Princess Iron Fan (1941)

I had to watch this because a) it was the first ever animated film made in China, and b) it's an adaptation of part of the classic JOURNEY TO THE WEST series of stories featuring the lovable 'Monkey' and his companions. PRINCESS IRON FAN is short and action packed, and surprisingly well animated for its time. You have to remember that in 1941 China was in the middle of being occupied by Japan, so it's amazing that they managed to make any films during those turbulent times.The free-flowing animation in this film is one of the things that makes it so easy to watch. The source material is also delightful and the characters instantly recognisable. I was intrigued to see how the animation of the characters is clearly inspired by the look and feel of the early Mickey Mouse cartoons. Some of it is quite juvenile, but the most off-putting thing I found was the way that 90% of the dialogue is shouted, which makes this become tiresome very quickly.

This retelling of a Chinese folk tale "Journey to the West" featuring the Buddhist monk Xuanzang and his disciples Sun Wukong aka the Monkey King, Zhu Bajie who is part-human / part-pig and the not too-bright human Sha Wujing is historically valuable for being the first Asian full-length (over 40 minutes) animated movie to be released. Made under very difficult conditions in Shanghai – China at the time was occupied by Japan, the Communists and Nationalists were fighting the Japanese military and the workshop where the film was made had been bombed in 1937 - "Princess Iron Fan" is impressive to watch with beautifully detailed backgrounds and very active and excitable characters. The film uses the rotoscoping animation technique in which animators trace over live-action film movement frame by frame: this technique saved a lot of money and renders the characters in the movie very life-like with lively and shining eyes (of actual actors, I should add).The plot is straightforward: Xuanzong and his followers wish to visit a town but their path is blocked by a fierce fire demon. To get rid of him, they need an iron fan from a beautiful goddess but she refuses to lend it to them. Monkey King and Zhu Bajie each try to get the fan off the sulky lady – Monkey King himself tries a neat trick in which he transforms into a tiny ladybug and gets himself swallowed by the goddess so he can kick around her stomach and cause aches and pains – but both followers discover she has tricked them by giving them dud fans that only fuel the flames. The three disciples also have to battle the goddess's husband the Bull King and subdue him if they are to get hold of the real iron fan.The plot unravels in a series of episodes and each is long – there's a lengthy sub-plot in which a disguised Zhu Bajie tries to seduce a fox lady and then the goddess herself – so viewers unfamiliar with the Chinese stories or who can't understand the Mandarin language spoken in the film may think each episode is independent of the others and wonder why it has to be there. The characters' looks and movements appear influenced by old Walt Disney cartoons – the Monkey King has rubbery arms and legs and twirls at hyper-Mach speeds while flying through the air pursued by the fire demon or the Bull King – but there is a definite Chinese flavour and style in the backgrounds, reminiscent of classical Chinese paintings of landscapes and nature, drawn for the movie and most male human characters look very Chinese. The foxy lady looks Betty-Boopish with her huge eyes and elaborate hair-style.The film aims to entertain as well as teach children about their myths and legends and there's slapstick galore accompanied by constant music and descriptive sound effects that again show the Walt Disney influence and which can be very shrill. A house forced to bend with a storm puts out hands to stop its roof from flying away and a cat, clinging to the roof for dear life, sees all his fur rip off his body hair-strand by hair-strand.The film has the feel of an extended cartoon short with three linked episodes of gags and action, one of which centres around Zhu Bajie, the others focussing mostly on the Monkey King, and none of the characters having much personality development. There are breaks in continuity as well – how the Monkey King escapes out of the goddess's stomach isn't clear from the film – and some of the frames seem to wobble and the characters' lines go watery as if the whole film had gone underwater. Given the conditions it was made under, "Princess Iron Fan" looks much better than expected and some special effects, especially the hot flames for the fire demon and a scene in which two characters move behind a semi-shuttered screen, are very well done. Scenes are milked for all they're worth for humour and drama and fight scenes are very realistic. Western audiences may find the plot and theme of collective action being better than individual action dull and the film is probably of more value to Chinese and other Asian audiences familiar with tales of the Monkey King's adventures.

The novel "Journey to the West" (Xiyouji) was written around 1590, and to this day forms an important part of children (and adult) culture in China, possibly also in neighboring countries like Japan. The figure of Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, has long been the Chinese equivalent of Mickey Mouse, in toys, comics, animations in TV and cinema.Having read a number of Sun Wukong books, I immediately recognized all the crew members: the monk Xuanzang, riding his white horse; Shazeng, the "sand" monk; pig-headed Zhu Bajie. So even though this animation film is old, black & white, and sometimes imperfectly produced, I immediately felt at home with it - and enjoyed some of the ideas very much, like the beetle trick. I'm not sure how children would react to this movie today, but I had my childish pleasure with it!

As the DVD jacket states, this is the first full length animated film produced in China. That alone gives it historical significance, while the quality of the film is pretty good. The story has a lot of things going on. It concerns three travelers, a monkey, a pig face (thats the best I can do) and a human male as they try to travel west. They stumble onto the fiery mountain, where the fires can only be quelled if they obtain the iron fan from the local princess (hence the title). She is beautiful, of course, and does not wish to part with it. There are many great images here, but the story itself is not that compelling. Still, it is not very long, and the film, again, is a pioneering one, so I feel it should be watched.