Hé (月光寶盒). The last three characters of each title are the same, only the first differs; the pronunciations of 月 and 越 are the same in both Cantonese (jyut6) and Mandarin (yuè). The older title translates literally to "Moonlight Treasure Box"; in the title of this film, the character for "moon" is replaced by 越, in this context meaning "more" or "surpassing".

In addition to A Chinese Odyssey, the film spoofs Red Cliff and also makes references to other films such as The Eagle Shooting Heroes, Kung Fu Hustle, House of Flying Daggers, CJ7, Kung Fu Panda, Titanic, King Kong, The Green Hornet, and The Matrix, as well as events such as the 2008 Summer Olympics.[1]

Plot

Rose Fairy is sailing along the river when she suddenly trips on a rope and falls into the water. The trap is set by the bandit Qingyise, who wants to rob her. He steals the Purple Sword from her and plans to sell it. Just then, Joker (the protagonist in A Chinese Odyssey) appears and makes Qingyise unsheathe the sword by pulling away its scabbard. Rose Fairy regains consciousness and mistakenly thinks it was Qingyise who unsheathed the sword. Since she has made a promise to marry the person who unsheathes the sword, she follows Qingyise wherever he goes, leading to a cat-and-mouse chase between the two of them.

Qingyise and Rose Fairy run into Grandpa Buddha and his assistant, who are chasing Bull King for the Pandora's Box. By accident, Qingyise recites "Prajñāpāramitā" and activates the box, causing him to be transported back in time to the Eastern Han dynasty. He finds himself as Zhao Yun at the Battle of Changban, where he is supposed to save Liu Bei's infant son. While the rescue mission turns out to be successful, Qingyise unwittingly brings Liu Bei's son straight into the enemy camp, right before Cao Cao, who confiscates the Pandora's Box and sends him away. Unable to return to his own time, Qingyise is forced to cooperate with Rose Fairy, who has infiltrated Liu Bei's camp in disguise as an ambassador from Turkestan. The two of them make their escape in the midst of the Battle of Red Cliffs.

Cast

The opening sequence of the film states that Jackie Chan, Stephen Chow, Jet Li, Chow Yun-fat, Maggie Cheung, Zhang Ziyi and Angelina Jolie refused to be in this movie.

Main cast

Actor / actressCharacter(s)Spoof of
Ronald ChengQingyise / Zhao Yun / Zhang Ziyi's transvestiteRed Cliff, A Chinese Odyssey, Titanic
Betty SunRose FairyA Chinese Odyssey, Titanic
Huang BoZhou YuRed Cliff
Huang YiXiao QiaoRed Cliff
Yuen BiaoLiu BeiRed Cliff
Alex FongGuan YuRed Cliff
Louis FanZhang FeiRed Cliff
Guo DegangCao CaoRed Cliff
Eric TsangZhuge LiangRed Cliff
Jeffrey LauGrandpa BuddhaA Chinese Odyssey

Special appearances

Actor / actressCharacter(s)Spoof of
Gillian ChungSun ShangxiangRed Cliff
Athena ChuZixiaA Chinese Odyssey
Gigi LeungAmbassador of Turkestan
Stephy TangPainted Skin / Ambassador's sisterPainted Skin
Ada ChoiPrincess Iron FanA Chinese Odyssey, King Kong
Sandra NgCook
Kenny BeeSoldier holding Olympic torchHouse of Flying Daggers, 2008 Summer Olympics
Bruce LeungBeastKung Fu Hustle
Yuen WahLandlordKung Fu Hustle
Yuen QiuLandladyKung Fu Hustle
Yu RongguangGan XingRed Cliff
Johnnie KongBlindyA Chinese Odyssey
Tin Kai-ManSoldier in forestHouse of Flying Daggers
Lam Chi-chungSunset WarriorA Chinese Odyssey
Lee Kin-yanFlower Girl / Pork ChopA Chinese Odyssey
Guo TaoHua TuoRed Cliff
Sha YiGeneral Qi YanRed Cliff
Wang XuebingBull KingA Chinese Odyssey, King Kong
Xu JiaoDickyCJ7

Other cast

Actor / actressCharacter(s)Spoof of
Yuen Cheung-yanBeggarKung Fu Hustle
Lee Lik-chiJokerA Chinese Odyssey, The Green Hornet
Wu JingZhao Yun's subordinate
Edmond LeungWu soldier
Marco NgaiWu soldier
Ken WongLu SuRed Cliff
Yu BinInjured soldier
Xu WanqiuNurse
Marco MakXiahou DunRed Cliff
Patrick TamXiahou YuanRed Cliff
The FlowersCao Cao's soldiers
Corey YuenCao Cao's general
Lam SuetO SimOsim massage chair
Xing YuWu soldier
Chiu Chi-lingWu soldier
Tats LauThe BoyKung Fu Hustle, CJ7, Kung Fu Panda
Wong Cho-lamCao Cao's soldier
Chen KaishiBig Mouth JennyKung Fu Hustle
Li YixiaoLady MiRed Cliff
Zhang LiLiu Bei's wife
Ai MengmengLiu Bei's wife
Li NaLiu Bei's wife
Michael TongWu general
Lin Wai-kinCao Cao's official
Tse Kwan-hoAgent SmithThe Matrix
Yu QianSign language performer
Ken JonkCao Cao's soldier
Charmaine FongCao Cao's soldier

References

  1. "Film Business Asia: Just Another Pandora's Box". Film Business Asia. 15 March 2010. Retrieved 8 June 2010.
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