View source for Monkey King: Hero Is Back

{{short description|2015 Chinese computer-animated film}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2023}}{{Cleanup bare URLs|date=September 2022}}
{{Expand Chinese|topic=cult|date=May 2017}} 
{{Infobox film
| name           = Monkey King: Hero Is Back
| image          = Monkey King Hero is Back Chinese film poster.jpg
| alt            = 
| caption        = Theatrical poster
| director       = Tian Xiaopeng
| producer       = {{plainlist|
*Jiang Hui
*Liu Zhijiang
*Lin Zhonglun
*Yang Dan
*Wang Weiming}}
| screenplay     = Tian Xiaopeng
| based_on       = {{based on|''[[Journey to the West]]''|[[Wu Cheng'en]]}}
| starring       = 
| music          = Florian Linckus<br>[[Raymond Wong (composer)|Wong Ying-Wah]]
| cinematography = 
| editing        = 
| studio         = Beijing Weiyingshidai Culture & Media<br />Hengdian Chinese Film Production Co.<br />October Animation Studio<br />S&C Pictures<br />Shandong Film and Television Production Center
| distributor    = United Entertainment Partners
| released       = {{Film date|df=y|2015|07|10}}
| runtime        = 90 minutes
| country        = China
| language       = Mandarin<br />English
| budget         = US$16 million<ref>{{cite web|last1=Amidi|first1=Amid|title=Breaking: 'Monkey King' Breaks Chinese Record, Surpasses 'Kung Fu Panda 2′|url=http://www.cartoonbrew.com/box-office-report/breaking-monkey-king-breaks-chinese-record-surpasses-kung-fu-panda-2-116597.html|publisher=Cartoon Brew|access-date=July 26, 2015|date=July 26, 2015}}</ref>
| gross          = US$153 million<ref name="China384">{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/china-box-office-terminator-genisys-819233|title=China Box Office: 'Terminator Genisys' Marches Towards $100M|author=Patrick Brzeski|work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|publisher=([[Prometheus Global Media]])|date=August 31, 2015|access-date=September 1, 2015}}</ref>
{{Chinese |child=yes |order=st
 | s = {{linktext|西游记|之|大圣|归来}}
 | t = 西遊記之大聖歸來
 | p = Xīyóu jì zhī dà shèng guīlái
 | j = sai<sup>1</sup>jau<sup>4</sup> gei<sup>3</sup> zi<sup>1</sup> daai<sup>6</sup>sing<sup>3</sup> gwai<sup>1</sup>loi<sup>4</sup>
 | l = ''[[Journey to the West]]'': Return of the Great Sage
}}
}}
'''''Monkey King: Hero Is Back''''' ({{zh|s=西游记之大圣归来|c=|t=|p=Xīyóu jì zhī dà shèng guīlái|l=Journey to the West: Return of the Great Sage}}) is a 2015 Chinese [[computer-animated]] fantasy adventure film written and directed by Tian Xiaopeng in his [[directorial debut]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cartoonbrew.com/box-office-report/forget-minions-monster-hunt-and-monkey-king-smash-chinese-box-office-records-116287.html|title=Forget 'Minions,' 'Monster Hunt' and 'Monkey King' Smash Chinese Box Office Records|date=19 July 2015|access-date=19 July 2015|work=[[Cartoon Brew]]}}</ref> The film was released on 10 July 2015,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.mtime.com/2015/07/13/1544585.html|script-title=zh:《大圣归来》概念美术赏 水墨油彩风格多变 东方意境跃然纸上|date=15 July 2015|access-date=19 July 2015|work=mtime.com|archive-date=9 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191109141142/http://news.mtime.com/2015/07/13/1544585.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> and became the [[List of Chinese animated films#Highest-grossing films|highest-grossing animated film in China]] until it was surpassed by the 2016 films ''[[Zootopia]]'' and ''[[Kung Fu Panda 3]]''.<ref name="CFItrack">{{cite web|url=http://chinafilminsider.com/bear-hug-commence-kung-fu-panda/|title=On Screen China: Let the Bear Hug Commence—'Kung Fu Panda 3'|author=Jonathan Papish|work=China Film Insider|date=January 29, 2016|access-date=January 29, 2016}}</ref><ref name="Day2">{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2016/01/kung-fu-panda-3-in-china-at-40m-through-saturday-eyes-record-animation-debut-1201693432/|title='Kung Fu Panda 3' In China At $40M+ Through Saturday; Eyes Record Animation Debut|author=Nancy Tartaglione|work=[[Deadline Hollywood]]|date=30 January 2016|access-date=31 January 2016}}</ref>

A prequel to the film titled ''Monkey King: Havoc in Heaven'' is currently in development.

==Plot==
The all-powerful [[Monkey King]], Sun Wukong, is imprisoned by the [[Buddha (title)|Buddha]] within an ice cage deep within the mountains for rebelling against heaven.

500 years later, Mountain Trolls attack a group of travelers, all except for a baby boy named Liuer are killed, and Liuer is adopted by a monk after floating down a river in a basket. (The name Jiang Liuer means River Flow Child.) Several years later, the same trolls invade a small village and kidnap 49 young children. Liuer saves one of the baby girls and is chased by the trolls for doing so. He stumbles into the cave where the Monkey King was imprisoned, and unknowingly releases him from his curse. Sun Wukong defeats the trolls, although he is only able to use physical attacks, since a remnant of Buddha's seal prevents him from regaining his magical powers, causing him pain whenever he tries to harness his magic.

Wukong attempts to break the Buddha's seal to no avail. Liuer and the girl enthusiastically greet Wukong, not knowing he has lost his powers, and pester him with endless questions. (One example is when Liuer asks if the god Nezha is a boy or a girl. Wukong answers, a girl.) Annoyed, Wukong attempts to avoid the two, but is unable to evade them. A stone monster, created by the Buddha to keep Wukong imprisoned, attacks the three. Liuer manages to undo the spell on the monster, but falls off a cliff in the process. When he awakes, he finds out Wukong has saved him.

The three come upon Pigsy, the Heavenly Immortal "Tian Peng Yuan Shuai" (Marshal of Heavenly Canopy) that Wukong defeated when he rebelled against Heaven 500 years ago, now reincarnated into a pig demon. Though Wukong is again hesitant, Pigsy joins the group as well. They also run into a white dragon that attacks them and tries to eat Liuer but Sun Wukong scares it off. (This also happened in the original canon, although unlike in the original books, the dragon does not turn into a white horse.)

They stay overnight at an inn, but its owners turn out to be Trolls in disguise, who try to kidnap the baby. More trolls arrive and Wukong fights them off. The leader of the monsters, Hun Dun, appears, defeating Wukong and capturing the girl. After Wukong refuses to pursue them, Liuer goes ahead to save them on his own.

Hun Dun reveals his plan to sacrifice all the children they have kidnapped in order to gain magical powers. Liuer meets with his mentor, Fa Ming, to try to rescue them but nearly get captured. Wukong finds a doll of himself that Liuer had and realises how important of a figure he is. He and Pigsy go to help Liuer. Saving Liuer and the 49 children, Wukong defeats the monsters. However, a [[solar eclipse]] occurs, and Hun Dun turns into a giant monstrous beast. Liuer is seemingly crushed by the rubble from Hun Dun's rampage. Upon seeing the boy's apparent death, Sun Wukong is devastated. Full of fury, he forcibly breaks Buddha's Seal, regaining his original supernatural powers, and easily defeats Hun Dun.

The final part of this movie connects to the themes in the original canon. Sun Wukong only regains his powers when he fights for someone else rather than himself, as Sun Wukong's powers are meant to protect the monk Xuanzang/TangSeng/Tang Sanzang against evil and lead the monk to enlightenment. Sun Wukong as a character is also meant to represent an enlightened mind, which is why Sun Wukong's staff emerges from his head. Jiang Liuer himself is the younger Xuanzang, since he only received the name Xuanzang after he was ordained.

In the end, Liuer is shown to have survived Hun Dun's rampage, and they return the abducted children to their families.

==Cast==
{| class="wikitable"
!Character
!Mandarin
!English
|-
| [[Sun Wukong]], the Monkey King
| Lei Zhang
| [[Jackie Chan]]
|-
| Liuer
| Zijie Lin
| Kannon Kurowski
|-
| Fa Ming
| Wenlun Wu
| [[James Hong]]
|-
| Hun Dun
| Zirong Tong
| [[Feodor Chin]]
|-
| [[Li Jing (deity)|Li Jing]] / [[Zhu Bajie|Pigsy]]
| Jiurong Liu
| [[Roger Craig Smith]]
|-
| [[Jade Emperor]]
| TBA
|rowspan="2"| David S. Jung
|-
| Father
| Qianjing Zhao
|-
| Lady Troll
| Wu Di
| [[Nika Futterman]]
|}

==Crowdfunding==
7.8 million yuan ($1.23 million) of the film's marketing costs was raised through crowdfunding, in exchange for listing of the 109 financiers (many of whom are children) in the film's credits.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://europe.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2015-07/30/content_21447447.htm|title=Crowdfunding tastes blood in movie market-Industries-chinadaily.com.cn|work=chinadaily.com.cn}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/epaper/2015-10/15/content_22196639.htm|title=Film fans crowdfund new blockbuster hits-Business-chinadaily.com.cn|work=chinadaily.com.cn}}</ref>

==Reception==
===Box Office===
The film grossed $17.99 million [[Renminbi|CNY]] ($2.85 million USD) on its opening day, placing third at the Chinese box office.<ref>http://english.entgroup.cn/boxoffice/cn/daily/?date=07%20/10%20/2015</ref> With positive reviews and word of mouth, the film's box office reception steadily increased, peaking at $65.87 million CNY ($10.44 million USD) a day, and first at the box office.<ref>http://english.entgroup.cn/boxoffice/cn/daily/?date=07%20/15%20/2015</ref> The film began to drop due to competition from ''[[Monster Hunt]]'' and finished its run with a gross of $957 million CNY ($153 million USD).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ys.endata.cn/Details/Movie?entId=630887|title=艺恩娱数}}</ref> The film became the [[List of Chinese films of 2015|seventh highest grossing film in China of 2015]] and the highest grossing animated film in China until being surpassed by ''[[Zootopia]]'' and ''[[Kung Fu Panda 3]]'' the following year.

==Other media==
On October 17, 2019, a video game based on the film was released on [[PlayStation 4]], developed by [[HexaDrive]] with assistance from [[Japan Studio]] and published by [[Sony Interactive Entertainment]] in Asia and [[THQ Nordic]] internationally; a [[Windows]] port published by Oasis Games was also released on the same day.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://store.playstation.com/sv-se/product/EP4389-CUSA16298_00-MONKEYKINGEU0000|title=Monkey King: Hero is Back on Playstation|work=store.playstation.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-08-02 |title=Monkey King: Hero Is Back Co-Developed by Sony Japan Studio for PS4 Gets First Gameplay Trailer |url=https://www.dualshockers.com/monkey-king-hero-back-new-trailer/ |access-date=2023-07-29 |website=DualShockers |language=en}}</ref> As Sun Wukong (renamed Dasheng in the English dub), players guide Liuer and Pigsy (Zhu Bajie) to fight off Mountain Trolls and other monsters to save the kidnapped children from the clutches of the demon king Hun Dun, use statues of [[Guanyin]] to unlock spells to enhance skills and use various weapons to battle enemies. Two DLCs were available: ''Mind Palace'', which is set within Sun Wukong's mind sealed inside the Buddha's crystal, where he trains himself in a series of obstacles and traps between different biomes, and Uproar in Heaven, which is set before the main story where the monkey king duels against three of the [[Jade Emperor]]'s greatest warriors, [[Nezha]], [[Juling Shen]] and the Jade Emperor's nephew [[Erlang Shen]].

The film [[Crossover (fiction)|crosses over]] with other animated films such as [[Ne Zha (2019 film)|''Ne Zha'']] and [[Jiang Ziya (film)|''Jiang Ziya'']] in various commercials.

==Accolades==
{| class="wikitable"
! Year
! Awards
! Category
! Outcome
|-
| 2015
| Golden Rooster Awards
| Best Animated Feature
| Won<ref>{{Cite web|title = Golden Rooster Awards (2015)|website = [[IMDb]]|url = https://www.imdb.com/event/ev0000295/2015|access-date = 2015-12-13}}</ref>
|-
| 2015
| Silk Road International Film Festival
| Animated Film of the Year 2015
| Won<ref>{{Cite web|script-title=zh:"第二届丝绸之路国际电影节"在福州落幕|url = http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/micro-reading/interface_toutiao/2015-09-28/14223303.html|website = www.chinadaily.com.cn|access-date = 2015-12-13}}</ref>
|-
| 2015
| China Animation & Comic Competition Golden Dragon Award
| Best Animated Feature Film
| Won<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url = http://cartoon.southcn.com/c/2015-10/12/content_134587617.htm|script-title=zh:第12届中国动漫金龙奖获奖名单揭晓|access-date = 2015-12-12|website = southern.com}}</ref>
|-
| 2015
| China Animation & Comic Competition Golden Dragon Award
| Best Directing for an Animation
| Won<ref name=":0" />
|-
| 2015
| Sichuan TV Festival Golden Panda Award
| Best Directing for an Animation
| Nominated<ref>{{Cite web|title = Sichuan TV Festival (2015)|website = [[IMDb]]|url = https://www.imdb.com/event/ev0002128/2015|access-date = 2015-12-13}}</ref>
|-
| 2015
| Golden Horse Film Festival
| Best Animation Feature
| Nominated<ref>{{Cite web|title = Golden Horse Film Festival (2015)|website = [[IMDb]]|url = https://www.imdb.com/event/ev0000293/2015|access-date = 2015-12-13}}</ref>
|}

==Future==
A prequel titled ''Monkey King: Havoc in Heaven'' is in development as of 2023.<ref>{{cite news|last=Xu|first=Fan|title=Media giant gives new lease of life to animation films|url=https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/culture/2015-11/05/content_22374412_2.htm|access-date=3 January 2024|work=[[China Daily|Chinadaily.com.cn]]|publisher=China Daily Information Co.|date=5 November 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Amidi|first=Amid|title=China's Enlight Media To Produce 22 Animated Features, Starting With 'Big Fish and Begonia'|url=https://www.cartoonbrew.com/feature-film/chinas-enlight-media-produce-22-animated-features-starting-big-fish-begonia-139029.html|access-date=3 January 2024|work=[[Cartoon Brew]]|publisher=Cartoon Brew, LLC|date=22 April 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Zhang|first=Rui|title='Deep Sea' director to share top animation effects with peers|url=http://www.china.org.cn/arts/2023-02/13/content_85103001.htm|access-date=3 January 2024|work=[[China Internet Information Center|China.org.cn]]|publisher=[[China Internet Information Center]]|date=13 February 2023}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb title|4644382}}

{{Journey to the West}}
{{Tian Xiaopeng}}
{{Golden Rooster Award Best Animation}}

[[Category:2015 films]]
[[Category:2010s Mandarin-language films]]
[[Category:2015 animated films]]
[[Category:2015 computer-animated films]]
[[Category:2015 directorial debut films]]
[[Category:Films based on Journey to the West]]
[[Category:Animated films based on Journey to the West]]
[[Category:Chinese animated films]]
[[Category:Chinese computer-animated films]]
[[Category:Films scored by Raymond Wong]]
[[Category:HexaDrive games]]
[[Category:Japan Studio games]]
[[Category:PlayStation 4 games]]
[[Category:Sony Interactive Entertainment games]]
[[Category:THQ Nordic games]]
[[Category:Windows games]]
[[Category:Monkey King]]