The Magic Land of Alakazam (1960)
"Saiyûki" (original title)

A monkey king who learns the secrets of magic goes on a spree and causes no end of aggravation for the gods, who finally imprison him. In order to make up for all the trouble he's caused, ... See full summary »

Directors:

Daisaku Shirakawa, Taiji Yabushita,

Writers:

Goro Kontaibo, Lee Kresel (english version),

Stars:

Kiyoshi Komiyama, Noriko Shindô, Hideo Kinoshita

Cast

Credited cast:
Kiyoshi Komiyama	...	Son Gokû (voice)
Noriko Shindô	...	RinRin (voice)
Hideo Kinoshita	...	Cho Hakkai (voice)
Setsuo Shinoda	...	Sa Gojô (voice)
Nobuaki Sekine	...	Sanzô hôshi (voice)
Kunihisa Takeda	...	Shaka-nyorai (voice)
Katsuko Ozaki	...	Kanzeon-bosatsu (voice)
Michiko Shirasaka	...	Shoryo (voice)
Kinshirô Iwao	...	Gyûmaô (voice)
Tamae Kato	...	Rasetsu-jo (voice)
Shigeru Kawakubo	...	Kinkaku daiô (voice)
Shûichi Kazamatsuri	...	Ginkaku daiô (voice)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Frankie Avalon	...	Alakazam (singing voice)
Sterling Holloway	...	Narrator (voice)
Jackie Joseph	...	(voice)

Storyline

A monkey king who learns the secrets of magic goes on a spree and causes no end of aggravation for the gods, who finally imprison him. In order to make up for all the trouble he's caused, he is sent on a mission to accompany a prince who is the son of the gods on a journey through a land filled with dangers, monsters, cannibals and demons.

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Plot Keywords:

prince | cannibal | king | monster | monkey | 

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Taglines:

Pit of the Giant Scorpion! Hercules of the Universe! Bull Fight in the Volcano!

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Family | Fantasy | Music | Romance

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Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 July 1961 (USA)

Also Known As:

Alakazam the Great!

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alta Vista Productions, Toei Animation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This movie is based on a spoof written in twelfth-century China of the adventures of a giant Buddhist monk who went to India to collect rare scrolls to bring home to the monks at his own monastery.

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Quotes

DeeDee: Take me with you!
Alakazam: It's no place for women. Besides, magicians don't like girls. They saw them in half!

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Connections

Version of Songoku: The Road to the West (1959)

User Reviews

Alakazam in Moritorium Hell

Although it's not the spectacle of the greatness of Japanese Anime, the Western release of Saiyu-ki was a testament to the early days of the art.

Alas, like so many classics of animation, such as Toei's "Gulliver's Travels Beyond The Moon (Gariba no uchu ryoko)" or Nelvana's "Rock & Rule", this film will never be seen again except on rare, pirated copies, for it has been cast into the pit of Moritorium Hell, where major video chains unceremoniously trash the remaining copies into a dumpster without the opportunity to purchase them to try to salvage history. This disgusting form of book burning for profits by the major studios that now run the major video rental chains, leading to the demise of the Mom & Pop stores of the past will be remembered as corporate greed at it's worst.

I hope there is a special Hell for these arrogant suits.