Reimagining a legendary tale

For us Asians, the legendary Monkey King character which dates back to 16th century Chinese mythology is nothing new. Based on one of the great classic Chinese novels Journey To The West from the Ming dynasty, the plot revolves around Sun Wukong aka the Monkey King, one of three disciples that follow Buddhist monk Tang Sanzang west to India in search of holy scriptures.

These famous stories and characters were widely used and have been adapted countless times for modern Chinese film, animation and stage, and other media all around Asia. The renowned Japanese manga Dragon Ball was initially inspired by Journey To The West, and we even recently saw a live-action rendition of Monkey King by Daniel Wu in American Born Chinese.

So think of this latest Netflix animated movie The Monkey King as a reintroduction to Western audiences. This American adaptation feels somewhat…