The Secret World of The Monkey King - Renegade Animation #117
In this episode, Captain Kaye and the Animation Guru discuss Netflix's The Monkey King, as well as Studio Ghibli's The Secret World of Arrietty!
What’s going on, everyone? This is your Captain speaking, and I’m excited to share this episode! It may be a lighter load this week, but that’s only because we’re saving our energy for this year’s Summer Anime Impressions. Tune into the podcast to hear what Cameron and I had to say about Netflix and Pearl Studio’s The Monkey King, and Studio Ghibli’s The Secret World of Arrietty!
The Monkey King (2023)
One could argue that Journey to the West is among the most adapted works of literature of all time, right up there with the likes of A Christmas Carol, Peter Pan, or Robin Hood, just to name a few. But it’s not about how many times a story is adapted, but rather what makes the current iteration stand out. In this case, The Monkey King (2023) is filtered through a Western lens, almost comparable to Disney’s take on Hercules, for better or for worse. It doesn’t always yield the best results, particularly with a screenplay that struggles to find the balance between humor and heart. However, it still looks fantastic, and features a great voice cast that breathes a lot of life into these characters. Overall, I can comfortably recommend this movie.
“While its tone and overall emotional core could be stronger, The Monkey King is a good introduction point to people who are new to the Monkey King mythos.“ -The Animation Guru
The Secret World of Arrietty
It’s about time we pick up the pace on our Ghibli Journey, since we now have just under 4 months until Hayao Miyazaki’s final feature film, The Boy and the Heron, is officially released in the States. This week, the wheel landed on The Secret World of Arrietty, one of the last Ghibli films to be distributed by Disney, before GKids acquired the rights in 2011. What’s notable about this movie is that it marks the directorial debut of Hiromasa Yonebayashi, who would eventually go on to direct When Marnie Was There (which we will discuss later). Miyazaki wrote the screenplay with Keiko Niwa, and I’d be lying if I said this was one of his best works. Seeing the world from the perspective of the Borrowers was great, though I wish the relationship between Arrietty and Shawn was stronger. Despite my reservations, even a mid-tier Ghibli movie is better than a lot of its contemporaries.
“Hiromasa Yonebayashi's directorial debut offers some truly whimsical visuals even if the story of living life itself doesn't quite match its grand visual storytelling.“ -The Animation Guru
That’ll do it for this episode! Thank you all for joining us! Please visit https://entertainmentcommunityfund.org/ and donate under the designation of Film and Television if you wish to support those that are effected by the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA Strikes!
