''Mr. Wong'' is an American adult animated web series which debuted in 2000 and lasted 14 episodes (an unaired 15th episode was made available for the DVD release). It centers around the misadventures of Wong, an elderly

Chinese American Chinese Americans are Americans of Han Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans along with their ancestors trace lineage from ...

butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some a ...

, and the wealthy socialite WASP he works for (and endures

racial abuse Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

from), Miss Pam. He previously worked as a butler for

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

and often mourns him. It developed a

cult following A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...

whilst being hosted on the website Icebox.com. The cartoon also drew fierce criticism from the Asian American community, who viewed it as racist. ''Mr Wongs creators, Pam Brady and

Kyle McCulloch Kyle McCulloch (born November 11, 1962) is a Canadian writer for the TV cartoon '' South Park'', and is largely responsible for the show's Canadian culture themes. He will also occasionally provide the voice for one-time use characters, such as Ga ...

, also write for the television series ''

South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boys Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand th ...

''. The DVD was released under the " National Lampoon's Presents" banner. The music for ''Mr. Wong'' was composed and performed by

Fuzzbee Morse Fuzzbee Morse is an American composer for films, as well as a performer, singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and music producer. He is known for his command of a variety of instruments, including guitar, keyboards, bass, flute, soprano ...

. The theme song was sung by former Monkees lead singer Davy Jones.

List of episodes

Film

In September 2000 a direct to video film adaptation of Mr. Wong called "Crap Attack" was in negotiation between IceBox Incorporated and Artisan Entertainment, however, when the film was publicly announced by Artisan president Bill Block the

National Council of Asian Pacific Americans The National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA) is a coalition of 35 national Asian-Pacific American organizations in the United States. Founded in 1996 and based in Washington D.C., NCAPA seeks to expand the influence of Asian-Pacific Ame ...

initiated a letter-writing campaign that successfully convinced Artisan to drop the project. The Coalition later took out an advertisement in Daily Variety criticizing the cartoon and thanking Artisan for abandoning the movie project.

Reception

The series had a negative reaction from critics in the mainstream media and Asian American groups, yet maintained a limited cult following. Scott Bass of ''Streaming Media'' described the comedy of ''Mr. Wong'' as "so edgy" that he could not "imagine seeing it on TV."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mr Wong (Cartoon Character) 2000 web series debuts 2000s American adult animated television series Television characters introduced in 2000 Fictional Han people Asian-American issues Asian-American culture Fictional servants Ethnic humour Stereotypes of Asian Americans Stereotypes of East Asian people Animation controversies in television Race-related controversies in animation Race-related controversies in television Mr. Wong American flash animated web series American adult animated web series National Lampoon (franchise) Television series created by Pam Brady