However, with distance, CJ7 stands as one of Stephen Chow’s most personal works. It is a film that refuses to lie to children. It tells them that poverty is hard, that miracles are unreliable, and that parents are mortal and fallible.
This establishes the film’s core thematic tension: the desperate human need for dignity in a materialist society. Ti tries to instill values in Dicky, famously lecturing him that "we are not poor, we just don't have money." It is a noble sentiment, but the film brutally deconstructs it. As Dicky finds out, being poor is a disadvantage. The movie does not shy away from the humiliation the poor endure, making the stakes surprisingly high for a film featuring a CGI alien dog. However, with distance, CJ7 stands as one of