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Stacchi's “The Monkey King” is a computer-animated and English language adaptation of the classic novel “Journey to the West” from the Ming Dynasty. It was elected as the closing film at the 22nd New York Asian Film Festival in July 2023 and later released worldwide on Netflix. Also credited as the executive producer, Hong Kong filmmaker and comedy superstar Stephen Chow who played the Monkey King in his two-part “A Chinese Odyssey” (1995) and directed “Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons” (2013) is certainly no stranger to the Monkey King film series.

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As the story goes, thousands of years ago, the Immortals in Heaven and the Kings from Hell watched over all the demons who walked among the humans while dragons lived under the seas. But everything is in balance because under the watchful Buddha who oversees the universe, everyone follows the rules.

The following contains spoilers for The Monkey King, now streaming on Netflix.

There's no arguing that Moana wasn't a stunning achievement in animation and storytelling. Nevertheless, another more recent cartoon film -- Netflix's The Monkey King -- is also noteworthy, especially since it seems to borrow some aspects from Moana. As a result, the picture can be seen as a beautiful reinterpretation of the Disney movie that's worth checking out.

Despite both films having different plots, they follow the same throughlines. The two movies focus on similar themes where the protagonists go on an epic journey of self-discovery, growth and personal gain. However, those aren't the only parallels. Due to the main characters' quests, they meet a lot of different personalities. Coincidentally, during these exchanges, the protagonists, antagonists and supporting characters reveal overlapping qualities that mimic each other. Naturally, the details of each narrative distinguish these characters adequately, so they're not complete replicas.

Director Anthony Stacchi revealed how the sound designers behind Netflix's The Monkey King gave Stick his unique singing voice.

Per IndieWire, Stacchi explained the challenges creators faced when it came to animating the titular Monkey King's trusty weapon and sidekick, Stick. "Early on, we wanted Monkey King to have his own little theme song," Stacchi said. "And so when we approached Voodoo Kung Fu to do a heavy metal song, that's how we met Nan Li, who does throat singing." The director additionally claimed the film's sound designers had already been struggling to find the right effects for months at that time, and were disappointed when preliminary audio samples for Stick came across as too robotic.

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Fortunately, Nan Li proposed a unique alternative for the magical staff. "We played Nan Li some of the stuff,...

Netflix's "The Monkey King" falls short due to a poor script that lacks a dramatic center and fails to hook the audience. The film initially presents a clear motivation for the Monkey King's character, but fails to explore this emotional thread further. The lack of dramatic focus and disjointed plot make it difficult for viewers to care about the characters and their goals in the film.

Editor's note: This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the movie being covered here wouldn't exist.

In this particularly exciting time for animation, when movies like the Spider-Verse series, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, and Tmnt: Mutant Mayhem seem to herald a new wave of Hollywood studio creativity, it is much more noticeable when an animated film is sub-par. Critics have a history of sitting...

The Monkey King is an animated movie on Netflix that adapts a 16th-century novel, featuring the charismatic Monkey on a quest to defeat demons. The movie explores Monkey's ego as his greatest challenge and how a young girl helps him change his perspective on the world. The adaptation incorporates classic characters from Chinese mythology, offering a fresh take on the legendary tale with important lessons for today's audience.

Screen Rant is thrilled to present a clip from Netflix's new animated movie, The Monkey King. The movie adapts the first few chapters of the 16th-century novel Journey to the West by Wu Cheng’en. The Monkey King follows a charismatic monkey, aka Monkey King, who has a magical fighting Stick, on a quest to defeat more than 100 demons and an eccentric Dragon King. However, the Monkey King's greatest challenge will be overcoming his own ego.

On his journey, a young village girl...

The 16th century literary classic Journey to the West is the mother of all Chinese fantasy. The mythological saga has spawned countless adaptations in various media across Asia and beyond, from the cult late ‘70s Japanese TV series to Peking Opera, videogames, graphic novels and a stage spectacle with a score by Blur frontman Damon Albarn and design elements by Gorillaz illustrator Jamie Hewlett.

Prominent among the innumerable film versions is the 2013 blockbuster Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons, directed by Stephen Chow. A similar livewire action-comedy energy infuses Netflix’s The Monkey King, a children’s animated feature based on the sprawling novel’s most popular strand, on which Chow serves as executive producer.

Following well-received originals like Klaus, Over the Moon, My Father’s Dragon, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio and Richard Linklater’s Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood — plus such smart acquisitions as The Mitchells vs. the Machines...