Created: 14/06/2026 - Last updated: 20/06/2026
I fell in love with Journey to the West - a Chinese novel from the 16th century - and its main protagonist Sun Wukong, so I've been reading the book and watching a lot of adaptations of it. This is the page where I keep track of the adaptations I've watched, read and played.
They are organized in a chronological order (most recently published first), and I will add my personal ratings (❤️ > ✨ > 👍 > 😕 > 🤢) to highlight my favorites.
Although fanfictions are technically adaptations, I grouped them in a separate, dedicated page.
directed by Anthony Stacchi | United States watched 03.2026
After stealing a sentient disco staff from the Dragon King to protect his tribe, an unrully monkey befriends a girl and goes on a quest for immortality which will take them from the Underworld to the Heavens. This movie was fun and emotional, and I liked the animation style! The fact that Stick - the staff - had a whole personality and disco lightning was a fun addition which worked well. The humour was on point, and the take on Monkey's adventures was entertaining, and beginner-friendly because it didn't feel like you needed to know the story and characters to enjoy it (unlike some adaptations). Yeah, I liked this one a lot!
directed by Tian Xiaopeng | China watched 03.2026
After 500 years of imprisonment, Sun Wukong is accidentally freed by a child trying to run away from mountain trolls. Despite himself, he starts an adventure to defeat the leader of the trolls and free kidnapped children. This was the very first Journey to the West adaptation I've ever watched, back when I didn't know any of the characters. That plus the fact that the animation is quite outdated made me have a pretty neutral opinion about it, but I'd like to rewatch it someday to see if I would change my mind now that I know the story and characters better.
5 seasons - 50 episodes + 4 specials | Australia (S1-4) + Canada (S5) watched 05.2026
In a modern world, a teenager named MK inherits the powers of Monkey King and starts fighting the demons attacking his city. As the story progresses, he and his friends also travel to the Tang Dynasty to meet the original Journey to the West group. I love this show so much! I wasn't expecting a Lego cartoon to have such a good level of animation, character development and story-telling, but here we are. There's a few moments where I'm not sure they get the original message right, but overall it's very entertaining and I really love their take on the characters. This is the show which made me fall in love with Six Ear Macaque!
2 seasons - 20 episodes | Australia + New Zealand watched 05.2026
A young woman takes on the identity of Tripitaka after his death, and decides to go wake up the Monkey King from his mountain prison. Together with the help of Pigsy and Sandy, they will start a journey to collect the Heavenly scrolls that Monkey stole and scattered before his emprisonment. I did like the twist that Tripitaka and Sandy are women - although I'm personally heavily leaning in the trans Tripitaka vibes for this one - but I'm not sure how to feel about Monkey and Pigsy being human... I did quite like the actors and their portrayal though! It's good to note that this show is very low budget (which has a certain charm to it) and was heavily criticized for its whitewashing (which... has no charm to it), having not a single Chinese actor in its cast - and it did feel pretty weird to see this story clearly set up in a fictional China, but then all the NPCs and many main characters are white...