The New Legends of Monkey

[GeneChing]

Well, this can fuel the whitewashing debate (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?66153-yellow-face-white-washing).


'Monkey Magic' Returns As Filming Begins On 'The Legend Of Monkey' In New Zealand (http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2017/04/20/monkey-magic-returns-as-filming-begins-on-the-legend-of-monke_a_22047201/)
The nature of Monkey is irrepressible!
20/04/2017 3:42 PM AEST | Updated 20/04/2017 4:53 PM AEST
Mat Whitehead Entertainment Reporter

http://o.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/GLOB/crop/5568x2784+0+241/resize/630x315!/format/jpg/quality/85/http%3A%2F%2Fo.aolcdn.com%2Fhss%2Fstorage%2Fmidas% 2Fc9ecc28d3443b4501bbf6744d5819326%2F205182792%2F_ MONKEY-TV-HOLDINGS-PTY-LTD-Photo-Geoffrey-Short-L-_-R-Pigsy-_Josh-Thomson__-Monkey-_Chai-Hansen__Tripitaka-_Luciane-Buchanan__-Sandy-_Emilie-Cocquerel_.jpeg
ABC

Remember "Journey to the West"? Maybe you called it "Monkey Magic"? Well, whatever you thought it was called, the show was an iconic, often trippy, epic adventure following a monk and his godly companions.

And now the series, which was a Japanese adaptation of a Chinese novel, is getting another makeover as ABC, TVNZ and Netflix announced filming began on their updated version, "The Legend of Monkey".

Inspired by the folktales of 16th Century China, "Legend of Monkey" will be a 10-part half hour series following a teenage girl named Tripitaka (Luciane Buchanan) who is joined by three fallen gods Monkey (Chai Hansen), Pigsy (Josh Thomson) and Sandy (Emilie Cocquerel). The four set out on a dangerous journey (to the west!!!) to fight a demonic reign of chaos and terror and bring back balance to the world.


https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C91D-SGVYAAK3Zj.jpg\
View image on Twitter (https://twitter.com/Maddie_Burke/status/854914688567484416/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com.au%2F2 017%2F04%2F20%2Fmonkey-magic-returns-as-filming-begins-on-the-legend-of-monke_a_22047201%2F)
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Maddie Burke @Maddie_Burke
Remember #Monkey? Production is underway in New Zealand on 'The Legend of Monkey', due to air on ABC & Netflix next year. #MonkeyMagic
9:28 PM - 19 Apr 2017
2 2 Retweets 2 2 likes


The original series was well loved by anyone who watched it. The bad dubbing of the 16th Century classics, camp costumes, incredible fight scenes, and a pig deity consumed with gluttony and lust. What more could you ask for?

But reaction to the announcement of the remake has been mixed, with some questioning potential white-washing of the Chinese stories or the risks of watering down some of the more tongue-in-cheek elements of the show, while others are excited to see a new take on the tales.



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Snarky Platypus @SnarkyPlatypus
Like "Journey to the West" is not a reference to all the characters turning white,.
9:19 PM - 19 Apr 2017
Retweets 2 2 likes

19 Apr
mat whitehead ✔ @matwhi
ABC, TVNZ and Netflix are getting The Legend of Monkey (based on Journey to the West) in 2018 pic.twitter.com/bW4pLs5jWF
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楊宏明 @damien_yang
@matwhi Maori cast? I approve. As Maori Chinese, pretty sure I am subject matter expert3:57 PM - 19 Apr 2017
5 5 Retweets 10 10 likes

We just won't know what we're in for until the series flies in on a magical cloud and onto screens.

The series is being produced by Jump Film & TV along with See-Saw Films, the company behind films like "The King's Speech", "Tracks" and "Lion" as well as the Jane Campion series "Top of the Lake".

The Australian/New Zealand co-production is set to be released in 2018, on ABC, NZTV and Netflix globally.

Here's an archived thread on the original Monkey Magic series (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?24280-Monkey-returns-to-UK-terrestrial-TV-Friday-nights-on-Channel-4!).

[GeneChing]

Is this really a Monkey Magic redux or is it really just another Journey to the West (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?50181-Monkey-King) and Western writers are just attaching it to the that series because that was the prevalent English title in the UK?

There's a vid too, if you follow the link.


Why are there no Chinese actors in The Legend of the Monkey? (http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/why-are-there-no-chinese-actors-in-the-legend-of-the-monkey/news-story/924ec24dc29831d70a4f2836e4d91e2b)
APRIL 22, 20173:34PM
Ky Chow news.com.au
OPINION

I WANTED so badly to get as excited as the rest of social media about The Legend of Monkey, the upcoming reboot of the hit 1980s show Monkey, but I can’t. **** it.
It should have been a slam dunk for me. I was a kid during the 1980s when it was a pre-dinner staple along with Cottee’s cordial and Danger Mouse.
Monkey — or as we all knew it, Monkey Magic — was based on Journey to the West, a famous Chinese fable about three fallen gods/disciples with mystical powers being assigned by Buddha to protect a (real life) 7th century monk.
The TV show was a positive depiction of Chinese culture during the height of the “Asians taking our jobs” era when some kids were still pulling up their eyes and calling me a “slant”, so I was happy to overlook the fact the characters were played by Japanese actors (I suspect the distinction between Japanese and Chinese would have been lost on my bullies, who clearly must have been from families who had dinner at 6pm when the ABC — who are co-producing the reboot with TVNZ and Netflix — screened Monkey).
Yet a glance at the new cast photo shows viewers may be lucky to connect The Legend of Monkey with China at all. Not only are none of the cast, directors or writers Chinese, only one of them — half-Thai actor Chai Hansen — is of Asian appearance at all.

http://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/30787204e94b36ff50584654779755fe
None of the cast of The Legend of the Monkey are Chinese, and only one is half Asian (Chai Hansen is second from the left).Source:Supplied

Like many in the Asian community, I am wary about getting into rage-based identity politics.
I was fine with Matt Damon’s casting as a lead in The Great Wall, since he wasn’t playing an Asian character, and the rest of the cast and director were Chinese. I even shrugged at Scarlett Johansson being cast in The Ghost in the Shell, though I was more of a Voltron guy so don’t know how inherently “Japanese” ScarJo’s character and storyline are. The castings haven’t caused much upset in China and Japan, where locals are more excited by the casting of such global megastars.
Yet in an age where Asians are increasingly featuring on TV shows other than Border Security, The Legend of Monkey casting doesn’t sit right.
Even most Australian Born Chinese (ABCs) who haven’t read the novel itself (in our defence, it’s one of the oldest and the longest in the world) know Journey to the West as an inherently and significantly Chinese story.
One friend of Australia-Asian heritage said given the level of cultural significance, it’s akin to a movie about the Dreamtime being cast with no Indigenous Australians, and it’s not a terrible comparison.

http://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/269c1504c4f3323dc37ff9b03c69c7ed
Even if they weren’t Chinese, at least the original Monkey Magic cast was Asian.Source:Supplied

Most Chinese Australians love this country, and are eager to learn about this country’s history and embrace its values of a fair go for all. Yet a fair go should also include the favour being returned, including a vaguely accurate portrayal of characters from one of the Four Great Classic Novels in Chinese literature, so audiences will realise Chinese have more to offer Australia than yum cha, Jackie Chan and higher apartment prices.
The casting of The Legend of Monkey is not only a missed opportunity to improve multicultural ties, but sends the message to aspiring Asian actors that producers won’t hire them even for roles playing Asians.
More Chinese faces in mainstream media makes both moral and commercial sense. Chinese are the largest non-Western ethnic group in Australia, and as a glance around Westfield will tell you, a pretty lucrative one.
As for other Australians, if they loved Monkey, Pigsy, Sandy and Tripitaka back in the 1980s when they were all portrayed by Asians, why wouldn’t they today?

Ky Chow is a freelance journalist and media consultant who has worked at the ABC, Fairfax, Sky News and SBS. A founding member of Media Diversity Australia, he’s fairly sure he is the first Chinese guy to be an Australian TV news reporter, and wishes he had more successors. Follow him on Twitter @kybusiness.

[GeneChing]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNKEpjOdDK0

Changing the title from "The Legend Of Monkey - Monkey Magic redux" to "The New Legends of Monkey"

[GeneChing]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ks47nshfKhg

[GeneChing]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMSl-fN037Q

[GeneChing]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgsyXwoNszg

[GeneChing]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BVz8biygfk