Classic Chinese legends get a new animated retelling in Shimmy: The First Monkey King, a new 3D CGI feature produced for cinemas and IMAX ready. Ahead of the European Film Market (EFM) in Berlin, first-look poster artwork has been revealed by Odin’s Eye Entertainment (odinseyeent.com), which is handling sales for the pic.
The movie stars Shimmy, a cheeky monkey with newly discovered superhero-like powers must learn how to control his extraordinary transformative abilities to prevent powerful demonic forces from sending the universe into chaos. The family action-adventure hails from animation veteran Ralph Zondag, creator of Disney’s Dinosaur (2000) and story writer for Pocahontas (1995), and is ready for delivery in April 2023.
“We were inspired by the fantastic ancient epic tale, Journey to the West and did extensive research to capture all its unique, well-rounded characters, spectacular realms and subtle nuances of self-discovery by applying a current perspective that makes it universally relatable for children and adults alike in a highly entertaining and incredibly fun way,” said director-producers Ralph Zondag and Dick Zondag (We’re Back! A Dinosaur’s Story).
Shimmy: The First Monkey King is an official U.S.-China co-production between Eastern International Pictures, Europe-China Pictures, Magic Pictures and Stone Monkey Productions. Producers are Michelle Qi, Jason Zhu, Dick Zondag and Ralph Zondag. The film will have a wide release in China this summer through Shanghai Film Co. Ltd.
“I am thrilled to be working with this incredible team who have produced an animated feature epic in scale but also wonderfully nuanced in character performance, humor and warmth as well as being an action packed origin story,” said Michel Favelle of Odin’s Eye Animation.
Michelle Qi of Eastern International Pictures commented, “We are thrilled to be partnering with Odin’s Eye and their experienced sales and marketing team. At Eastern International Pictures Group it is our continued goal to collaborate with top level creatives such as Ralph and Dick in producing high quality entertaining content for global audiences.”
