The Monkey King

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2:25

The Monkey King

PG

Released Aug 11, 2023

1h 32m

Kids & Family

Action

Adventure

Fantasy

Animation

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

56%

Tomatometer

45 Reviews

64%

Popcornmeter

250+ Ratings

The Monkey King is an action-packed family comedy that follows a charismatic Monkey and his magical fighting Stick on an epic quest for victory over 100 demons, an eccentric Dragon King, and Monkey's greatest foe of all--his own ego! Along the way, a young village girl challenges his self-centered attitude and shows him that even the smallest pebble can have a big effect on the world.

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Critics Consensus

Often rousing, The Monkey King is an animated blur of tried-and-true -- but still appealing -- archetypes.

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Robert Levin

Newsday

From the first frame to the last, it's consistently enrapturing, a consequential visual achievement that seems to have arrived from a place that's somehow beyond space and time.

Rated: 3/4

Aug 25, 2023

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John Anderson

Wall Street Journal

My 11-year-old consultant was a big fan, but, frankly, I’m beginning to question his discernment.

Aug 19, 2023

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Brian Tallerico

RogerEbert.com

Aggressively mediocre, Netflix’s “The Monkey King” takes no risks and offers too little humor, heart, or action to entertain all but the youngest in the family.

Rated: 2/4

Aug 18, 2023

Full Review

Clotilde Chinnici

Loud and Clear Reviews

The Monkey King does feel a little too slow at times. Many of the action-packed sequences start to feel too repetitive after seeing the first couple, as they do little to move the plot forward, despite being very well-executed nonetheless.

Rated: 3/5

Sep 15, 2024

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Maria Lattila

WhyNow (UK)

The Monkey King is entertaining enough to entertain younger viewers, but it’s far from Netflix’s best animations.

Rated: 3/5

Sep 28, 2023

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Manuel Betancourt

FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)

It's an exhausting watch.

Sep 7, 2023

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TROY S

This is an awful adaptation of those folk tales. A raucous soundtrack, weirdly distorted, overly intense graphics, and a somewhat cruelly distorted story lens takes away from that heroic tale. To my viewpoint there is little to empathize with in this story.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

10/18/24

Full Review

Audience Member

The animation style isn't the worst yet isn't the best. It's very fast paced, sometimes it's funny, but it's mostly just childish. They used metal music which is.... Well... Somewhat okay? There isn't almost a single minute where he isn't fighting. It's full of cliches. It's very colorful. It's silly and goofy. It was actually a somewhat good movie until it reached the climax. Overall. I liked it. I'll watch it again someday. And I'm looking forward to giving the next movie a try.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

10/20/24

Full Review

Audience Member

It was goofy I like that a lot. Was it perfect? No, absolutely not. But was silly goofy and I will defenitely watch it again sometime.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

06/13/24

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Noah D

The plot was way to quick

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

04/09/24

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Sam W

Colorful and imaginative with an abundance of energy, but with no moral message and an annoying lead character, it comes across as silly and childish. The good mix of animation styles and quick pacing can't hide the shallow, nonsensical plot and inconsistent ideas. The musical number towards the end was good, but the choice to use ‘metal' music was bizarre and overall, I found it tiring rather than enjoyable.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

03/17/24

Full Review

Euan P

It was actually okay until the climax

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

06/25/24

Full Review

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Anthony Stacchi

Director

Jimmy O. Yang

Monkey King

Bowen Yang

Dragon King

Jolie Hoang-Rappaport

Lin

Jo Koy

Benbo

Ron Yuan

Babbo

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The Monkey King: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

The Monkey King is an action-packed family comedy that follows a charismatic Monkey and his magical fighting Stick on an epic quest for victory over 100 demons, an eccentric Dragon King, and Monkey's greatest foe of all--his own ego! Along the way, a young village girl challenges his self-centered attitude and shows him that even the smallest pebble can have a big effect on the world.

Director: Anthony Stacchi
Producer: Peilin Chou
Screenwriter: Ron J. Friedman, Steve Bencich, Rita Hsiao
Distributor: Netflix
Production Co: Netflix Animation
Rating: PG (Action/Violence|Brief Thematic Material)
Genre: Kids & Family, Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Animation
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 11, 2023, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 18, 2023
Runtime: 1h 32m
Sound Mix: Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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