Handsome Monkey King
A 2023 CG animated feature film based on Journey to the West, produced by Netflix and Pearl Studio.
The Monkey King is a 2023 CG animated feature film co-produced by Netflix Animation and Pearl Studio. Directed by Anthony Stacchi with a runtime of approximately 96 minutes, it premiered globally on Netflix on August 18, 2023, following its world premiere at the 22nd New York Asian Film Festival on July 30. The film retells the early life of Sun Wukong with a lighthearted, comedic tone: after the Stone Monkey is born and exiled by the monkey colony of Flower-Fruit Mountain, he embarks on an adventure with a young girl named Lin, eventually defeating the demons harassing the mortal realm. He seizes the Ruyi Jingu Bang from the East Sea Dragon King and infiltrates Heaven to steal the Elixir; however, his arrogance provokes the Buddha, leading to his imprisonment under the Five-Elements Mountain for five hundred years, where he awaits his release by Tripitaka and his disciples during their journey to the West. The voice cast includes Jimmy O. Yang as Sun Wukong, Bowen Yang as the Dragon King, BD Wong as the Buddha, and Jolie Hoang-Rappaport as Lin. Reinterpreting Chinese mythology through the lens of American animated comedy, this is the first mainstream Hollywood streaming family animation to feature Sun Wukong as the protagonist.