Monkey: The crazy, cult Japanese show that captivated Kiwi kids

The original version of this article was published in May 2021. It has been updated to coincide with the upcoming release of a new series inspired by the same novel – Disney+’s American Born Chinese – on May 24, 2023.

REVIEW: “Born from an egg on a mountain top. The punkiest monkey that ever popped. He knew every magic trick under the sun. To tease the Gods. And everyone and have some fun.”

Rivalling The Wonderful World of Disney and A Dog’s Show as a Sunday staple for a generation of Kiwi kids, it was like nothing else on television at the time.

A Japanese adaptation of a classic 16th Century Chinese novel, it featured some dodgy English dubbing, crazy characters and an incredibly catchy theme tune.

A kind of H R Pufnstuf-meets-Kung Fu (although really that doesn’t do the show’s sheer nuttiness justice), Monkey is fondly remembered by anyone who watched it around four decades ago.

With its eclectic range of “pan-Asian accents”, behaviour that would now be deemed questionable content and broad acting, it’s a show that would unlikely be commissioned today (indeed the more recent trans-Tasman update The New Legends of Monkey is a very different beast).

However, for anyone interested in revisiting their late-1970s/early ‘80s childhood, or shocking their own “monkeys” with what passed for kids’ entertainment back then, then all 52 episodes have just dropped on Netflix. And, really – they truly have to be seen to be believed.

Born of a rock that became magically fertile, the mischievous Monkey (Masaaki Saki) proclaims himself as a great sage. Desperate to be let into Heaven, he’s delighted when an invitation finally comes his way –only issued because the noise he’s making on Earth is causing everyone up there sleepless nights.

Finding a suitable occupation for the irrepressible, rambunctious simian proves to be difficult though. Rejecting his initial position as director of the stables (a task that mainly involves shovelling manure), he’s then charged with acting as “guardian of the heavenly peach gardens”. Temptation proves to be too strong and Monkey is soon munching on the magical fruit that takes thousands of years to ripen and bestows immortality on its consumer.

One inappropriate choice of urination location later and Monkey finds himself challenged by Buddha herself and imprisoned in a mountain for 500 years – to learn the lesson of patience.

He’s not the only one to find himself cast out of heaven either. Sandy (Shiro Kishibe) caused a priceless jade cup to be broken, while Pigsy (Toshiyuki Nishida) made an inappropriate pass at a princess, outrages that also caused them to be transformed.

With bandit gangs terrorising the world’s weak and poor, this disparate trio are joined by the young monk Tripitaka (Masako Natsume) – who has also been tasked with undertaking a pilgrimage from China to India to fetch some holy scriptures – in trying to restore peace to the lands.

Filmed in Northwest China and Inner Mongolia, this cult series even became a hit in certain parts of South America. While that might seem inexplicable to someone catching it for the first time now, it’s enduring appeal is largely in the sheer madness of it all.

There’s never a dull moment, from the visual flair of the costuming and the animation of Monkey’s pink cloud, to the seemingly endless, choreographed fight scenes. And while the dubbing is surprisingly well synched, there’s plenty of laughs to be had out of the linguistic machinations required to achieve that.

But, as was the case back when it first aired here on TVNZ, what will stay with you are the opening and closing songs. Performed by five-piece Japanese band Godiego (whose album of tunes from the show was the biggest selling disc of 1978 in their native country), the very different Monkey Magic and Gandāra are – rightly or wrongly – earworms of the highest order.

Monkey is now available to stream on Netflix.