Can MONKEY MAGIC recapture the cult appeal?
RELEASED: 23rd February 2009 As Im not sure if youre familiar with The Journey to the West, or Monkey, as Western countries traditionally call it Ill commence with a little cultural history lesson. The novel, probably published during the Ming dynasty in the 1590s, and held as one of the Four Great Classical Novels of China, is a fictionalised account of the legend of a Buddhist monk Xuanzang, who travelled to India to obtain Buddhist sutras during the Tang dynasty. The novel replaces Xuanzang with Tripikaka and adds the more fantastical characters of King Monkey, Sandy and Pigsy, who join together over a series of 81 trials, heavy on morality, and always extolling the virtues of a noble life. Britains infatuation with the Monkey legend is well-documented: the 1970s TV adaptation is the stuff that cult is made of, so much so that the original cast reassembled in 2004 to dub the remaining 13 episodes for the complete DVD boxset. That love supreme re-appeared in 2008 when the BBC used Jamie Hewletts animations of Monkey, Pigsy and Sandy for their Olympics marketing campaign, as well as music from Hewlett and Damon Albarns conceptual opera Monkey: Journey to the West. And now, a more specific history lesson. In 2006 Monkey returned to Japanese screens in a mini-series adaptation- a family friendly series that heavily channeled the spirit of the 1970s incarnation with its blend of surreal, zany, comic spirit. Predictably the series was a huge success, and Fuji TV and Toho, evidently recognising the potentially enormous box office ratings, were convinced to make the very movie that landed on my doormat a few days ago. MONKEY MAGIC finds the four pilgrims on their legendary journey to India, wandering through the desert, the three protective disciples seemingly more concerned about their bellies than their higher calling. They find themselves in a forlorn village, where they meet a Princess (played by the impossibly cute Mikako Tabe), who tasks them with protecting the village and defeating the twin threat of demons King Gold Horn and King Silver Horn, and thus vanquishing the curse that has turned her parents into multi-coloured tortoises. Overall theres a similar sort of feel to THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM, so make of that what you will (as a curious little link, Teruyoshi Ichimaru who plays Sandy could be Jackie Chans actual twin). The pleasure of MONKEY MAGIC is all in the recognisable characters and their irreverent over-acting- especially from Monkey himself, boy-band star Shingo Katori, who hams it up like his life depends upon it to great success. His turn as the hero is a furious mix of comic, cartoonesque gurning and a manic energy that Takashi Miike would be proud of. And as unappealing as that may seem he is irresistible on screen- his performance is just so appropriate in the universe of the film, his comic caricature at ease with the zany sound effects (something else that is very Miike), the hyper-real environments and slightly garish colour schemes. His performance also fits with the unbelievable collection of dreamscape settings that are an absolute marvel: it is not merely that the CGI landscapes are epic in vision- though they are- its simpler even than that. MONKEY MAGIC shows the value of good landscape scouting, managing to capture the ethereal qualities of rural Japan, at the same time as affirming its miraculous aspirations. If there is one thing wrong with the characterisation of MONKEY MAGIC, its that, despite its insistence that it is a stand-alone project catering for more than just the fans of the new TV series, the movie misses out key character developments that make parts a little hard to follow for anyone not familiar with the story. Im not suggesting for one minute that the back stories of every character could have been included without a ridiculously extravagant running time, nor would I have expected to see Tripikakas meeting with her three disciples, but a certain degree of acknowledgement of those viewers new to the characters may have been in order. The thief Rin-Rin appears a little out of nowhere, but is greeted by Pigsy as an old friend; and the old man Roshi simply swans in and out as he pleases: of course both characters are established in the TV series, and anyone familiar with Roshi knows he has a penchant for appearing sporadically and offering mostly unhelpful advice to the pilgrims, but this just isnt clear in the film. A shame, but not one that really took anything major away from the film. So, MONKEY MAGIC has considerable heart, a definite moral compass, and the kind of monochrome sense of good and evil that the old classics were forged upon- little surprise then that I have long associated the Monkey story with THE WIZARD OF OZ. The similarities are obvious: a journey to enlightenment, flawed humanoid characters seeking fulfilment, pantomime villains, but more than anything a sense of moral fibre that enriches the narrative. The morality of the original novel is retained and almost every action is measured by its effect on the moral stability of the group- the most profound message of the film coming in Tripikakas monologue in the face of marauding villagers with a blood-lust. Extremely clichéd though the scene may be, the sentiment- that to simply breath is not to live and that inaction is the same as death- is a poignant one, with particular resonance to our troubled world. Interestingly enough and rather topically, the evil King demons are intent on extinguishing the sun, turning the landscape into a desolate wasteland and strangling all life out of the world, and have little concern for humanity as a species. So MONKEY MAGIC also has a Green Message- with the lavish worldliness of the King demons presented as the way to Earths demise, and the noble choices of the pilgrims as life-affirming and worthy. Despite the fact that MONKEY MAGIC isnt exactly a remake of the 1970s TV programme that seems to occupy cult status, I cant help but think what a shame it is that this version steers clear of the ever so iffy dubbing that made the old one so memorable. But I suppose its a small mercy that they didnt go down the SUKIYAKI WESTERN DJANGO avenue and have the actors speak in impenetrable, broken English. There are a few minor things that detract from the overall unmitigated success of the film: the annoying repeated use of slow-motion, the fact that the Princess limps during the final battle scene when shes just been stabbed in the ARM, one unnecessarily twee scene between Monkey and the Princess in the snow and the ridiculous sight of a tortoise crying! But then, Im just nit-picking really. Truly, MONKEY MAGIC could have been done a hell of a lot worse: thank God they didnt use blue screen filming for the whole film, as certain instances look a little ropey (especially the final scene with the dragon Damoron). But then again, blue screen has its uses in establishing the mythic, dreamscape world that the pilgrims inhabit and even the most self-consciously cartoony CGI scene of the film- the flying scene where Monkey chases Silver Horn appears in keeping with this fantastical universe. We arent supposed to be conned into thinking this scene was filmed in real time; it has a tongue in cheek flavour that is itself a nod to the near slap-stick humour that runs throughout the film. Final analysis? A fantastic, justifiably box-office bothering wonder that has me trawling the net for the new TV series boxset. Sadly this wonderful little gem may not register with US fans (the original 1970s series was never given a proper run, besides one on a Japanese language channel in California due to murky copyright issues), but I urge my brothers and sisters across the pond to seek this out. For everyone else already enslaved by the Monkey legacy, youd be hard pressed to find an adaptation that captures both the essence of the legend, and the frenetic energy of the cult 1970s series. I would be amazed if this doesnt spawn at least one sequel, and I look forward to that day. EXTRAS It is a travesty that Cine Asia have ignored the potentially enormous scope for Extra features to the main film on this edition: aside from the glaring absence of traditional inclusions of a commentary, deleted scenes and featurettes, I would have liked to see a bit more of a history of the Monkey legend than the one page of explanation DVD buyers get. And I think theyve missed a fantastic opportunity to include some footage of the original, much-loved MONKEY TV series that was the introduction to the story for many Westerners. I will always fondly remember my times stumbling in at four am to discover this wonderful frantic bit of surrealist television hidden away on terrestrial TV. Obviously when I woke up the first few times I thought I had been tripping. One can only hope that the Region 1 Limited Edition is eventually released to all Region formats- theres something about the inclusion of 3D glasses that really gets my juices flowing.