Name: The Monkey King
Director: Anthony Stacchi
Released: 2023-08-18T20:28:09

The Monkey King follows the adventures of a monkey, who was born from a magical rock, and his assistant as they work together to attain immortality. The film is now streaming on Netflix.

Story

The film introduces a world where the Buddha oversees the universe, and the immortal beings in Heaven and the kings in Hell take care of the earthly affairs. In a world like this, a powerful being, a monkey, is born from a magical rock.

The monkey is not loved and accepted by the other monkeys, as he is not considered one of them. He grows up all alone, with no family or friends. Unlike the others, this monkey neither respects the gods nor does he follow the rules.

One day, he steals a powerful weapon, a stick that can do anything and everything, from the Dragon King and is named the Monkey King. When he is told that a weapon like this belongs to the immortal gods, he decides to attain immortality.

In his quest for immortality, he meets a peasant girl named Lin and makes her his assistant. Their journey takes them to Heaven and Hell, and Lin tries to show the Monkey King that he is not alone. Will the narcissistic and selfish Monkey King learn to care about others, or will he be alone forever?

Positives

The way the film tells the story of the Monkey King is creative. At the very beginning, the narration creates a sense of intrigue. The film then pays attention to the little details, such as the other monkeys nodding along while the Monkey King reaches the conclusion that he should be immortal, to make the whole story interesting.

The animation is certainly appealing and elevates the viewing experience of the audience. It is not just the scenes in Heaven and on Earth that are as pretty as a picture but also the scenes that take place in Hell.

The film’s dialogue is amusing. The audience will find themselves laughing at silly jokes. Furthermore, the situations and characters, like the Dragon King, also contribute to the film’s humor.

Through the character of the Monkey King, the film depicts what can happen to those who are all alone — the Monkey King does not learn to care about or value others. No matter what he achieves, there is always an underlying sense of emptiness that the audience cannot miss.

Negatives

The protagonist of the film goes on various adventures to become immortal. While the audience knows why he goes to all the places shown in the film, the transition from one adventure to another could have been smoother. Instead of being seen as parts of one story, all the adventures are more like different episodes.

The Monkey King is not a very likable protagonist. Gray characters are more relatable and human, but the Monkey King is neither of those things. He never truly learns and grows. Due to this, the message of the film is also not very effective.