6 Things I Netflixed In Vietnamese
- Kristi Dao
- 5 days ago
- 5 min read
One of the things that has changed as a result of my grandma coming to live with us is that I consume more Vietnamese media now. Or maybe it’s more like content I love in Vietnamese?
Growing up, I knew what the Vietnamese channel was on Direct TV, but I had not adopted cable in my adult house. While YouTube gives us plenty of clips, I found myself less interested in those because I’m not that fluent in Vietnamese.
Thankfully, my sister and I discovered that Netflix offers Vietnamese dubbing on some of the content that they put out. So we started watching some of our favorites in Vietnamese, and also discovered some Vietnamese films for us to enjoy. So today, I wanted to highlight six of our favorites.
1: The 4 Rascals (2025)
I thought it was fitting to start out with the first full Vietnamese movie Jasmine and I ever watched together as Vietnamese adults. It was enjoyable in the way that it took us on a roller coaster, but I will say that I might have been a smoother ride if I had read the description first. That being said, the description does not tackle all of the elements we experienced in the movie, so perhaps it would’ve been a coin toss of an experience.
The movie description details of a woman’s boyfriend growing “too close to a wealthy new colleague” so her friends set out to expose the truth. This description gives a sense of the thriller genre, but when it started out, I thought we were watching a sweet coming of age story. I didn’t get a sense of thriller until we were halfway through the movie, and there are other loose ends from there. But we ultimately enjoyed our time and had fun, which is why we continued trying to watch either Vietnamese movies or things we could find in Vietnamese.
2 (Jasmine’s Favorite): Pokémon Concierge (2023).
We grew up on Pokémon, so when this Pokémon Concierge show popped up, Jasmine and I started watching it. And when it got the interest of my grandma, we were happy to discover that there was also Vietnamese dubbing for it.
The show follows a girl who is looking for a reset in her life and goes off to work at a Pokémon resort. It provided my grandma with a fun escape, and she loved seeing the movement of all the Pokémon on screen. This is a show we seem to watch again and again. While it has wrapped nicely, we would love more of it.
3: My Father is a Playboy (2022)
If I had to declare the discovery of a theme as I watched the Vietnamese movies, it would be that there is always an unexpected twist. My sister Jasmine and I were not expecting to get all sappy by the end of this, but we did. Even when we could predict the twists, the twists still managed to pull at our emotional heartstrings. When Netflix originally recommended this movie, I only saw a clip, my expectation was that it would be a comedy.
I’m not sure why, when I look back at it now, I am now getting a trailer that better encompasses the movie. Maybe Netflix knows that the clip would’ve been more endearing to me as an audience, because if I knew what I was supposed to be in for, I probably would’ve waited to watch this film. It’s about a man who gets stuck with a daughter he didn’t know he had and has to change his lifestyle in order to be what he believes is a good dad.
4 (My Favorite): Daily Dose of Sunshine (2023)
So I had sworn off Korean dramas awhile ago, but Jasmine started this with my grandma in Vietnamese and said I would really like it. Of course, I trust my sister to know me well, and she was right. It is my favorite thing that I have watched in Vietnamese so far, and I wish there was more of it. It’s at a point where I might learn Korean just so I can read the book(s) if it doesn’t get another season--and it should get renewed. It was nominated for an International Emmy.
The show follows a nurse who has transferred to work into a psychiatric unit. Since my grandma is of an older generation, it was hard for her to follow along with the diagnostic elements of the show. Overall, though, the show does a good job at blending humor and fun with the hard realities that come with being alive.
5: How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies (2024)
So this movie is Thai, not Vietnamese, but we did enjoy watching it in Vietnamese. And before you ask, yes, we cried even though we knew that the grandma was going to die by the end.
The movie follows a selfish protagonist who is looking for a comfortable life where he can play games for a living instead. Upon observing his friend inherit money after caretaking their grandparent, he schemes to try and inherit money from his grandmother. Twisted, but you might find that the movie is quite wholesome by the end.
Grandma Sau’s Favorite: Waffles+Mochi (2021)
Does it surprise you that her favorite ended up being a children’s show? I was, but I think she appreciates the simplicity of it. She loves food, and she gets to learn more about it from kind of an American perspective. In this case, it feels like she gets to travel to all of these places with Waffle and Mochi while living out their antics with them. I have to admit that I appreciate the Vietnamese dubbing more than the original audio; there is something softer about the voices that fits in with the tone of the show more, in my opinion.
The premise of Waffles and Mochi are two characters who love food leave the arctic so that they could eat more than ice. They hop onto a delivery truck and end up at a grocery store, where they end up working. Each episode presents a situation where Waffle and Mochi have to learn about a specific ingredient, such as tomato or salt, in order to earn a knowledge badge given by Michelle Obama.
I’m surprised to say that the list continues to go on, and even includes things that aren’t in Vietnamese, such as Love is Blind and Ranma ½, because my grandma enjoys watching people interact and animated shows as well. Not every platform has Vietnamese dubbing, so I am grateful for what Netflix has done so that I can just bond with my grandma over this thing we both enjoy.
What are you Netflixing? Is there a language you prefer to consume your media in? Other than food and television, how do you bond with your family? Let me know in the comments below!
I can't wait to enjoy something delicious with you again soon.
Chao,
Kristi
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