LONDON: There’s no shortage of works based on “Journey to the West” – the famed Ming Dynasty novel widely regarded as one of the greatest classic Chinese works in history. But it is hard to think of many adaptations targeted toward kids, what with all the titular hero’s forays into the realms of heaven, hell, the underwater kingdom of the dragon king, and his fondness for battling and defeating demons.
Well, never let it be said that Netflix shied away from a challenge. “The Monkey King” is an animated adventure inspired by (rather than based on, given some of the more creative liberties taken) the ancient Chinese tale, starring Jimmy O Yang as a monkey born from a stone egg, who takes it upon himself to battle the world’s demons in an attempt to win the approval of the deities — not to mention, immortality. Along the way, he winds up stealing a sentient staff from the Dragon King (Bowen Yang), takes on village girl Lin as his assistant (Jolie Hoang-Rappaport), picks fights with an assortment of immortal deities who cannot stand the idea of a lowly monkey gaining powers, and draws the attention of the all-powerful Buddha (BD Wong).
Despite its heavy premise, there is actually some levity to be found in “The Monkey King” – even a fun song or two. And it looks spectacular, with Netflix’s animation studio certainly burnishing its burgeoning reputation with some visually stunning world-building. Sure, the protagonist is actually pretty unlikable for a lot of the movie, and the Dragon King is a little slapstick as far as villains go, but there is some nice heartwarming sentiment buried beneath the frenetic action and a couple of cool set-pieces that you cannot imagine working without the boundless possibilities of computer animation. Will kids be drawn into the mythology of the centuries-old story that inspires the movie – who knows? But they might find a lot of amusement at the sight of a monkey fighting a towering dragon with a flying, talking stick.
