Alakazam the Great
| Alakazam the Great | |
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1961 US release lobby card
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| Directed by | Taiji Yabushita Daisaku Shirakawa |
| Produced by | Hiroshi Okawa |
| Written by | Keinosuke Uekusa |
| Based on |
Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en Boku no Son Gokū by Osamu Tezuka |
| Starring | Kiyoshi Komiyama Noriko Shindō Hideo Kinoshita Setsuo Shinoda Peter Fernandez Frankie Avalon |
| Narrated by | Sterling Holloway |
| Music by |
Ryoichi Hattori (Japanese Version) Les Baxter (American Version) |
| Cinematography | Harusato Otsuka Komei Ishikawa Kenji Sugiyama |
| Edited by | Shintaro Miyamoto Kanjiro Igusa Salvatore Billitteri Laurette Odney |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by |
Toei Company (Japan) American International Pictures (USA) |
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Release date
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Running time
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88 minutes (Japanese Version) 80 minutes (American Version) |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
Alakazam the Great (西遊記 Saiyu-ki?, lit. "Journey to the West") is a 1960 Japanese musical anime film, based on the Chinese novel Journey to the West, and was one of the earliest anime films to be released in the United States. Osamu Tezuka was named as a director of the film by Toei Company. However, Tezuka later stated that the only time he was in the studio was to pose for publicity photos. His involvement in promoting the film, however, led to his interest in animation.
It was included as one of the choices in The Fifty Worst Films of All Time, and is the only animated film featured in the book.
Alakazam is a young and brave monkey (a macaque) who has been encouraged by all the other monkeys to become their king. After attaining the throne, he becomes rude and dictatorial, and does not believe that human beings are greater than he is. Then he tricks/forces Merlin the magician to teach him magic (reluctantly on Merlin's part, who warns Alakazam that the powers he acquires now will bring him much unhappiness later).
Alakazam becomes so arrogant that he abuses his magic powers, and chooses to go up to Majutsu Land (the Heavens), to challenge King Amo. He is defeated by King Amo. For his punishment, he is sentenced to serve as the bodyguard of Prince Amat on a pilgrimage; in order to learn humility, mercy and to fight with wisdom. Ultimately, he learns his lesson and becomes a true hero.
The film was released in the United States by American International on July 26, 1961. For the American release, a few scenes were heavily edited and rearranged and bandleader Les Baxter was hired to compose a new soundtrack. Teen idol Frankie Avalon supplied the singing voice of Alakazam (the speaking voice was done by Peter Fernandez), and Sterling Holloway provided English-language narration. Other famous voices included Jonathan Winters, Arnold Stang, Dodie Stevens, & E.G. Marshall.
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