dont_b_so_BBC The 40th Anniversay Edition box contains 2 DVDs, one with the film (parts I and II) and the other with some interesting special features, such as a much earlier black & white film made on another episode of the adventures of the Monkey King (the "Flaming Mountain" episode). The "Flaming Mountain" is really funny because it is halfway between Disney's (Micky Mouse) animation and the "true" Chinese animation achieved in Uproar in Heaven-- a really strange mix! The sound and image on the DVD is very well-remastered despite many minor specks and scratches, but part II of the main film was badly preserved with nasty marks and jumpy cuts. I really liked the commemorative documentary which has interviews of a few original animators and voice actors when they were still alive-- the Jade/Heavenly Emperor is actually modelled after the chubby face of its voice actor! Unfortunately, ONLY Chinese (traditional & simplified) subtitles are provided.P.S. A REALLY well-remastered DVD is the 25th Anniversary DVD of "Nezha Nao Hai" (Nezha Conquers the Dragon King) which comes with (Chinese &) English subtitles! It totally wipes the floor with Disney's Mulan (just my personal fanatical opinion) in terms of Chinese fantasy art and, of course, kung-fu animation.

jonasjobbar Saw it twice as a kid and I remember it still. This movie is a wonderful animation from China about the Monkey king and his adventures.The movie consists of several earthly and heavenly adventures as the monkey king tries to (save the world?) or just get along in life (It has been over 20 years...)It just became available for purchasing in Sweden and I am gonna get it...9/10 as I remember it, it may even get 10/10 as a children's movie, but also risk being downgraded (as I said, 20 years) to about 8, but not lower, never...

Mozjoukine Our knowledge of animation in China is, to say the least, patchy but this is represented as their most important work, an account of the adventures of the painted face monkey king who leads the little monkeys of the Fruit and Flower Mountain, despite the traps and combatants launched by the King of Heaven.It's sobering to realise that the opera tradition that this film's moves and costumes echo is the one shown under attack in FAREWELL TO THE CONCUBINE which is set in the period in which this was made. The childrens' films of the socialist countries were often their only product to be dogma free and it's hard to accept proposition that the drunken, destructive monkey is a rendition of young Chairman Mao upsetting the authorities.The flattened, scroll painting design is one of the film's distinctive features.UPROAR IN HEAVEN doesn't have the animation set pieces of the major Disney films, the zip of the Looney Toons or the sophistication of European cartoons but it has a quality of it's own which appeals and even occasionally impresses - the battle with the gem headed scarlet serpent, the horses bathing in the clouds. Monkey King, who apparently did have a further career, may not make any Journey to the East with Pigsy but he is a more effective cartoon character than Mickey Mouse, Mr McGoo or many of those we know better.Tinies may have difficulty taking two hours of this but segments would be sure to get them in. It is, in a good copy, one of the best examples of the Orwo process even if they never could cope with the violet-mauve-purple bit of the spectrum.

sunnymoon13 Having gone into watching this without any expectations I must say that I was pleasingly surprised with how the movie captured me and pulled me in to the story. Yes it is an animated movie but it gives a chance to get a glimpse into the otherwise non revealed chinese mythology and legends.Very good for young and old alike.