Introduction
The epic Journey to The West has been retold and built upon in innumerable ways since its inception in the 16th century. Especially in the modern day, as our values continue to evolve, it becomes imperative to evaluate the modern adaptations that build upon the dense layers of the characters. One, perhaps surprising place from which we can see this is through the children’s TV show Lego Monkie Kid. This TV show envisions the well-known characters in somewhat of a new light allowing for a subversion of the viewer’s expectations. While many aspects change in this adaptation, one of the most interesting changes occurs to Macaque, or Sun Wukong’s doppelganger. Despite being villainous in both works, his arc and motivations differ between the two adaptations.
Popular novel version of Journey to the West
Journey to the West
In the original Journey to the West, the Monkey King (Sun Wukong) is born out of a cosmic stone. As he grows with age and power, the rash and arrogant Sun Wukong becomes obsessed with cheating death. He fears his own mortality so much that he wreaks havoc in the underworld, attempting to remove his name from the register of life and death. He continues to wreak havoc in the heavens until the Jade emperor sends one hundred thousand soldiers after him. Sun Wukong is able to defeat them but eventually his luck runs out. The Buddha traps him the Monkey King under a mountain, imprisoning him for his sins. After five hundred years of imprisonment, the Buddha awakens him to send him on a pilgrimage across China to retrieve holy buddhist scriptures. Along with Tang Xuangzang and Pigsy, he undergoes trials and tribulations including foiling his doppelganger’s (Macaque) mischievous activities. He is forced to kill his doppelganger at the end of chapter fifty-eight with the help of the Buddha. Overcoming this trial allows the journey to finish and becomes a massive symbolic victory for Sun Wukong.
Popular Movie adaptation of fight between doppelganger and Sun Wukong
Lego Monkie King
The TV Show Lego Monkie Kid picks up in the distant future that resembles our civilization in some ways. The fantastical characters like Pigsy still remain but in a new and refreshing way. The protagonist, Monkie Kid (MK), is a noodle delivery boy who accidentally acquires Sun Wukong’s powers by holding his staff. Sun Wukong then chooses him as his successor to fight off evil. The rest of the show involves MK fighting off familiar foes from Journey to the West to protect the city. With each episode dealing with different villains and an overarching season theme, the narrative structure is vastly different from the original source material. This allows for new ways to explore the characters.
Sun Wukong (Right) and Macaque (left) fighting. Macaque is not pictured exactly as a doppelganger in this but rather as a more sinister-looking version. Despite this appearance, he oftentimes helps MK and tries to save others allowing for him to be redeemed.
Symbolism and Comparison of characters
In the modern adaptation, lots of inspiration is taken from the symbolism of Sun Wukong’s journey. The protagonist MK is a very similar character to Sun Wukong. He is arrogant and often naive about the smartest ways to solve problems. However, his moral compass is much more intact than Sun Wukong’s was. Monkie King differs from Sun Wukong in that he does not cause unnecessary havoc and is not motivated by selfish desires such as immortality. He, under the Monkey King’s guidance, protects the city from demons. His character arc throughout the seasons is akin to a modern fighter protagonist as he has to learn new moves to defeat new villains. However, one of the largest departures from the original source material includes the new representation of Macaque, the doppelganger. In the original Journey to the West, Macaque fights with Sun Wukong confusing Tang Xuangzang and Pigsy. However, Sun Wukong, with the help of Buddha, eventually helps him defeat his doppelganger. This fight symbolizes the moral triumph of Monkey over his evil side. Macaque represents the Monkey King’s double-mindedness and his defeat at the hands of the Monkey King. The fight also shows the illusion of identity. Neither Tang Xuangzing nor Pigsy can differentiate between the two monkeys. In order to understand one’s true identity, ultimate enlightenment or realization is required. However, the show picks up later and views the character in a different light. For one, it is revealed early on that Macaque had survived the fight but was badly wounded. This leads him to resent Sun Wukong and MK, by extension. This resentment leads to conflict between MK and Macaque as Macaque fears MK becoming like Sun Wukong and severely injuring him again. This adaptation also gives more depth to Macaque’s character. Despite being an “evil version” of Sun Wukong, he is able to be redeemed as a character, just as Sun Wukong was. In this case, he no longer represents the duality of Sun Wukong, but rather becomes his own character. Even despite knowing the power MK could hold, and the pain he could inflict, Macaque still goes out of his way to protect him because he knows that MK is the only one that can protect them from their existential threats.
Macaque scenes from the show
Conclusion
The TV show Lego Monkie Kid builds upon the original legend of Journey to the West. However, it also puts new spins on characters such as the protagonist, MK and the doppelganger, Macaque. While the source material used Macaque as symbolism for Sun Wukong’s duality, the show uses Macaque as a redeemable character who overcomes his resentment for Sun Wukong to ultimately do the right thing to save the city.
