A loose (very loose) Japanese TV adaptation of Wu Ch'eng-en's 16th-century collection of Chinese fables, Monkey! was re-dubbed into English in the early 1980s and became required viewing for a whole generation of school children. The titular monkey (played with great enthusiasm, not to mention athleticism by Japanese comic actor and former rock star Masaaki Sakai) accompanies boy-monk Tripitaka (confusingly, a pretty actress called Masako Natsume) on his/her quest for the Indian Sutras. They pick up Sandy (Shiro Kishibe), Pigsy (Toshiyuki Nishida) and a dragon that becomes a horse along the way. The appeal of Monkey! is easier to experience than explain. It's an occasionally surreal blend of Oriental fable, knock-about martial arts, pop Buddhism and slapstick comedy. The frequent comic fight scenes are accompanied by a 70s disco-fusion soundtrack, and a narrator (English voice: Frank Duncan) uses gaps in the action to deliver inscrutable snippets of wisdom ("Even a starving camel is still bigger than a horse", "Does love mean labour even for the carp-hearted?"). Best of all, though, is the dialogue: without regard to any lip-synch niceties the English script (by David Weir) is full of idiomatic delights, jokes and double entendres. All are delivered by British actors in hilarious cod-Japanese accents (distinguished thesp Miriam Margolyes is the voice of Tripitaka). Bad special effects crown the show's cheesy, retro appeal.
On the DVD: Monkey! volume 1 on DVD features the same first three episodes as the VHS incarnation--"Monkey Goes Wild About Heaven", "Monkey Turns Nursemaid" and "The Great Journey Begins"--but also a bonus previously unseen episode from the second season, "You Win Some You Lose Some", which is subtitled not dubbed, so if nothing else is an opportunity to hear the actors' real voices. Extra features are a stills gallery, text pieces on the principal cast, characters and episodes, Weblinks, trailers for The Water Margin and Blake's Seven and a pop-video version of the show's irrepressible main title song.----Mark Walker
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