Monkey Quest is an upcoming animated adventure film directed and co-written by David N. Weiss (in his directorial debut). The film stars Adam DeVine, Elsie Fisher, J. K. Simmons, and Sam Richardson. It was produced by Toei Animation and is loosely based on Journey to the West.
| Monkey Quest | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | David N. Weiss
Stephanie Ma Stine Takao Noguchi |
| Screenplay by |
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| Story by |
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| Produced by | Yoshi Ikezawa |
| Starring | |
| Edited by | Patrick J. Voetberg |
| Music by | Caleb Chan |
Production companies | |
| Countries |
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| Language | English |
Premise
editA teenage girl (Fisher) alongside her younger brother in a not-so-distant future adventure, after liberating the protector of Earth Okon (DeVine), hope that he can reunite them with their missing parents.
Voice cast
editProduction
editDuring TIFFCOM at the 2018 Tokyo International Film Festival on October 24, Toei Animation and Bona Film Group alongside Sammy and Marza Animation Planet initially announced the project, tentatively titled The Monkey Prince with John A. Davis initially set to direct the film from a screenplay by J. David Stem and David N. Weiss, based on an original story by Naoto Oshima with Oshima and Takao Noguchi handling character designs with Chuck Williams serving as a producer. The film will be initially produced in English before being adapted into Mandarin for the Chinese market and has received co-production approval from Chinese authorities. In order to produce the film, Tenh Animation Magic was established two weeks prior with investments from Toei, Sola Entertainment and Galaxy Graphics. Sanzigen was responsible for the film's production hub with the film being scheduled to be released in 2020, in time for that year's Summer Olympics prior to its postponement to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[1][2][3][4]
After being sat on development hell for six years, Toei Animation announced on February 2024, that the film, now titled Hypergalactic was in post-production with Weiss now being hired to direct the film (replacing A. Davis), alongside co-writing the screenplay with Oshima and Sola Entertainment founder Joseph Chou from their original story with the latter two replacing Stem and Bona, Sammy and Marza dropping out from the project. The studio is calling the film as their biggest CGI project to date. Adam DeVine, Elsie Fisher, J. K. Simmons, and Sam Richardson joined the film's voice cast, with Devine voicing the protagonist, the protector of Earth Okhan. Toei's Yoshi Ikezawa (replacing Chuck Williams) serves as the film's producer while Kozo Morishita, Katsuhiro Takagi, and Tim Kwok serve as executive producers with Charades handling international sales.[5] Main production was handled by Tenh Animation Magic (SOLA Digital Arts Inc) in Tokyo. Music was conducted by up-and-coming Canadian music duo Chen Brothers with orchestral recording performed in Bratislava early 2024. The color and finish service is provided by The Picture Shop Vancouver under the veteran colorist Claudio Sepulveda.
Post-production had begun by February 2024, still ongoing in August of that year, after nearly two years of production at Tenh Animation Magic in Tokyo.[6][7]
In April 2026, the film was retitled to Monkey Quest with a work-in-progress cut to be screened at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in June.[8][9]
References
edit- ↑ Brzeski, Patrick (October 23, 2018). "China, Japan Studio Giants Team on Big-Budget Animation 'The Monkey Prince'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on November 16, 2024. Retrieved March 25, 2025.
- ↑ Ressler, Karen (July 2, 2018). "Sola Digital Arts, Galaxy Graphics, Toei Establish CG Studio 'Tenh Animation Magic'". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on December 16, 2024. Retrieved March 25, 2025.
- ↑ "国際合作アニメーション映画『The Monkey Prince(仮)』の製作が決定". Toei Animation (in Japanese). October 25, 2018. Retrieved March 25, 2025.
- ↑ Frater, Patrick (October 24, 2018). "'The Monkey Prince' Hatched by China's Bona and Japan's Toei Animation". Variety. Archived from the original on August 24, 2025. Retrieved March 25, 2025.
- ↑ Roxborough, Scott (February 6, 2024). "Anime Giant Toei Teams With 'Sonic the Hedgehog' Designer, 'Shrek 2' Writer on 'Hypergalactic'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on February 6, 2024. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
- ↑ Ritman, Alex (February 6, 2024). "Adam Devine, J.K. Simmons Join Voice Cast of 'Hypergalactic' Animated Feature from 'Sonic' Designer Naoto Oshima". Variety. Archived from the original on February 6, 2024. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
- ↑ Frater, Patrick (August 6, 2024). "Toei Animation's 'Hypergalactic' Gets Fan Engagement Boost from Spaceport, Roblox and Fortnite (Exclusive)". Variety. Archived from the original on August 6, 2024. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
- ↑ Milligan, Mercedes (April 14, 2026). "Annecy Festival Unveils 2026 Animated Works in Progress Presentations". Animation Magazine. Retrieved April 29, 2026.
- ↑ Roxborough, Scott (April 28, 2026). "Annecy Unveils 2026 Lineup". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 29, 2026.
