Director: Anthony Stacchi
Writers: Steve Bencich, Ron J. Friedman, and Rita Hsiao
Stars: Jimmy O. Yang, Bowen Yang, BD Wong
Synopsis: Inspired by an epic Chinese tale, translated into an action-packed comedy, a Monkey and his magical fighting Stick battle demons, dragons, gods and the greatest adversary of all – Monkey’s ego.
*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.*
Though quite unsuccessfully, Netflix has been trying to get into the animation game for a long time. It’s only when they’ve plucked films from other studios (The Mitchells vs. The Machines & Nimona) or when they team up with an actual auteur behind the camera (Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio) that they can succeed in the game. But they’ve never delivered something tangible when delving into studio-driven animated offerings. However, since they wanted to dominate all spheres of filmmaking, it was only a matter of time before they would take a crack at making another mainstream animated film in The Monkey King.
Based on “Journey to the West,” the movie will hit the streaming service on August 18th. I had a chance to check out The Monkey King in theaters, and this is where it deserves to be experienced. Rarely have I seen such mastery in its visual form, it would feel shameful not to bask in its vivid kineticism on the largest screen possible. The animation style is consistently malleable, going from bright, colorful 3D worlds, morphing into hand-drawn animation as the titular Monkey King (Jimmy O. Yang) defeats 99 demons in a terrific montage, and goes back to 3D with notable changes in its form as it transports audiences from one world to the next.
There’s even a setpiece that feels directly plucked out of CAPCOM’s Ōkami, set in Hell, where different brush techniques are used to unleash a superpower to subdue The Monkey King. It’s one of the most inspired action scenes I’ve seen in an animated film all year and consistently moves in exciting and fresh ways. The final fight between The Monkey King and The Dragon King (Bowen Yang) is incredible. Director Anthony Stacchi continuously finds new ways to enthrall viewers, especially children who will lose their minds when they witness what this film has in store for them. The children at my screening were entertained, and one of them even got up from their seat when The Monkey King got some of his powers.
But the story raises more questions than answers and hampers the film. The Monkey King has never taken no for an answer and is now on a quest to become immortal. He starts this by killing over 100 demons, crossing his name off a scroll in Hell, which only makes him half-immortal. However, becoming fully immortal proves difficult for the King, as he teams up with Lin (Jolie Haong-Rapaport) to attain immortality by traveling to Heaven and defeating the immortals who control it. However, Lin has been working for The Dragon King, who promised her rainfall in her village, whose crops have been devastated by the scorching heat. But The Monkey King is a total jerk – he only does a quest that benefits his personal gain, and not anyone’s. He even tries to outsmart Buddha (BD Wong)…and it doesn’t work.
As a movie destined for families, The Monkey King challenges younger viewers in asking to sympathize with a protagonist who is completely unlikeable in every sense of the word. Yes, the film is based on several texts (Cheang Pou-soi’s The Monkey King painted the titular character in a more thoughtful and vibrant light than this film), but does he have to be this unlikeable? As good as O. Yang is, the character is unfortunately written in a way that feels irritating instead of making audiences understand exactly why he wants to attain immortality and defeat the Gods on top of the hierarchy. It’s all egotistical, and it, unfortunately, doesn’t imbue any positive values on children, who usually are taken to animated films by their parents to make them learn about something.
The Monkey King doesn’t have any positive message to pass on or even a lesson to come out of this ordeal. Instead, we get to observe The Monkey King irritating every other character and only thinking about himself for 92 minutes. How fun. No, really, that’s it. And the villain is also egotistical — he wants to steal The Monkey King’s stick to submerge the planet in water and take over Earth. So we have a self-centered monkey fighting a self-centered dragon for their nefarious gains. And no one, not even Lin, learns anything meaningful in the process. I might’ve excused its mostly annoying characters were it not for a core message, but none of that is found here.
Thankfully, the visuals and action sequences are all terrific, and the main reason why the movie is, against all odds, watchable. The voice cast is also quite good, with Bowen Yang being the biggest highlight as The Dragon King and Wong impressing in a minor role as Buddha. But it’s not enough to save The Monkey King with a haphazard story and problematic character arcs. Kids will certainly enjoy its breakneck pace and staggering action sequences, but will they learn anything meaningful beyond the pretty visuals? I highly doubt it…
