Journey to the West is one of the most frequently adapted stories ever written. A new cinematic take on the 16th-century classic has premiered roughly once every nine months over the past decade alone. The animated iteration that just dropped on Netflix is the culmination of six years of inconsistent work. The Monkey King takes an unusual approach by focusing entirely on the part of the story other adaptations usually skip.
Director Anthony Stacchi has been in the animated film industry since James and the Giant Peach. He's probably best known for writing and directing the 2014 stop-motion outing The Boxtrolls. Co-writers Steve Bencich and Ron J. Friedman also provided the script for Stacchi's directorial debut, Open Season. The writing duo was attached to the project when Pearl Studio announced it in 2017.
The titular Monkey King is a primate born from a stone who struggles to find his place in a traditionalist jungle society. The Monkey King is, as always, a mischievous and arrogant trickster who immediately sees himself as Earth's most important being. Monkey decides that the quickest way to get everyone else to recognize his greatness is to slay 100 demons. He'll need a weapon that can wipe out the forces of Hell, so he steals one. Monkey snags an all-powerful shape-shifting staff that seems to choose him as its rightful owner. Its original owner, a dragon with a skin condition that forces him to live in the sea, vows revenge and chases Monkey across the nation. As Monkey racks up demons, he meets Lin, a young girl who immediately proclaims herself his biggest fan. Monkey and Lin travel the countryside seeking immortality, fun, and new challenges.
The Monkey King delivers where it needs to. It's beautifully animated, bursting with energy, and consistently visually engaging. It might actually be too energetic for some viewers. Those under 20 will probably love it, but other observers will likely miss fine details. The action scenes work brilliantly. Monkey is endlessly entertaining to watch. His high-speed acrobatics will mesmerize young fans. There's a new fight scene every few minutes, yet it still manages to escalate for the grand finale. The enemies rarely pose a legitimate threat. The audience will never get the feeling that Monkey might lose. The action isn't structured like anime. It's more frenetic, slapstick, and expansive. The Monkey King is a feast for the eyes, and that might be enough to hit what it's aiming for.
Stand-up comedian and Silicon Valley star Jimmy O. Yang steps into the role of the Monkey King. Yang has been a rising star for a few years now. He's done voice acting in a few projects, including minor roles in American Dad and The Simpsons, but The Monkey King is his most prominent voiceover performance yet. He's surprisingly excellent, delivering well-handled punchlines and some gritty action dialogue. Jolie Haong-Rappaport, best known for a small role in Watchmen, brings pathos to Lin. SNL alum Bowen Yang plays the villain, a comically insecure and incompetent Dragon King. He's the funniest performer in the piece, and he leads the film's only musical number. The cast is fun and charming without weak links dragging down the feature.
The Monkey King is a feature-length adaptation of the first seven chapters of Journey to the West. Those who only know the story through Dragon Ball or well-animated legend summaries on YouTube might not realize how it's structured. There are 100 chapters in Journey to the West. The first seven cover the early life, rise to power, and fall from grace of the Monkey King. Chapters 13-99 are the episodic journey in which the Monkey King accompanies a Buddhist monk on the titular journey. Choosing to tell the story this way has several unintended effects. Most notably, Monkey goes through the entire movie without learning his lesson. He's an intolerable self-obsessed jerk for around 85 minutes of its 90-minute runtime. The sheer unlikeability of the main character will turn off many viewers. The adaptational choice also affects the ending. Anyone with a passing familiarity with the story knows how the film ends, but that doesn't make it any less surprising when Tripitaka, Pigsy, and Sandy appear with the same weight as Nick Fury's cameo at the end of Iron Man. It may be a bit too silly for some, especially if the studio does intend to continue the story.
The Monkey King is, ultimately, a fun and harmless animated action comedy that will become a favorite of some kids. Fans of animation will find a lot to love in its characters' visual design and flowing movement. It's not reinventing the wheel or even innovating much on the well-told story it borrows. Its minor writing problems and lack of new ideas will keep it from becoming an instant classic, but The Monkey King remains breezy and entertaining. The Monkey King earns his crown. Just make it a small one. He's already conceited enough.
The Monkey King
Based on the classic Chinese story Journey to the West, The Monkey King is an animated action-adventure comedy that retells the tale of the titular hero. Jimmy O. Yang stars as The Monkey King, traveling across ancient China to protect his homeland from various demons, gods, and creatures.