“Journey to the West – The Monkey King 2” isn’t due to be screened until Chinese New Year but already, it’s gaining “popularity” amongst Malaysians.
In case you haven’t heard of the Monkey King (Sun Wukong), it’s a character from the classic novel, “Journey to the West” by Wu Cheng’en. “Journey to the West – The Monkey King 2” is a Hong Kong action fantasy film based on that character and the novel. Keyword being “fantasy”.
As part of the promotional activities for the film, several communicative posters and billboards have been put up, featuring the lead characters from the film including one part-human part-pig Zhu Bajie. Zhu Bajie is seen standing alongside Monkey King, Tang Sanzang, and Sha Wujing in the original poster of the film.
But alas, it perhaps hit a sensitive cord with Malaysian Film Censorship Board because according to a report by malaysiakini, Zhu Bajie has been effectively removed from the Jalan Loke Yew billboard.
When asked by malaysiakini, Deputy Home Minister Nur Jazlan Mohamed said that the censorship board will make a decision “in the best interest of the country not the movie producer”.
“I think it must be because the movie did not follow the guidelines of the censorship board. Anyway it is too trivial an issue to comment on,” Nur Jazlan said.
The question is, was it even necessary to remove a fantasy character to begin with? We’ll let you guys decide.
“Journey to the West – The Monkey King 2” stars Aaron Kwok (Monkey King), Gong Li (Baigujing), Feng Shaofeng (Tang Sanzang), Xiaoshenyang (Zhu Bajie), Kelly Chen (Guan Yin), and Him Law (Sha Wujing). Watch the trailer below:
“Journey to the West – The Monkey King 2” is set to premiere over Chinese New Year, which falls on 8th and 9th February.
Sources: malaysiakini, Zhu Bajie Wiki / Featured image from malaysiakini.
