Customer Reviews

Monkey Magic: Enter Stone Monkey (Epi. 1-3) [VHS]

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Anyone who grew up in Britain or Australia duing the late '70s and early '80s will probably remember a great live action TV series called "Monkey!" (produced in Japan, and dubbed into English by the BBC). The theme song to that series was a '70s disco tune called "Monkey Magic", which is where this series gets its name.

Both series, however, are based on one of the great classics of Chinese literature, "Journey to the West". That novel (written about 500 years ago) was a fictional retelling of the stroy of XuanZang, the real life 7th century monk who brought the "mahayana" Buddhist Sutras to China from India.

The original book was both extremely violent and extremely complex. Both aspects come through fairly well in this animated series, and the Monkey King translates well to this setting.

If you find yourself wanting more when you finish watching this series, consider one of the excellent books available from Amazon in translation...

Monkey Magic is literally the best animated series ever created. The animation is lushly detailed, the characters quirky and captivating, and Kongo, the title character, is an AWESOME character ... event though he is the protagonist, he has a dark side, and the series keeps you guessing as to whether or not he is really a "hero" or not. The only problem was that this series was canceled after only 13 episodes! With the enthralling story, the diverse cast of characters, and the beautiful animation (not to mention the wonderful theme song!), this video is a MUST SEE.

These titles are a complete rip off from the late 70's classic Monkey Magic (see actual web-site)...it featured a monkey/man, a pig/man, a fish/man and a priest who was supposed to be a young man and was actually acted by a woman. Everyone they met on their travels was either a demon or a mortal or animal/human (in the shape of a human yet had certain characteristics of the particular animal they played and generally had magic powers also.....the series was very humourous and badly dubbed from Chinese to English (this added to the humour)....I am shocked to see Amazon sell this cheap imitation instead of the original cult classic....Maybe you guys didn't get this in the US, however it is still played on cable channels today in Australia and peaked around 1982-1986 on one of the major commercial channels

I agree with the last reviewer, when will US customers be able to enjoy the best tv series ever, the live action version of monkey magic? I used to run home from school to watch this, and everyone I talk to about it is fascinated. Bring on the real magic!!!!

When I first watched it on TV I didn't know it was a chinese folktale I thought it was just anime. Kongo is my favorite character
and his jet cloud is his best transportation. I have seen all of the episodes and I think that they should come out with new ones.
I only watched this because it has a great storyline. Monkey Magic rules all the way.

Like the previous reviewer from Australia, I'm looking for the original classic TV shows. Why are they only available in the UK, in a format incompatible w/U.S. VHS????

I have this movie and let me tell you it was GREAT. The story is great and the animation was exellent. But it was very violent. This movie is rated PG-13 (In my opinion). If your a parent who wants to buy this movie for your kids, you better think about that rating their giving it.

I have this movie and let me tell you it was GREAT. The story is great and the animation was exellent. I don't want to spoil anything for you so I'll just say GET IT! You'll thank me later.