Synopsis

In 1941 in the midst of WWII, the Wan Brothers, the pioneers of Chinese animation, completed Asia’s first – and the world’s third – feature-length animated film. Based on a chapter of Journey to the West, Princess Iron Fan was a big hit at the time, its popularity extending even to Japan. The film greatly influenced the development of Chinese animation, including the Wans’ later Havoc in Heaven. Drawing from Disney and Chinese opera while relying heavily on rotoscoping, the Wans applied slapstick, shape-shifting and topsy-turvy visuals to the Monkey King’s battle of wits with Princess Iron Fan and the Bull King in order to acquire her magical fan to quell the flames of a volcanic mountain range.