Make a Splash

**Make a Splash** is the fourth episode of Season 1 of the Disney+ series *American Born Chinese* and the fourth
episode overall. It aired on May 24, 2023.

## Synopsis

*In a flashback, young Sun Wukong and his best friend, Niu Mowang, attend a heavenly banquet.*

## Plot

After Jin wins the competition, Amelia then compliments him and inquires about his good performance. He then thinks about Wei-Chen as he looks at his empty seat in the classroom. After the staff gets stolen, Wukong brings Wei-Chen back to his heavenly home and grounds him for 200 years while scolding him for chasing a dream. Wei-Chen tells him that he does not want to be anything like him, causing Wukong to suddenly have a flashback to his younger years.

A long time ago, Sun Wukong was just a monkey but was able to turn into a man-like creature through magic. Together with Mowang, he attends the Sublime Party. While the two friends have contrasting personalities, they are good friends. It seems that what is on their minds between these two friends is who the next Great Sage will be. Initially, they are turned away from the party because Sun isn't wearing shoes. They are able to get entry into the party thanks to Sun’s wit and quick action.

He encourages Mowang to believe in his ideas and make power play to become the next Great Sage. They want go meet The Dragon King to discuss Mowang’s ideas. As it turns out, Mowang believes the Sutras in India, to the West, have great knowledge that can lead them to eternal salvation. Sun leaves Mowang with the King, but he ignores Mowang’s proposals.

Eventually, Sun gets up on stage and insults everyone about the award ceremony, and smashes the heavenly peach. His fearlessness and shenanigans impress the King, who announces him as the next Sage because he did what no one all this time did, which was be honest.

As it turns out, this is how their beef began. Reflecting on the mistakes he made, Sun decides to send Wei back to Earth to follow his path. When he comes back, he finds out that a month has passed on earth when Jin tells him that.

## Cast

### Starring

* Ben Wang as Jin Wang
* Yeo Yann Yann as Christine Wang (credit only)
* Chin Han as Simon Wang (credit only)
* Ke Huy Quan as Jamie Yao/Freddy Wong (credit only)
* Jim Liu as Wei-Chen
* Sydney Taylor as Amelia Taylor
* Daniel Wu as Sun Wukong
* Michelle Yeoh as Guanyin

### Special Guest Stars

* Ronny Chieng as Ji Gong
* Jimmy O. Yang as Ao Guang

### Guest Starring

* Larry Bates as Coach Garrett
* Leonard Wu as Niu Mowang
* Brian Huskey as Mr. Larkins
* Poppy Liu as Princess Iron Fan
* James Hong as Jade Emperor

### Co-starring

* Sakura Lin as Queen Mother
* Sarah Ho as Princess Jade Face
* Jenson Cheng as Menshen #1
* Dralla Aierken as Luli
* R.J. O'Young as Menshen #2
* Wayne Lee as Bigwen

## Trivia

* The title is said by Sun Wukong to Niu Mowang as they enter the banquet.
* The episode is meant to be a throwback to classic 70s Chinese television dramas, particularly the series Monkey.
* This episode is a reworked origin of how Sun Wukong attained the Jingu Bang.
	+ While Sun Wukong did steal the Jingu Bang from the Dragon King, he took it from the ocean and the Jingu Bang glowed in his presence, indicating that he was indeed the rightful owner of it. The Dragon King was also very compliant to this and offered his future assistance if necessary.
* Series’ costume designer Joy Cretton,said she had a lot of creative freedom in this episode, where Sun Wukong and his now rival Bull Demon find themselves at a Met Gala-esque party in Heaven. The celestial partygoers are outfitted in sequined blazers, flowy robes and intricate dresses – Cretton also said she wanted the characters to retain their original essence, but reimagined in a high fashion environment. Cretton collaborated with designers Phillip Lim and Prabal Gurung on costumes for two key characters: Sun Wukong and Guanyin. Lim brought his signature silhouettes to the look of Monkey King for an end result that is regal and sleek. Gurung, known for styling celebrities in glamorous gowns on red carpets, was behind Guanyin’s ethereal ensembles.
* On June 20, 2023, it was mentioned how an array of visual effects were required in the series to tell key moments set in heaven and on earth, including completely synthetic environments, animal transformations, and magic, particularly centered around the character Monkey King’s staff. Production visual effects supervisor Kaitlyn Yang oversaw several key vendors, including DNEG and its sister company ReDefine, as well as Pixelloid, Tower 33, Alpha Studios, Mr. Wolf, Plucky, and DigitalFilm Tree for previs.
* On June 23, 2023, some concept art for the Heaven setting as seen in in this episode was released by Cindy Chao and Michele Yu, as well as the special effects work that VFX Supervisor Kaitlyn Yang and the crucial collaboration with her visual effects team for a set like this one.

## References

1. ↑ How the costumes of ‘American Born Chinese’ straddle fantasy and reality - CNN
2. ↑ Effects of heaven and earth: a more grounded Monkey King story - Before and Afters
3. ↑ Cindy & Michelle June 23, 2023 IG Post Part I - Instagram
4. ↑ Cindy & Michelle June 23, 2023 IG Post Part II - Instagram