Havoc in Heaven

Havoc in Heaven
DVD cover, a 2004 retro
Traditional	大鬧天宮
Simplified	大闹天宫
Mandarin	Dà nào tiān gōng
Literally	havoc in Tian
Directed by	Wan Laiming
Produced by	Wan brothers
Written by	Li Keruo Wan Laiming
Music by	Wu Yingju
Release date	1961, 1964
Running time	114 mins (original), 87 mins (remastered)
Country	China
Language	Chinese (Mandarin)

Havoc in Heaven, also translated as Uproar in Heaven, is a Chinese animated feature film directed by Wan Laiming and produced by all four of the Wan brothers. The film was created at the height of the Chinese animation industry in the 1960s, and received numerous awards. It earned the brothers domestic and international recognition. The story is an adaptation of the earlier episodes of the Chinese novel Journey to the West.

The stylized animation and drums and percussion accompaniment used in this film are heavily influenced by Peking opera traditions.

Wan Guchan, of the Wan Brothers and one of the animators of the feature film Princess Iron Fan, began planning the production of Havoc in Heaven after its release in 1941. However, the project was delayed for over a decade after the Japanese capture of Shanghai during the Second Sino-Japanese War, and later by the Chinese Civil War.

Wan Laiming returned to Shanghai as director of Shanghai Animation Film Studio in 1954, and production of Havoc in Heaven resumed shortly thereafter. The first part of the film was completed in 1961 by Wan Laiming and Wan Guchan. The second part was completed in 1964 with the assistance of Wan Chaochen and Wan Dihuan. Both parts of the film were screened together for the first time in 1965. This was the last major animated film of the Second Golden Era of Cinema of China. A year later, the entire industry was effectively shut down by the Cultural Revolution.