Saiyûki

I was stunned to see this listing; I have been trying to find this movie for years. It may be lame, a terrible dubbed version of a chopped up hack job, but I still have dreams based on this film 30 years later. It would show up on the afternoon movie program and I would always greet it like an old friend; I would love to see it again.

I fortunately as a child was able to see this film twice, and the memories have out-lasted many of those of the Disney classics that bombarded my adolescent senses at the same time. For years I have scoured video bins worldwide in an attempt to locate a copy of this long last classic, but as yet to no avail. This, in my opinion, is one of the greatest and most memorable animated films and stories presented to date (that is the US-dubbed and scored version, for I've never seen the original Japanese version). Great characters and animation, awesome moralistic and quasi-religious end messages, and a just plane fantastic story. The depth is nearly as great as that of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Putting aside all the lost cinema gems still kicking around the depths of my childhood memories, this is the one I would most like to revisit and share with the children of today.

I really did not want to vote on the movie, since I have not seen it since I was a kid. But, this movie was such a great movie to me as a kid, that almost 40 years later, I am trying to find it. If this was such a bad movie (according to the critic), there needs to be more of them made. The movie had classic good versus evil situations, was able to teach morals in a very entertaining manner, and was light and dark all at the same time. I can go so far as to say that it was the loyalty, friendship, and mercy exhibited by the lead character and his friends that indelibly burned this cartoon in my psyche all of these years. I too find that I had no idea that all of these famous stars were in the movie, but now that I know, when I finally get the movie again, I will have another reason to love it.

Over the years, I have seen many reviews that have mercilessly slagged ALAKAZAM THE GREAT as a bad movie, and it even made it into the highly questionable book THE 50 WORST FILMS OF ALL TIME. The question I have is: did all of you who hate this movie see the same film that I did when I was a youngster? I have shown many children this film over the years and not one of them failed to enjoy it.

ALAKAZAM THE GREAT is loosely based on the Wu Cheng-En classic JOURNEY TO THE WEST, a landmark of Chinese epic literature, and tells the story of an arrogant monkey king who learns the secrets of magic and becomes a cosmic pain in the ass. After a brief rampage through the heavens, he is imprisoned by the gods and eventually sent on a pilgrimage to atone for his sins and learn humility. The monkey must escort a young prince (who is the son of the gods) through a series of insanely lethal adventures in a land teeming with demons and monsters of every description, picking up a couple of unusual traveling companions along the way (an anthropomorphic pig-man and a burrowing cannibal). Much magic and cartoon ass-whuppin' ensues, and despite the (mercifully brief) musical numbers, this film has raw imagination to spare. Fast-paced and fun, this is not the dud that some would lead you to believe. Give it a chance!

This excellent Japanese animated fantasy is an adaptation of the old Chinese Legend of the Monkey King. Having seen the original Japanese version of this film, I don't have any problems with what American International did with this film, they have removed most of the religious references, but the story is still more or less intact, and AIP hired good talent for the voices.

The American score is by film music great Les Baxter, and this is probably the most symphonic score written for an animated film at the time of its U.S. release as Alakazam The Great. Gorgeous stuff, and the movie is lots of fun for both children and adults, who will enjoy a lot of humor added to keep parents awake.