Movie review: 'Monkey King' (2023), and some other titles
The Monkey King (trailer) is a 96-minute 3D animated film produced by Netflix along with several studios in East Asia. It was directed by Anthony Stacchi and written by Steve Bencich, Ron J. Friedman, and Rita Hsiao.
When the film came out in August 2023, supposedly it was the most streamed film on Netflix that month; but IMDB rates it a 5.8 out of 10, and Rotten Tomatoes gives it 56% / 63%. For animation and visuals I think it should score slightly higher; story-wise I think that's a good assessment.
The Monkey King, aka Sun Wukong, is a main character from the 16th-century Chinese novel Journey to the West. This has been adapted countless times, not including stories inspired by the original (such as Dragon Ball). I've never read the original story and I wouldn't expect you to either. (I think my first exposure was a late 1970s anime.) The 2023 Netflix movie is very loosely based on the novel's opening chapters that describe Sun Wukong's origin story.
The super-short version is, Sun Wukong is a monkey born from a rock who strives to attain immortality and join the gods. Ambitious and full of himself, he develops various skills and powers in order to beat the crap out of demons, assisted by his magical stick. Even though he succeeds, he's so annoying that he's imprisoned under a mountain for 500 years. Then he joins a monk and some other characters on a Buddhist pilgrimmage, during which he's kept in check by a magical headband.
The Netflix adaption takes the character of the Monkey King and reduces him to a boastful, egomaniacal asshole. If you want to see him fight demons, overcome obstacles and kick ass, this film has you covered. If you want a nuanced character you can relate to, forget it. Because of the source material, he's not allowed to develop, so the film introduces a sidekick: a young girl named Lin, who has her own agenda. She stays hopeful that the Monkey King's better side will come out (it doesn't), while he's constantly treating her like dirt.
Actually almost no one in the film is likeable. The other main furry character is the Dragon King, whose part in the original story has been changed a lot. Now his role is much larger; he's the main antagonist. I wasn't big on his character design, his sidekicks nor his musical number. In fact, the most sympathetic character is... the magic stick. Who only communicates by humming.
The animation is fine! The fights are good. There's humor sprinkled here and there, some fun, some stupid. I wasn't big on the metal music during some of the battles. But the Monkey King's obnoxious personality wears out its welcome real soon. Would I recommend this film? ...No, no I wouldn't. If you're curious, you can watch it on Netflix.
Nobody
But here's the thing - In the last week, I found out about another adaptation. And it's furry! Nobody (trailer) is a 2D Chinese animated film that came out in 2025. It hasn't become widely available yet, so all I've seen are the trailer and the Wikipedia page.
It appears to be about a group of low-ranking animal demons who attempt to impersonate the main characters simultaneously making the pilgrimmage in Journey to the West. I think they fail and have a bad ending? Regardless, I'm really curious to see this at some point! Despite its release date, maybe we can get it into the 2026 Ursa Major Awards?
Comments
A nice continuation of the story is Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons directed by Stephen Chow, the director of Kung Fu Hustle. It's live action, but tells the story of the Buddhist monk who goes on the journey with the Monkey King, and would take place at the end of his 500 year imprisonment. It's live action, and not very furry (though there are fish and pig demons in addition to monkey), but is worth checking out (apparently, there's a sequel that actually gets into the journey that nobody likes and doesn't even have the same actors).
Cool, I hadn't heard of that! The Netflix film ends with the mountain and the Monkey King finally showing just a little remorse. Then it cuts to 500 years later and the monk releasing him, presumably for the possibility of a sequel that never got made.
There's lots of adaptations... I guess it's been done so many times already, for Chinese audiences there's an expectation that everyone knows the basic story already, and folks are looking up new ways they can tell it, or to switch things around. Even LEGO released a whole bunch of related toy figures and a five-season TV series in China.
As for a non-furry animated film I can recommend, a film from Pakistan in 2024 really impressed me: The Glassworker. Pakistan had produced a couple of (very meh) 3D animated films earlier, but this is their first 2D film, done in an anime style, and it's so much better than their earlier work. If they maintain this kind of quality, I can't wait to see what they do next!
The story takes place in a fictional country that combines aspects of European and Middle Eastern culture. The main character is Vincent, an apprentice glassworking artisan learning the trade from his father. They're pacifists, which is not appreciated by their fellow citizens while the country is at war. Vincent forms a strong if distant friendship with Alliz, the daughter of a military commander, a relationship that has its ups and downs over time. Plus there's just the slightest dash of the supernatural. Honestly, I'm not even sure what to make of the ending, but yeah, I liked this film.
I think it might be available (finally) on Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video and on Fandango? Last year I found pirated copies on Dailymotion (dubbed and subbed), but I'd like to support this film legitimately.
And with that, I'm pretty much caught up on my recent animated film backlog. What's next? Not sure. Everything left on my list from the last five years feels kind of... so-so. I've got Dog Man, Epic Tails, Inspector Sun, Spellbound, The Sea Beast, The Secret Kingdom, Yaga and the Book of Spells, and Pets on a Train. ... It may be a while before something feels like a winner.
Post new comment