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Thread: The Monkey King - animated feature film by Stephen Chow

  1. #1
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    The Monkey King - animated feature film by Stephen Chow

    Chow has done Monkey so many times. There's Journey to the West: Conquering Demons, and prior to that, he did A Chinese Odyssey Part One - Pandora's Box (1995 西遊記101回月光寶盒) & A Chinese Odyssey Part Two - Cinderella (1995 西遊記完結篇仙履奇緣), both of which I reviewed on that same thread.

    Stephen Chow Developing Epic ‘Monkey King’ With Pearl Studio
    Shanghai-based Pearl Studio also confirms Albert Tsai, Tensing Norgay Trainor and Tsai Chin join Chloe Bennet in ‘Abominable’
    By Jamie Lang @idonthaveaband


    CREDIT: ELZER & ASSOCIATES

    ANNECY, France — Legendary Chinese director Stephen Chow, the man behind 2004’s dark-horse hit “Kung Fu Hustle,” is in development on ‘The Monkey King’ with Pearl Studio, the Shanghai-based animation company announced Thursday at the Annecy Intl. Animation Film Festival.

    The studio also unveiled that young actor Albert Tsai (“Trophy Wife,” “Dr. Ken”), Tensing Norgay Trainor, the grandson of Tensing Norgay, the first man to reach the summit of Everest with Sir Edmund Hillary, and Tsai Chin will be joining “Agents of Shield’s” Chloe Bennet in its upcoming feature “Abominable.”

    The announcements came as Pearl detailed its upcoming slate of animated feature productions, backstory and ambitions, straight from the mouths of animation legends Jill Culton and Glen Keane.

    “The Monkey King” is penned by animated-animal feature experts Ron Friedman and Steve Bencich, whose past credits include “Brother Bear” and “Chicken Little.” The film is an effort to bring to the world, a character described by Pearl as “one of China’s most mythical, mystical and mischievous superheroes.”

    Chow’s “involvement in this very special project, which is beloved throughout Asia, is a true coup,” said Peilin Chou, chief creative officer for Pearl Studio. She added: “We know that he will bring all the comedy and scope that makes this adventure legend so special and translate ‘The Monkey King’ into an enchanting and exciting global animated event.”

    The presentation kicked off with Pearl’s chief creative officer Peilin Chou introducing the audience to the Chinese studio and outlining their ambitious goal.

    Pearl started out as DreamWorks Oriental, and co-produced “Kung Fu Panda 3,” a film that on its release became the highest-grossing animated film of all time in China.

    A good deal of the presentation was dedicated to framing China’s place in the global animation marketplace today. While Pearl is, at its core, a Chinese company, there is no mandate to create specifically Chinese content,

    “None of our films are for China only. Our films are English-first. We look for themes which are universal and can travel around the world,” said Chou.

    Another key point of order in Peilin’s talk was the importance of diversity at Pearl Studio. In its Shanghai headquarters alone there are staff from over 25 countries. And, its current development slate features female protagonists in more than half of its films.

    Once the overview had finished, Chou passed the mic to Jill Culton, director of Chinese animated road movie “Abominable,” a co-production with DreamWorks Animation, who presented first-look animatics and excerpts, all set to pop music. Culton has a sterling C.V. in animation, having worked on such films as “Toy Story,” “A Bug’s Life,” “Toy Story 2,” and “Monsters Inc.”

    The plot has the 16-year-old female protagonist rescuing a kidnapped Yeti and tracking across China to get him back to his home on Everest.


    “We have seen hundreds of road-trips across America,” Culton pointed out, “but no one has taken us on a tour of all the beautiful places in China.”

    “This film is a very personal, character-driven tale, set in an epic landscape that lends itself beautifully to animation.” said DreamWorks Feature Animation Group president Chris deFaria in a statement. “Ultimately, this is a film about finding your way home, and the unbreakable bond that forms between these characters during a life changing adventure. These additional voice actors bring considerable emotion and comedy to this story.”

    “Abominable” is scheduled for worldwide release through Universal Pictures Sept 27 2019.

    Glen Keane, an Academy Award winner for “Dear Basketball,” received the presentation’s largest ovation before talked through his upcoming film, “Over the Moon,” inspired by one of China’s most beloved myths. Keane spent decades at Disney, and was a key contributor to one of that company’s golden ages having worked on such seminal films as “The Fox and the Hound,” “The Little Mermaid,” “Aladdin,” “Pocahontas” and many, many more.

    After explaining his animation process, sharing a slideshow of his trip to China with Pearl, and a few early pieces of art that will influence the film, he treated the at-capacity room to a real-time sketching of the film’s protagonist, projected onto the theater’s screen.

    “Over the Moon” will be distributed theatrically in Greater China, and by Netflix worldwide.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  2. #2
    wow great news. I am a lifelong fan of "monkey" tv series. If you havent checked out the new reboot Australian/New Zealand made "The New Legends of Monkey" have a look. Its pretty good if your a fan of the 70's Japanese TV series. I cant wait to see a new animated version.

  3. #3
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    Netflix

    ...in 2023? That seems like a long time from now.

    May 20, 2021 9:00am PT
    Stephen Chow’s ‘Monkey King,’ Plus ‘Boons and Curses’ and ‘Mech Cadet,’ Coming to Netflix in 2023

    By Elaine Low


    Netflix
    Three new animated feature films and series from Asian American creators are coming to Netflix in 2023, including Stephen Chow’s “The Monkey King,” starring the voice talents of Jimmy O. Yang, Bowen Yang, Jolie Hoang-Rappaport, Jo Koy, Ron Yuan, Hoon Lee, Stephanie Hsu, Andrew Pang, Andrew Kishino, Jodi Long, James Sie and BD Wong.

    “The Monkey King” is inspired by the famous Chinese tale “Journey to the West,” in which a special monkey fights gods, demons, dragons — and his own hubris. The film is executive produced by Chow, with “Over the Moon’s” Peilin Chou and “How to Train Your Dragon 2’s Kendra Haaland producing. Anthony Stacchi (“The Boxtrolls”) is directing.

    “The Monkey King has endured for generations with his unique character and spirit,” said Chow. I’m so excited to be collaborating with Tony, Peilin, and everyone at Netflix to bring this joyful tale to audiences worldwide!”

    Additionally, “Boons and Curses” and “Mech Cadets” are also hitting Netflix in 2023. From creator and executive producer Jaydeep Hasrajani and series co-executive producer Jake Goldman, “Boons and Curses” is a comedy-action animated series set in the magical land of Maya, where a cosmic war looms. Inspired by ancient South Asia, the adventure comedy centers on a three-foot-tall hero made of butter, who takes on Raj and his monstrous army. The show is described as: “Claiming to be a cursed warrior from another time, Baan may have been transformed into solid ghee but he won’t let that stop him! Teaming up with Rani, a young thief with delusions of grandeur, Baan must use every arrow in his quiver if he wants to defeat the Raj.”

    “Growing up, I used to think of the hyphen in ‘Indian-American’ as a separator between two parts of myself,” said Hasrajani. “With ‘Boons and Curses’ I want to turn that hyphen from a wall into a bridge, not just for me, but for anybody who has ever felt that they were caught between two worlds. Using the beauty of South Asian mythology, folktales, and culture, our talented and passionate crew is so eager to share an exciting and hilarious adventure that can resonate with everyone the world over.”

    “Mech Cadets” is an animated series based on the Boom! Studios series “Mech Cadet Yu” from Greg Pak and Takeshi Miyazawa, executive produced by Boom! Studios, Japanese studio Polygon Pictures Inc. and Aaron Lam, who also serves as the writer and an executive producer.

    Set 50 years in the future, after a terrifying alien species attack, “teenager Stanford Yu works as a janitor at the Sky Corps Military Academy. But he’s only dreamed of one thing his entire life — to pilot a Robo Mech, giant robots from outer-space who came to our aid. When he finally gets his shot, Stanford and his classmates must put aside all personal differences and work together as a team in order to defend humanity against a new invasion of aliens.”

    “It is important for us to create stories that exemplify our teams’ diverse voices and art as a studio based in Tokyo, Japan,” said Polygon’s Jack Liang. “As part of our mission ‘to do what no other has done, in unparalleled quality, for all the world to see and enjoy,’ we are ecstatic to have alongside with us, our supervising director, Tohru Patrick Awa, writer and executive producer, Aaron Lam and our talented diverse team of writers, to visualize the wonderful story created by Greg Pak, Takeshi Miyazawa and Boom! Studios. We all are honored to
    work with Netflix, and to tell a story that we hope will inspire future storytellers around the world.”

    Said Netflix Animation manager Jane Lee: “These films and series join our incredible slate of animation from world class Asian American creators with different styles, unique voices, and a broad range of stories to tell including Academy Award-nominated film ‘Over the Moon’ from Glen Keane, Gennie Rim and Peilin Chou; ‘City of Ghosts’ from Elizabeth Ito; and upcoming series and films like ‘Centaurworld’ from Megan Nicole Dong; ‘Oni’ from Daisuke “Dice” Tsutsumi; ‘Ghee
    Happy’ from Sanjay Patel; ‘Witch Boy’ from Minkyu Lee; and ‘Steps’ from Alyce Tzue.”
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    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

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