I’m at Monster High!
Jinafire Long and her friends from the “Jin-Jin-Jinafire” Music Video.
This was a really fun and cute project that genuinely got me excited when it came across my inbox. I got to voice the singing voice for Jinafire Long, one of the newest characters at Monster High! When I first got the ask, I was already intrigued by the Mattel name, coming off of the Barbie movie hype (I did dress all in pink to go see the movie in theaters). But then I heard the character brief and I instantly got butterflies. Jinafire is such an badass character; she is a Chinese dragon and she’s got purple hair and can control the weather. She’s a fashion designer and loves blinging out her clothes. I felt the universe was so aligned - first of all, Jinafire Long. My first name is Jennifer. And my last name starts with the same letter, L. I also have had long purple hair (and green, as in G1) at one point in my life and I used to sew my own clothes and bling them out all throughout middle school. I felt like this character was my cartoon kindred spirit!
I really appreciated the team at Safari Riot and Mattel for bringing me on board and for doing so much due diligence to preserve the authenticity of the Chinese elements in the music, highlighting the culture without reducing it down to a trope. It may seem like a little thing, but throwing in Chinese words in the English version and creating a second, all Chinese-language version really makes my inner child finally feel seen as a person of Chinese heritage.
Check out both English and Chinese language versions below!
My blue, green, and purple haired days.
Oh, and Happy Lunar New Year! It’s my year of the snake! 🐍
xx,
Jenyi