BBC's Olympic Monkey
Every Olympics, the British Broadcasting Company (BBC) commissions a short film that is used as an introduction to the coverage of the Olympic Games.Usually this film is a montage of athletes and some scenery from the host country.This year, however, the BBC's Olympic coverage will feature the characters from Journey to the West.
The initial UK reaction to the film, officially unveiled on the BBC's website on July 24, was mixed.Those above a certain age generally did not understand at first.But those who were in their 30s quickly recognized the characters from a story they had grown up with.
The television series "Saiyuuki"( Journey to the West ),produced in Japan, where the story is also famous,made its way into British living rooms in the late 1970s via BBC2.The show, called "Monkey" in English, had something of a cult following, and a whole generation of British 30-somethings remember watching the adventures of Monkey, Pigsy, Sandy and Tripitaka at 6:00 on Friday evenings.
These were the people who were quickest to sing the praises of the new film. Comments on the BBC's sports blog included: It brought back childhood memories for me! This was my favorite programme on telly. Some people started quoting the lyrics from the opening sequence, and many felt that Monkey is a great way of bridging out understanding of the East as he was also part of many of our youths.When one person wrote,A cartoon based on a 30 year old program - you can do better than that, another countered back, The story is from 16th century China - it's like bashing something based on a Shakespeare play.
Some younger viewers were confused.As a twenty-something,I have never heard of Monkey,so I missed the reference entirely, writes one. Being 19, I have no idea who this monkey guy is or the story behind it, but its fun, and the animation is awesome!, writes another. But young people were quick to recognise the work of Damon Albarn ( songwriter / composer ) and Jamie Hewlett ( artist ),the duo behind the cartoon band Gorillaz. Jamie is such a brilliant artist and this is a great step by the Beeb to use such an incredible talent an Messrs Hewlett and Albarn work their magic again!
Not only have people been impressed with the film itself, but many have been impressed by the BBC for having commissioned something edgy.Sometimes it feels like the 'Beeb' are somewhat lax with their finger on the pulse of the zeitgeist.But when I watched it I really got the feeling that my generation were really being represented with this animation.
The best thing about this film is that is has people asking questions and learning more about the story of Journey to the West and Chinese classic literature.As one commenter writes, How many more people have heard of Monkey now? Lots.
(The film is also a promotion for Hewlett, Albarn and Chinese director Chen Shi-Zheng's opera Monkey: Journey to the West.)
每一届奥运会开幕前，BBC都会制作一部短片，作为其奥运专题报道的前奏。通常情况下，短片主要反映的是运动员风采和主办国独特风光。今年，BBC史无前例地让中国古典作品《西游记》中的师徒四人担任了奥运短片的主人公。
BBC于7月24日在官网上正式发布了这部短片后，英国国内的反映褒贬不一。老年和少年观众普遍反映看不明白，而那些30岁左右的观众却可以马上领略其中的含义，这要归功于他们儿时曾看过并伴随他们成长的一部电视剧。
70年代晚期，由日本制作的电视连续剧《西游记》（ “Saiyuuki”）曾经在BBC2台播出，当时在英国颇受欢迎。当时这部被大家称作“美猴王”的作品曾拥有一批忠实的追随者。英国30多岁的一代人都对唐僧师徒四人印象深刻，儿时每周五晚六点守候在电视前是他们童年最美好的回忆。
所以，BBC短片出炉后，英国30岁左右的观众迅速表示了高度赞赏。BBC体育的博客上，许多观众留下了感言，如“短片唤醒了我童年的美好回忆，《西游记》曾是我最喜欢的电视剧”。一些观众开始复述电视剧中的台词， 还有人表示“美猴王的故事是有效地增进了对东方文明的理解，它也是我们这一代人成长的一部分”。有一个网友说“BBC的动画短片是基本一部30年前的作品，BBC应该可以做得更好”，马上有另一位网友反击说“这个故事起源于16世纪的中国，它的渊源不亚于我们改编一部莎翁作品。”
而少年观众们则看不太懂。“我们20多岁这一代人，从来没有听说过美猴王，所以对背景知识我完全不了解。”网上一位20多岁的网友写道。另一位19岁的观众也反映没有听说过《西游记》的故事，但对BBC的动画设计和视觉效果评价甚高。
英国当代的青年人，应该可以一眼认出BBC短片中的动画形象是Jamie Hewlett和作曲家Damon Albarn 的合作产物，与他们共同创作的动画乐队组合《街头霸王》（Gorillaz）异曲同工。英国公众认为，BBC使用Jamie和Damon的艺术作品作为奥运短片的元素是创意之举，展现了英国现代艺术前卫的一面。年轻观众们不仅喜欢短片本身，更欣赏BBC可以敢于尝新，“当我观看短片时，我感觉它可以代表我们这一代人”，这也是英国80 后们喜欢它的原因。
更可喜的是，短片引发了英国观众的讨论，大家更好地理解了《西游记》这部中国经典文学作品。就象一位英国评论家所说：现在我们中有多少人听说过美猴王的故事？答案是很多。
注：此短片还作为Jamie Hewlett、Damon Albarn和中国导演陈士争合作的歌剧《猴》的宣传片，在伦敦皇家歌剧院给观众带来欢乐。
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