《捉妖记》

    The film begins in an ancient fantasy world, where monsters rule the land. Some look like dragons, some like less hirsute* Monchichi (or a daikon radish as the film puts it). As the prologue* tells us, humans got tired of this and started a war with the monsters that ended with the latter driven into the far reaches of the mountains. Now, a civil war among the monsters has broken and the pregnant monster queen flees into the land of the humans with her husband-and-wife guardians Zhugao and Pangying (Hong Kong comedy veterans Eric Tsang and Sandra Ng).

    As the monster war spills into* the human world, nearby Yongning village mayor Tianyin (Jing Boran) becomes caught in the fight. Even though he can hardly believe his eyes, the monster queen takes a shine to* Tianyin. And Yongning is in fact a monster colony.

    Later, the monster hunter Xiaonan (Bai Baihe), Zhugao and Pangying, and Xiaonan’s rival hunter Luo Gan (Jiang Wu) stop in Yongning, drawn to Tianyin’s home.

    Xiaonan and Luo are bounty hunters* and not part of the Monster Hunt Bureau, which regional warlord and restaurant owner Ge Qianhu (Wallace Chung) wants to revive*. A monster civil war is precisely what he wants as it will restore glory and bring customers to his restaurant that sells monster meat. Soon enough a fight breaks out between the hunters and the royal guard, the result being the dying queen impregnating* Tianyin with her son and heir* by spitting the fetus into his stomach. Now the “parents” of the future monster king, Tianyin and Xiaonan have to decide between saving the babe, finally named Wuba, and giving in to their baser instincts, like selling him for profit.

    Visual effects by Jason H. Snell and action choreography by Ku Huen Chiu keep the story moving quickly and give it a fantastical tone. The central character, the animated Wuba, is a wild card that can be either endearing and cute or creepy*, depending on your tastes.

    (SD-Agencies)