Missing 'Raising Dion'? Check out creator Dennis Liu's story about Asian American superhero 'Ling' and her mentor Kitsy, voiced by Randall Park
So you've binged on Netflix's 'Raising Dion' through the weekend and don't know where to turn to for your wholesome, non-problematic, and well-represented content consumption. While a tv show may still be a while away, the young adult story about an assuming Asian American superhero may just be what you are looking for.
Created by Dennis Liu, the same guy who created 'Raising Dion', 'Ling' is the story of a young Asian woman who gains the superpower of changing her identity at will and is tasked with saving the world with the help of her mentor — a two-dimensional, three-legged fox named Kitsy, voiced by Randall Park. There are so many relevant and poignant Easter Eggs that Liu has planted in the story of Ling.
"Asian Americans historically have had to assimilate in America to fit in — that eventually became instrumental to Ling's main superpower. She can change her identity, much like Asian Americans have had to in society. It's a power she learns to do well. It sometimes helps her. It sometimes hurts her. I love that we created a hero that takes the culture and community into consideration; we just didn't shoehorn a character in and make some random superhero Asian," Liu explains to MEA WorldWide (MEAWW) while revealing that the character was inspired by great Asian artists and athletes.
"Her birthmarks were inspired by Yayoi Kusama (also look at the gorgeous art on the cover of the comic). Ling skateboards and surfs on her Ka-boomstick, much like the snowboarding gold medalist Chloe Kim, who is super cool. And finally, she's an outcasted 'witch' — like Yoko Ono."
Liu's wife Marie, who co-wrote the story of Ling with him, brought up the idea that while Western media has shown gothic western witch many a time, witches from the Eastern mythology haven't been explored at all. "We wanted to explore that — the Mahou Shouju character, the magical girl — and bring her into live-action," he says, adding, "When you combine witches and assimilation you get Ling: a witch girl. It's an empowering message — she can be whichever girl she wants to be."
This character is portrayed so perfectly by Angeline Jara, who stood out despite approximately 500 auditions that took place for the role. "Ling is funny, she fights, and she needs dramatic range — the comic and story look at depression as one of the many obstacles she has to overcome. It's a pretty tough role, that needs a super awesome actress to tackle... This was a grassroots, really small indie operation. Angie walked in, crushed three auditions, and I told her about this long journey we were about to take. She stuck with it. I'm so proud of her. I think she is a superstar," Liu says.
While a 'Ling' series would be a great addition to the Netflix library after 'Raising Dion', Liu has said that his team is working with a powerful ally by the name of Temple Hill, who does a ton of great Young Adult films and shows [such as 'Love Simon' for Disney+ and 'Looking for Alaska' for Hulu]. "I'm so grateful and excited that large corporations are turning the tide, and investing in more diverse content. That's important. But sometimes, smaller indie films can move faster. So with Ling, I can get a great idea out quickly. None of us has the ability of immortality quite yet! So I wanted to help change now," says the ambitious, impressive creator.
The prospects of 'Ling' are unlimited so keep an eye for the project, but until then you can watch the short film that Liu created for the story above.