The 3D remake of China’s classic animation “The Monkey King 3D” (大闹天宫) has been invited by the organizing committee of New York to screen at the International Children’s Film Festival (NYICFF). The movie will be shown at the closing ceremony on March 25th.
In its 15th year, the Festival, regarded as children’s Academy Awards, will run from March 2th to 25th. 100 films and animations from over 30 countries will compete at this year’s event. Winners will be announced at the closing ceremony after the screening of “Monkey King 3D.”
The new edition is said to be a perfect combination of Chinese traditional culture and 3D technology. It is competing for “The Generation” award of the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival.
Foreign distributors including The Walt Disney Company and Columbia Pictures are hoping to release the movie in their respective regions. Toho Motion Picture Company from Japan and CJ Entertain, who takes 50% of South Korea’s film market, are also expected to bring the movie to their countries.
Sun Wukong, (The Monkey King) is a monkey born from a heavenly stone who acquires supernatural powers. After rebelling against heaven and being imprisoned under a mountain for 500 years, he later accompanies the monk Xuanzang on a journey to India. Thus, according to legend, Buddhism is brought to ancient China. This much beloved story, is as much a part of Asian culture as The Iliad and The Odyssey or The Wizard of Oz are to the West. This first installment in a trilogy of live action 3-D movies is actually a prequel to The Journey To The West, the much told story of the Monkey King’s adventures on the road to India.
Chen Nan
ChineseFilms