Mind map
When I was looking for a presentation topic, I drew a lot of mind maps：
And here I show you is the main mind map (it has been organized)：
So I decided to make a presentation about the different Monkey Kings, so my next step is to list the animations related to the Monkey King:
《铁扇公主》 Princess Iron Fan 1941
《大闹天宫》 Uproar In Heaven 1964
《金猴降妖》 Monkey King Subdues Demons 1985
《西游记》（TV动画） The Journey to the West（TV animation） 1999
《宝莲灯》 Lotus Lantern 1999
《美猴王》Monkey King 2010
《大圣归来》 Monkey King: Hero is back 2015
I have chosen four of them for analysis; the period setting, the creative team, the content of the story, the influence and the image of the Monkey King and so on.
Specific analysis
Princess Iron Fan 1941
The story
The story was adapted from a short sequence in the Journey to the West. Princess Iron Fan is the main character. Specifically, the film focused on the duel between the Monkey King and a princess, whose fan is needed to extinguish the flames that surround a village.
The period
It was directed in Shanghai under difficult conditions during World War II by the Wan brothers and was released in 1941.
The film caused an uproar in China at the time, not only because it was an animation, but also because the deeply felt image of Sun Wukong as a resistance figure in the context of the anti-Japanese war of the time certainly aptly conveyed the author’s intention to resist the invasion. Many years later, Wan Lai-ming, the chief director of the film and founder of the Chinese animation business, said in his oral autobiography that he had mixed feelings about the popularity of the animation at the time, because on the one hand he was eager for the spirit of resistance hidden in the animation to be seen by the audience to boost morale, and on the other hand he was afraid that such a spirit of resistance would be seen by the invaders and thus prevent the film from being released successfully.
The influence
Osamu Tezuka, the director of the Japanese animated film “Iron Arm, Astro Boy” and the originator of Japanese animation and manga, decided to pursue a career in animation after seeing this animation and giving up his medical studies.
The film later influenced the development of Asian animation, including Japanese and Chinese animation
The character
By comparison, we can clearly see that the Monkey King in this film has a strong shadow of the American animation from character design and the movements.
But at the same time, we can see that the director is trying to incorporate the style of classical Chinese painting.
Uproar In Heaven 1964
The story
The story is based on the earliest chapters of the Ming Dynasty novel Journey to the West. The main character is Sun Wukong, aka the Monkey King, who rebels against the Jade Emperor of heaven.
The influence
Uproar In Heaven is a colourful animated feature film produced by Shanghai Animation Film Studio from 1961-1964. The film as a classic of Chinese animation has influenced many generations, and won many awards both at home and international:
-Won the outstanding film award at the 1978 International London Film Festival.
-Won the 13th Special Interest award at the Czech Republic Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.
-Won the best art award and children’s literature award at the 2nd Chinese film “Hundred Flowers” festival.
The period
It was produced in 1964, but because of the Cultural Revolution, the film was banned after its release. And It was not released until 1978.
At that time, China went through the 10 years Cultural Revolution, which damaged the culture and economy. Everything had yet to be restored, so there was a great need for something to inspire cultural confidence.
The style analysis
In terms of character design, we can see that it incorporates the classic peach heart make-up that is used in traditional opera.
The stylized animation and drums and percussion accompaniment used in this film are heavily influenced by Peking opera traditions.
The character
In terms of characterisation, nothing could be more in keeping with all Chinese fantasies of the Monkey King, a mythical hero who dares to love and hate, who dares to fight, who is pure and brave, and who represents a spirit that is not afraid of power and strives to resist, a very classic image of the Monkey King.
But it’s the fact that he fits perfectly into so many people’s fantasies of the Monkey King that makes it a bit out of reach, like a real myth.
The Journey to the West（TV animation） 1999
The story
After Uproar In Heaven, another more widely/ˈwʌɪdli/ distributed Sun Wukong comes from the 1999 animated series/ˈsɪəriːz/ The Journey to the West. Apart from the fact that it is an animated series, not an animated film, it has another special point that it’s specifically for children.
The period
In the 1990s Chinese animation entered a trough, and here are 3 main reasons.
First, the Change of economic system: from the planned economy to the market economy. Moving from a planned economy to a market economy, where animation production had to be self-financing and the state was not unified in buying films for broadcast, the animation industry, which had not yet fully adapted to the new economic system, was unable to use the original production model and thinking, and new methods were still being explored.
Secondly, a lack of good animators, because of the cultural revolution. There was a lack of good animators. During the 10-year Cultural Revolution, education in animation was completely banned, which caused a gap in animators.
Thirdly, at the same time, a large number of Japanese and American animations have entered the Chinese market.
This all makes the Chinese animation industry difficult to survive.
The analysis
This version of Journey to the West is to a large extent a more child-friendly adaptation while restoring the original depiction, achieving a relatively complete reproduction of both the main and branch stories of the novel Journey to the West. In terms of portrayal, the Monkey King here, in addition to the classic Sun Wukong image we have been talking about, is cynical and bold in his rebellion, less monkeyish and more human than the Monkey King in 1964’s The Greatest Showman. The character as a whole is also sunnier and his emotions are handled more delicately.
Monkey King: Hero is back 2015
The period
After 2000, during the development stage, although there were many Chinese animations, the quality was difficult to say, and not many could be called excellent. At that time, people preferred to watch foreign animation films. Until “Monkey King: Hero is back” in 2015 that people began to pay attention to Chinese animation once again.
The story
Monkey King: Hero is back is a very bold/bəʊld/ adaptation of the original. It brings the Monkey King and the young monk Jiang Liu’er together to experience a story, which can not be found in the original. It is from the classic, but different.
The character
This version of the Monkey King differs in that he doesn’t wear the classic Monkey King cloth, but has a more varied costume. He also looks more like a monkey and stronger than before. And he is known as “Horse Face” because of the size of his face.
The characterisation is also no longer the classic one that never gives up and is against evil, but rather like an ordinary person who maybe wants to give up when he fails or feel life is just not worth it. But it is because those “not perfect” points make him closer to everyone. The Monkey King is no longer that perfect or myth Monkey King, but like a friend around everyone, or even ourselves.
So at the end of the story, when the monkey king 孙悟空 retrieve his aspiration, it really encourages everyone.
Conclusion
So in general, we can see, The Iron Fan Princess in 1941 mainly shows the spirit of resistance; Uproar In Heaven in 1964 shows national culture; The Journey to the West animated series in 1999 highlights functionality – children’s education and Monkey King: Hero is back in 2015 remain true to our original aspiration.
And these stories all fit the political, cultural and economic needs of the times in China: during the war, to encourage resistance; after the Cultural Revolution, to boost national self-confidence; during the trough, to find a new function; and during the development stage, to not forget the original aspiration.
Influenced by the period, the story of the Monkey King has different representations at different periods. This reflects that the functionality of Chinese animation is changing with the needs of the period.
In my opinion, there are two sides to this: following the need of the period certainly will get more recognition. But at the same time, it is much easier to get stuck in only one pattern.
Wan Lai-ming, the founder of the Chinese animation industry, made a similar point in his autobiography: “As soon as cartoons appeared in China, they were completely different from the West in terms of subject matter. China, still at war, had no time for jokes, making the animation very different from foreign animation. In order to emphasise the sake of edification, creativity is highlighted, but humour and entertainment are ignored, which should be there. This is an advantage, but objectively creates certain limitations for the later developments.”
PPT
I wanted to make a small video with images of each corresponding sentence, but time was an issue, so I simply planned small animations and designed Q-tips of each small character to help to understand.
Every black and white character that appears in ppt is an image that I designed based on the character’s personality and the description in the book.
Here is a video of the PPT export:
Bibliography
Sean Macdonald, Animation in China: History, Aesthetics, Media (London: Routledge, 2015)
Alberto Bendazzi, Animation: A World History, Volumes 1-3 (Boca Raton: CRC Press, 2015)
Pamela O’Brien, Princess Iron Fan: Asia’s First Full-Length Animated Feature, April 16, 2018:
http://blog.animationstudies.org/?p=2423
Stephen Worth, “Animation: The Wan Brothers’ Monkey King Features”, Animation Resources, 27 April 2016:
https://animationresources.org/filmography-the-wan-brothers-monkey-king-features/ (retrieved 19 March 2018)
gejeanphilip, “”How does politics and society influence Chinese animation?”, April 30, 2018: