Jeon Woo Chi: The Taoist Wizard (also known as Woochi the Demon Slayer) is a 2009 South Korean fantasy action/comedy film. A national box office hit, it led to a TV series in 2012. It was based on a local folk tale.
500 years ago, a sorcerer had two students. One of them, Woochi, was unruly and womanizing. He also had a sidekick, a dog in human form named Chorangyi that worked for him on the promise of some day being turned into a real human. Woochi also had a crush on a beautiful young widow.
Woochi helps defeat and imprison some "goblins" and rescued an artifact called the Pipe of the Prophecy from them. However, when his Master is killed, Woochi is framed and both he and Cho are imprisoned inside scroll paintings as a result by three bumbling wizards. It is only after the fact that they realize Woo had the Pipe with him; now they must wait 500 years to retrieve it.
Five centuries later, in modern Korea, the three wizards -who now have become a Shaman, a Christian Priest and a Monk- realize that the goblins have escaped, and with the other sorcerer's apprentice not available, they decide to free Woochi and ask him for help. This leads to some future shock for the young sorcerer, and a meeting with a girl who may be the one he once loved.
Tropes in Woochi:
- All Just a Dream: Subverted: the Big Bad tries to trick Woochi into thinking that his trip to the future was only this, but he sees through the illusion.
- Antihero: Woochi. He was not very responsible, and is kind of a loser and a jerk (though he has his good moments.) He tricks the king into believing he is the king of heaven come to Earth so he can steal the magic mirror from him.
- Face–Heel Turn: Cho betrays Woochi to Hwadam, when the former seems to recant on his promise of giving him humanity. Naturally, Hwadam also betrays Cho. In the end Cho redeems himself by helping in the final battle.
- Also Seo, though that was a case of mind control.
- Magic Feather: Woochi eventually learns to cast spells without his talismans.
- Sealed Evil In Acan: The goblins, inside calabash bottles (and later, the Big Bad in a painting.)
- Voluntary Shapeshifting: The goblins can take various human forms.
- What Measure Is a Non-Human?: Cho's obsession with becoming human doesn't make much sense when he already looks human and can talk and do pretty much anything a human can.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: The whole plot of the movie is kicked off by the three shenshi who open the vault holding the demons one day early, allowing them to corrupt the flute and escape.
- Teleporters and Transporters: Drawings can be used as gates to other places. Woochi uses some to steal alcohol and clothes while walking through the modern world.
- Catchphrase: "Let me show you some tricks."
