The Monkey King
August 2nd, 2023
MOVIE: THE MONKEY KING
STARRING: JIMMY O. YANG, JOLIE HOANG-RAPPAPORT, STEPHANIE HSU, BOWEN YANG
DIRECTED BY: ANTHONY STACCHI
AMovieGuy.com’s RATING: 1 ½ STARS (Out of 4)
When we get an Across the Spider-Verse or a Mutant Mayhem we become spoiled and must remember that from time to time animation can be rough. A perfect example is this week’s movie on Netflix- The Monkey King, based on an epic Chinese tale, about a monkey born with special powers and his pursuit to become immortal like the Gods. The story is a quest for an unlikely pair, going through villages, various villains, heaven, and hell just to achieve unlimited power. There is abundant creativity in The Monkey King but what it ultimately becomes is a redundant and tedious adventure for both kids and adults.
We meet the title Monkey King (voiced by Jimmy O. Yang) as a baby, born with lasers blazing from his eyes, with an energetic spirit that annoys all the other monkeys in the jungle. His people are attacked by a giant tiger demon and in his embarrassment to help others, the Monkey King prepares to become a powerful fighter, hoping one day to become a God. When Monkey visits the underwater land of the Dragon King (a quite funny Bowen Yang) he proves his worth by stealing a magical stick. With this stick that talks in an odd didgeridoo voice, Monkey becomes able to defeat anyone, so he goes on his quest for greatness. Along the way, he meets Lin (Jolie Hoang-Rappaport), a young girl who believes the Gods can save her village from a drought, so she makes a deal with the Dragon King to get the stick in return for his power of water.
What can’t be taken away from The Monkey King is that it certainly takes a swing for the fantasy part and hopes audiences will go along with seeing a giant Buddha (voiced by B.D. Wong) in the sky, a talking stick, and a lead character that is a jerk. Sadly, none of that works enough to charm us and we get character flipping and flopping so fast it will give you whiplash. Director Anthony Stacchi is not one for the standard animated narrative, his film The Boxtrolls was one of the more courageous takes from Laika Animation, but his brand seems to transfer more for adults than kids. At an hour and thirty-two minutes, it’s shocking how sluggish The Monkey King is and the animation is too standard to keep us enthralled.
The screenplay is written by Steve Bencich, Ron J. Friedman, and Rita Hsiao, which has a clear inspiration from movies such as Disney’s Aladdin, The Emperor’s New Groove, and even Kung Fu Panda, but those films had much more going for it. The lone bright spot is Bowen Yang, doing his version of Jafar, as a menacing Dragon God, who has two fish minions that are constantly thwarted at tricking the Monkey King. If it wasn’t for Yang’s delightful voice work, his bits of impactful comedic timing, and a pair of songs that I enjoyed, The Monkey King would be a complete mess.
It’s sad really because I was such a big fan of The Boxtrolls and there is a strong sense that Stacchi trusts his audiences enough to go along with the trip. Sadly, we have to follow a love-hate relationship between Monkey and Lin that becomes repetitive and drawn out to painful results. Not every animated movie is going to be a hit and The Monkey King will go on without a crown.
THE MONKEY KING IS PLAYING ON NETFLIX GLOBALLY FRIDAY AUGUST 18TH, 2023.
1 ½ STARS
Written by: Leo Brady
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