Kal Penn on How ‘The Santa Clauses’ Appeals to New and Old Fans Alike

Kal Penn plays Simon in The Santa Clauses. The first two episodes are now streaming on Disney+. We discussed bringing back this magical world for new and old audiences, how his character fits into the story, his favorite holiday movies, and more!

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Utkarsh Ambudkar Hopes Disney’s ‘Mira, Royal Detective’ Normalizes Brown People

It’s press day for Disney Junior’s upcoming animated series Mira, Royal Detective, the first animation based on the cultures and customs of India for children. Set in the fictional land of Jalpur, the series follows Mira (Leea Ladnier), a commoner who is appointed to the role of royal detective by the Queen (Freida Pinto). Mira solves mysteries with help from her friends, thus proving she is indeed one of the best detectives in the land. 

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Asian Americans Should be Movie Stars: an Update

So a few days ago, I wrote a thing. Maybe you’ve seen it. Ever since that post has been passed around, I’ve been taken to task about the stars I included (or didn’t include) on the list and whether or not I was basically proving Sorkin’s point by coming up with only three names.

On the first point, the names I included were not meant to be my casting suggestions for the role of Brad Katsuyama in a hypothetical Flash Boys movie. Instead, I was more concerned with Sorkin’s assertion that Asian movie stars didn’t exist. So I went to Box Office Mojo, and scanned their list of actors’ all-time domestic grosses and looked for the ones who were (North) American of Asian descent — whether or not you think hapas or Pacific Islanders should’ve been appropriately considered criteria is another matter1.

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Get Ready for Harold & Kumar: The Animated Series

by Phil Yu | Originally posted at Angry Asian Man

It’s on, my friends. The Harold and Kumar animated series is on. We’ve known that an animated series based on the comedy trilogy was in the works, with John Cho and Kal Penn returning to provide the voices for the titular stoner duo. This week, the cast reportedly reunited for the show’s first table read.

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