"Journey to the West ABC" starring Michelle Yeoh, Wu Yanzu, Huang Jinghan, Guan Jiwei and others has been officially launched on streaming media.
The play is adapted from Yang Jinlun's best-selling graphic novel of the same name, with "Journey to the West" as the background, re-editing traditional Chinese mythological stories.
Different from the "household name" plot of "Journey to the West", in which the four masters and apprentices take the Western scriptures, "Journey to the West ABC" unfolds with an ordinary Chinese teenager trying to adapt to high school and immigrant family life, and accidentally getting involved in the battle of the gods.
Such an American version is indeed in line with the national conditions of Europe and the United States.
However, with the 82nd edition of "Journey to the West", this "pearl jade" is ahead. The subsequent derivative "Journey to the West" series are somewhat nondescript.
In addition to the serious "remake", some film and television dramas are "opening up a different way" in terms of plot. And "Journey to the West ABC" deservedly became one of them.
Only because the male protagonist of "Journey to the West ABC", an ordinary Chinese teenager, is the son of Sun Wukong.
The wave of film and television of "Journey to the West"
As one of China's "four famous books", "Journey to the West" was first made into a TV series in Japan.
However, the plot of the Japanese version of "Journey to the West" is simply unbearable to look at directly. The Tang monk in the play turned into a woman, not to mention, and also had intimate scenes and kiss scenes with his apprentices.
Sun Wukong became a womanizer, and his eyes lit up when he saw beautiful women. The sand monk also became the "kappa" of Japanese mythology.
The character character has been changed by the devil, and the plot is even more spicy. And such a "classic-destroying" work was also sold to the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and other countries, and there were many fans.
It's unbearable!
In order not to be "cultural plunder", CCTV leaders directly decided to make a "Journey to the West" that conforms to traditional Chinese mythology, which led to the birth of the 82nd version of "Journey to the West".
Director Yang Jie "was ordered in danger", although he was a little dumbfounded, he still experienced "nine nine eighty-one difficulties". In the absence of resources and insufficient funds, it took a full 6 years to present a classic to the audience.
Of course, the 82nd edition of "Journey to the West" did not "originally" restore Wu Chengen's "Journey to the West". There are even some beautifications and sublimations in the plot, but they are still regarded as classics by the audience.
Since then, it has been sold to the United States, Australia, Japan, Germany, France and some Southeast Asian regions. China finally has its own "Journey to the West", and it has also started a wave of domestic remakes of "Journey to the West".
Among them, there are the Zhejiang version of "Journey to the West" (Chen Sihan, Fei Zhenxiang, Xie Ning, Mou Fengbin), and Zhang Jizhong's version of "Journey to the West" (Wu Yue, Nie Yuan, Zang Jinsheng, Xu Jinjiang) that "respects" the original work and remakes it with the 82nd version of "Journey to the West" as the "prototype".
There are also "joke" versions of "Journey to the West", such as "Journey to the West", "Qi Tian Great Saint Sun Wukong", 96th edition of "Journey to the West", 98th edition of "Journey to the West 2" and so on.
"Jokes" can also make classics
Different from the traditional remake, the "joke" version has more emotional scenes.
"Journey to the West" is a "love history"
"Journey to the West", as a youth memory of many post-80s and 90s, advances the plot to the point that after the four Tang monks and apprentices took the Western Sutra, Sun Wukong led the Three Realms to help the reincarnated spirit boy Qiao Linger return to Lingshan again.
The male protagonist is still Sun Wukong, but the main story is unfolded by Qiao Linger, a reincarnated spirit boy.
Among them, the two love scenes between Qiao Linger and White Lotus and Biyou Fairy are still fresh in people's memories, and Maya Shu and Juanzi have also become childhood goddesses for many audiences.
The TVB version of "Journey to the West" is also a classic
The 96th version of "Journey to the West" and the 98th version of "Journey to the West 2" were produced by TVB. The first part was played by Zhang Weijian as the male protagonist, and the second part was replaced by Chen Haomin because of the conflict between Zhang Weijian and TVB.
Zhang Weijian/Chen Haomin, Jiang Hua, Li Yaoxiang, and Mai Changqing formed a four-person master-apprentice scripture team, adding a lot of TVB elements to the plot of the original book of "Journey to the West".
Spider Jing En'en fell in love with Sun Wukong, and "since ancient times, there is a lot of love and empty hatred, and this hatred lasts forever" has become the mantra of Zhu Bajie.
The story of Erlang God Yang Jian splitting the mountain to save his mother was restored, and the love story between the Queen of Ten Thousand Demon and the gibbon monkey touched many people.
The TVB version of "Journey to the West" is by no means "Journey to the West" in the traditional sense, but descending demons and removing demons to get scriptures is still the main line of the story.
There are laughs and tears, which are also regarded as youth memories by many audiences, and can also be regarded as classics.
"Qi Tian Great Saint Sun Wukong" has good ratings
After the 96th version of "Journey to the West" exploded, Zhang Weijian's popularity also soared. TVB quickly gathered the original cast to prepare for the second film, but Zhang Weijian and TVB had a conflict over "salary".
After that, the TVB senior management said "You are nothing without hair", which made Zhang Weijian leave TVB in a fit of anger. For this reason, the 98th version of "Journey to the West 2" was replaced by Chen Haomin.
After Zhang Weijian left TVB, in order to prove that he was worth no hair, he simply shaved his head. However, the popularity is indeed declining repeatedly, and there is no work as popular as the 96th version of "Journey to the West".
For this reason, in 2002, Zhang Weijian glued hair again. Relying on his connections, he found many friends to star in "Qi Tian Great Saint Sun Wukong".
Zhang Weijian, Liang Hanwen, Ge Minhui, Li Cansen formed a four-person scripture learning team, and there were actors such as Asa, Gillian, Lin Zhiying and so on.
On the basis of the 96th version of "Journey to the West", "Qi Tian Great Saint Sun Wukong" connects the plot again. However, "Qi Tian Great Saint Sun Wukong" is more like a love version of "Journey to the West".
Sun Wukong not only has a polyamorous love, but also Zhu Bajie and Tang Monk also have their own emotional dramas.
Although it is no longer "Journey to the West" in the traditional sense, the ratings of "Qi Tian Great Saint Sun Wukong" are still good.
The violet fairy played by Cai Zhuoyan has earned a lot of tears from the audience, and the CP of Sun Wukong X violet fairy has become difficult for many people.
There is also a scale to jokes, but "magic reform" prevails
However, whether it is tradition or joke, "descending demons and eliminating demons" and "taking the Western scripture" are the main line of the story. Although the drama version adds a lot of emotional scenes to the protagonists, it is basically within the controllable range.
Most of the endings are love, and taking the Western Scripture is the right thing for the four masters and apprentices.
Of course, there are also those who cannot accept the existence of "jokes".
"Sun Wukong and the white bone spirit are in love. Sun Wukong called the white bone essence called Jingjing, and the white bone essence called Sun Wukong called empty space. Shemales do not distinguish between right and wrong. ”
A six-year-old child once criticized "Journey to the West" and denounced it as a shame to spoof "culture". But the "Journey to the West" released since then insisted on going its own way, still enabling the plot of Sun Wukong and Bai Bone Jing in love.
In fact, as early as 2011, radio and television stopped the remake of the four masterpieces, the reason is that "classics cannot be easily touched".
For this reason, although there are still many movies still trying, "Journey to the West: The Great Trouble in the Heavenly Palace", "Journey to the West: Three Dozen White Bone Spirits", "Journey to the West: Demon", "Journey to the West: Daughter's Country", etc., but they are also within the controllable range.
Demons and demons are still the main line of the story, and the original can also be found in these films.
The magic adaptation of "Journey to the West" and adapted from the novel "Big Splash Monkey" "Lingyunzhi" was renamed and deleted after a backlog of 6 years before it came out, which also shows the attitude of radio and television towards the filmization of "Journey to the West".
"Classics can't be easily touched" is still a "wake-up call", but the appearance of the American version of "Westward Journey ABC" is quite explosive.
In line with European and American culture, the plot of "Journey to the West" has been completely "demonized".
Although the main plot of the story begins with the Bull Demon King attacking the Heavenly Court and Sun Wukong fighting him, it is also interspersed with the plot of Chinese-American high school students coming to white areas with their parents and the stereotypes of Chinese Americans in the United States.
In the play, Michelle Yeoh's Guanyin not only wears slippers, but also speaks English. Wu Yanzu's Monkey King speaks Chinese and staged 72 changes. Sun Weichen, the son of Sun Wukong, began the school life of the Chinese in the white area in search of the fourth scripture.
The plot completely subverts the traditional myth, and it is even more inconsistent in the eyes of the Chinese people.
At present, all 8 episodes of the first season of "Journey to the West ABC" have been launched. The Douban score has slipped to 5.5 points, and the IMDB score is only 7.2 points.
It can be seen that neither domestic audiences nor foreign audiences are very buying "Journey to the West ABC".
"Journey to the West" became a "school drama" and was also full of zzzq. In the domestic natural water and soil is not satisfied, I don't know whether it can achieve a word-of-mouth reversal abroad.
However, it is undeniable that whether it is a remake or a joke, the 82nd version of "Journey to the West" still cannot be surpassed. For the film and television of famous works, we must still have "awe" for the original work.
Support the development and re-creation of cultural diversity, but also on the premise of reason. What kind of existence does "Journey to the West ABC" have in your heart?
What do you think about this? Which "Journey to the West" film and television work do you like the most? Can you accept that a famous book has been "devilishly altered"?
Welcome to share!
P.s.: Finally, I asked weakly, Sun Wukong in "Journey to the West ABC" has a son, who is his wife?