American Born Chinese

I don't think the Chinese in China will appreciate this though, because after all, this is in every sense, an American production. You won't be able to appreciate it unless you've been exposed to both cultures.

The monkey king is an iconic figure in Chinese folklore. All the monkey king ever wanted was to fit in (to be like a regular person). But he can't. He was born from a magical boulder (some said was exposed to a drop of Guanyin's blood) on monkey island, without parents, having an intellect surpassing any humans, but with the appearance of a monkey. He goes about learning, making mistakes, getting abused, and ultimately creating havoc in heaven. And it is then, that his real journey begins.

This show was never about the monkey king, or the bull demon. It's about the journey of an American boy -- fitting in in school, making mistakes, owning up, finding courage in difficult situations, etc.

They created new characters, gave monkey god a son, so that you could see and contrast some of the struggles the monkey god had gone through, but this time though, through the eyes of his son.

These are all new contents, new characters, new stories. Truth is, Ji Gong (the monk) was never a coward. The bull demon was never a real enemy to the monkey king (they were pals actually). And Sandy, was never a woman.

And most people don't even know that the main character in dragon ball was inspired from the very well known monkey king as well.