Toei Animation presented a preview of its next film project, the 2D-3D hybrid animated film Monkey Quest, at the Annecy Festival in France this past week. Studio SANZIGEN is animating the 3D elements.
Image via Annecy Festival
© TOEI ANIMATION Co., Ltd.
Image via Spaceport Technologies’ X/Twitter account
© TOEI ANIMATION Co., Ltd.
The company initially announced the film as a CG project titled Hypergalactic in February 2024.
The story, loosely based on the Chinese literary classic Journey to the West, follows 12-year-old Ellie and her 1-year-old brother Adam in the not-so-distant future. They liberate the forgotten protector of Earth, Okon, and face off against the villainous Vex in an intergalactic adventure.
The cast includes Adam Devine as Okon, Elsie Fisher as Ellie, and J.K. Simmons as Vex.
The film is a joint production between Japan and the U.S. and features an international crew of animators.
Sonic the Hedgehog designer Naoto Oshima co-created the concept and characters with Joseph Chou (The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim). David N. Weiss (Shrek 2) is writing the script and co-directing the film with Stephanie Ma Stine (Kung-Fu Panda 4) and character designer Takao Noguchi. Toei Animation’s Yoshi Ikezawa is producing the film.
Sunghoo Park (director for Jujutsu Kaisen, The God of High School) assisted the production with action sequences and provided storyboards.
The film is currently in post-production and aiming for a 2027 release. Charades is distributing the film worldwide.
Toei partnered with Spaceport Technologies and Twin Atlas for a Roblox game for the project titled Hypergalactic: Monkey Quest in November 2024. The game is a hub for a connected universe of games.
Toei Animation also previously announced that it was partnering with Spaceport Technologies for Fortnite.
Sources: Cartoon Brew (Rafael Motamayor), Variety (Kambole Campbell)
