Imagine a world where everyone has a place, a self-sufficient zone, and everyone adheres to rules without disturbing anyone else. Sounds tranquil? Wouldn’t it be scary that there is no space for exploration and sharing of resources? Wouldn’t there exist an unquestioned power structure with hierarchies and subservience? Netflix’s latest animation film, The Monkey King, based on the 16th Century Chinese novel, Journey to the West, establishes such a world and says all hell broke loose when one fine day, a monkey crawled out of a rock.
Cast: Jimmy O Yang, Jolie Hoang-Rappaport, Bowen Yang
Director: Anthony Stacchi
Streaming on: Netflix
The Monkey King is the story of a monkey (Jimmy O Yang), who didn’t ascribe to the rules of this world, and is hence, treated as an outcast. Bereft of a hug or a smile or any form of warmth, this monkey finds himself relegated to the periphery. But he gets his moment under the sun when he saves a villager from the wrath of “demon of havoc” and from here, once again… all hell breaks loose. After slaying one demon, his quest for feeling a sense of belonging grows bigger, and with the support of a magic stick of sorts, he slays 99 more, travels to and fro from hell to heaven, and finally, takes on the mighty Buddha himself. If people won’t accept him, let the gods do. The perennial outcasting means that he turns into an immortality-seeking, crazy simian, who just wants to belong. And get a hug, if possible.
While the premise is simple and effective, the execution caters more to the attention-deficit sections of the audience with flashy colours and lights often taking centrestage. The writing doesn’t let the moments linger, or the emotions simmer. The lack of breathing space between scenes, even those big moments, suffocates the film. There is an assistant Lin (Jolie Hoang-Rappaport) who acts as the moral compass of the film, but the scenes with her and the Monkey don’t always work despite brimming with so much potential. Once again, the pacing doesn’t bode well for this fun-filled film.
The Monkey is first introduced as ‘trouble’ and we see that wherever he goes, he brings havoc. However, the makers don’t show enough ingenuity in this character, which seems to have something fundamentally missing. Despite the spurts of manic energy, the scenes often fall strangely flat. My favourite character is the primary antagonist, the Dragon King (Bowen Yang), who is a hoot and a half. In fact, it is his portions that are zany and funny, and he swims away with the best lines and songs. He carries that entire last act like a boss!
The Monkey King is a strong origin story that delivers a few laughs, and dishes out some ideas worth pondering over, but perhaps it needed to evoke more wonder; the premise and its protagonist are fascinating enough to deserve better.
#Greatideas #crazy #characters #middling #results #Cinema #express
