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(CHINADAILY) The Year of the Monkey is just around the corner. One of the most famous depictions of themonkey is the Monkey King in the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West.
Efforts have been made over the years to pass on the adventures of the Monkey King, alongwith his mentor Buddhist monk Xuan Zang, to the younger generation through animations.Here is a history of such animation productions.
1941
Princess Iron Fan
Director: Wan brothers
Release date: Jan 1, 1941
The film is based on an episode of Journey to the West, in which the Monkey King battles thevengeful Princess Iron Fan.
The film was made by the Wan brothers, namely Wan Laiming, Wan Guchan, Wan Chaochenand Wan Dihuan, one of the first batch of animators in China.
This first animated feature filmmade in China took three years and 237 artists to make. It was a milestone for China's historyof animation, and its influences were widespread. Abroad, it prompted the then-16-year-oldTezuka Osamu, a Japanese animator and father of many renowned works including AstroBoy, to get into animation when it was exported to wartime Japan in 1942.
Pigsy Eats Watermelon
Director: Wan Laiming, Wan Guchan
Produced at the Shanghai Animation Film Studio by Wan Laiming and Wan Guchan, the filmPigsy Eats Watermelon features the character Zhu Bajie from Journey to the West. In the film,Zhu Bajie goes off to search for food for the four and discovers some watermelons. Instead ofbringing the fruits back to his hungry companions, he gets greedy and enjoys the fruit all byhimself. The Monkey King discovers his lies and teaches him a lesson.
The character was used since pigs are often associated with greed in Chinese culture.
Havoc in Heaven
Director: Wan Laiming
The four Wan brothers created the film at the height of a booming Chinese animation industryfrom 1961 to 1964. It was one of the longer animated colored features at the time.
The story centers on how the Monkey King causes an uproar in Heaven and his troubles withthe Jade Emperor, who presides over the deities. The stylized animation, drums andpercussion accompaniment used in this film is heavily influenced by the traditional performingart of Peking Opera.
Ding Ding Zhan Hou Wang
Director: Hu Jinqing
The Monkey King is angered by Dingding, a young boy who didn't finish watching the filmHavoc in Heaven, in which he is the protagonist. He then jumps out of the television and questions Dingding, and is lectured by the boy, who holds the key to modern scientific knowledge. The Monkey King doesn't want to give in and challenges Dingding in a series of battles, mostly in places the traditional hero has never been, including beneath the sea and high up in space. The Monkey King finally admits to his ignorance when it comes to scientific knowledge and asks Dingding to teach him.
Ren Shen Guo
Director: Yan Dingxian
Xuan Zang and his disciples stopped at Wuzhuang Guan on their way to the West, a place known for "ren shen guo", or Ginseng fruits, a type of rare fruit that makes people who eat them immortal. Zhu Bajie coerces the Monkey King to steal some of the sacred fruits and gets the team into trouble until Guanyin comes to the rescue.
Dragon Ball
Dragon Ball is a Japanese anime television series based on the namesake manga by AkiraToriyama. The 153-episode production was a megahit among young Japanese, as well asthose from around the world, after it was aired by Fuji TV from Feb 26, 1986 to April 12, 1989.Four sequels followed afterwards, including Dragon Ball Z in 1989 and Dragon Ball Super in2015.
The Monkey King, which went by the name of Son Goku in Dragon Ball, is a super strong butnaive boy who sets out to gather seven wish-granting Dragon Balls, with the help from hismentor Kame-Sennin and his fellow pupil Kuririn.
Doraemon: The Record of Nobita's Parallel Visit to the West
Director: Tsutomu Shibayama
Release date: March 12, 1988
Loosely based on Journey to the West, this Japanese film centers on Nobita, a clumsy fourthgrader, who accidentally falls into the era of Journey to the West and embarks on a quest forthe holy scripture, with the help from the beloved robot cat Doramon.
Flying Monkid
This 74-episode animated TV production initially aired in 1992. The storyline somewhatdeviates from the original story, where the protagonist is not as arrogant as the imagesportrayed in other reproductions. The Monkid is kind, has real friends, and his own share oftroubles and dreams. The adorable illustrations were also praised as one of the majorrevisions to the original story.
Journey to the West
In contrast to Flying Monkid, CCTV's reproduction of Journey to the West adheres morestrictly to the original storyline. More than 2,000 illustrators worked to depict most of thedetails in the original novel from roughly 500 characters in this 52-episode animation.
Lotus Lantern
Director: Chang Guangxi
Release date: July 30, 1999
Erlang Shen, or the second son of God, had a sister known as the Holy Mother of Mount Hua.She married a mortal scholar, Liu Yanchang, though it was forbidden for those in Heaven tomarry mortals, and gave birth to a son named Chen Xiang. She was admonished by herbrother for the human-deity union and imprisoned under a mountain. When Chen Xiang cameof age, he split the mountain with an axe to free his mother under the guidance of the MonkeyKing.
