Underplayed Gems

The Monkey King (2023)

The Monkey King poster
Directed by
Anthony Stacchi
Genre
fantasy film, animated film, action comedy film
Country
People's Republic of China, United States
Runtime
1h 36m
Rated
PG
Rating
6.5 of 10 from 350 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

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How it feels

A mischievous monkey born from a magical stone gains incredible powers and seeks to carve out a name for himself. He challenges gods and demons while trying to prove he is more than just a troublemaker.

action-packedcomedicfast-pacedcolorfullightheartedadventurouswhimsicalchaotic

What happens

The Monkey King is a 2023 animated fantasy action comedy film directed by Anthony Stacchi from a screenplay written by Rita Hsiao and the writing team of Steve Bencich and Ron J. Friedman. It is based on the first 7 chapters of the classic Ming dynasty novel, Journey to the West, and co-produced by the United States, China, and Hong Kong. The film stars Jimmy O. Yang as the voice of the titular trickster, with Bowen Yang, Jo Koy, BD Wong, Jolie Hoang-Rappaport, and Stephanie Hsu in supporting roles. The Monkey King was selected as the closing film at the 22nd New York Asian Film Festival, where it had its world premiere on July 30, 2023, and was distributed and released on August 18, 2023, by Netflix. It received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the animation and action sequences, but criticized the screenplay, humor and unlikable main character. On December 7, it appeared in the eligible list for consideration of Academy Award for Best Animated Feature for the 96th Academy Awards, but ultimately it was not nominated. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

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