China Onscreen Biennial: The Monkey King: Uproar in Heaven 3D (大闹天宫 3D) West Coast Premiere

Director: Su Da, Chen Zhihong. Producer: Ren Zhonglun, Frederic Rose, Wang Tianyun, Qian Jianping. Musical Arrangement: Shi Jiayang. Sound: Liang Yingjun.  Restoration: Tom Burton. 3D Conversion Director: Pierre Routhier. Cast: Li Yang, Chen Daoming, Chen Kaige, Feng Xiaogang, Zhang Guoli.

1961-1964 Two-Part Original

Director: Wan Laiming, Tang Cheng. Screenwriter: Li Kerou, Wan Laiming. Based on Journey to the West by Wu Cheng’en. Cinematographer: Wang Shirong, Duan Xiaoxuan. Production Designer: Zhang Guangyu,  Zhang Zhengyu. Editor: Xu Zhenzu. Composer: Wu Yingju. Animation Design: Yang Dingxian, Duan Jun, Pu Jiaxiang, Lu Qing, Lin Wenxiao, Ge Guiyun.  Backgrounds: Fang Pengnian, Gao Yang, Qin Yizhen, Liang Like.

One of the most famous characters in Chinese mythology, the Monkey King is the hero of Wan Laiming and Tang Cheng’s two-part animated feature from the 1960s. A beloved landmark of Chinese animation, Wan and Tang’s masterpiece returns to theaters after a painstaking and dazzling 3D makeover led by experts at Los Angeles-based Technicolor.

A playful, trickster figure, the Monkey King leaves chaos in his wake wherever he goes, from the Dragon King’s palace in the Eastern Sea to the heavenly halls of the Celestial Emperor himself. These ethereal worlds come to life through vibrant animation set to a soundtrack inspired by Beijing Opera and a new cast of voice actors that includes China’s top live-action directors. The respectfully rendered 3D heightens the film’s enchanting spell. – Paul Malcolm

3D DCP, color, Putonghua with English subtitles, 92 min.