This was the second full-length animation film made in China and the first in colour. Shanghai Animation Studio took four years to complete it, and was firstly divided in 2 parts. It tells the first chapter of the famous novel of "Journey to the West" starring Monkey King Sun Wu-Kong, which has been made into dozens of movies in Asia since the Silent Era. This film was so important in the Shanghai Studios that they used Wu-Kong's face as company logo since then.

In this movie, the shameless and cheeky Monkey King faces Jade Emperor and his Royal Counsellors, who conspire against him. Later some of the characters of the story will appear in "Ne Zha Conquers the Dragon King", made by the same studio 15 years after, which is a better spin-off of this film. The animation is good and the scenery is very beautiful and full of imagination, although I think it lacks of "visual concentration".