''A Monkey's Tale'' (; literally "The Castle of Monkeys") is a feature-length animated film directed by Jean-François Laguionie. It was released in 1999, and won the Award for Best Animated Feature Film at the fifth

Kecskemét Animation Film Festival Kecskemét Animation Film Festival () (KAFF) is an animated film festival held biennially during the month of June in Kecskemét, Hungary. Although the bulk of the festival is oriented toward efforts in Hungarian animation, the associated KAFF-spo ...

. It was released theatrically in the UK by Miracle Communications in its original English-language version in 2000, featuring the voices of Rik Mayall, John Hurt, Michael York, Sally Anne Marsh, and Michael Gambon. It was initially going to be released straight-to-video in the US by

Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...

, but for unknown reasons, it never materialized. A sequel titled ''The Prince's Voyage'' was produced in 2019.

Plot

A narrator speaks that long ago, an

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

separated a tribe of

monkey Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes. Thus monkeys, in that sense, co ...

s. One group escaped the

flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

brought on by the quake by climbing to the top of the trees while the other clung to the roots. In the flood's wake, the single tribe becomes two with mutual suspicion and fear of each other maintaining the divide. Kom is a member of the Woonkos, the tribe of monkeys residing in the tree canopy, who live in obsessive fear of falling into the world below which they believe to be inhabited by

demon A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in folklore, mythology, religion, occultism, and literature; these beliefs are reflected in Media (communication), media including f ...

s. Kom refuses to believe these superstitions and dismisses the warnings of both his older brother, Gavin, and the paranoid elder of the Woonkos. However, on the way home, he accidentally falls from the trees into the land below. He is saved by the king of the Lankoos who have developed into a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

-themed culture with a similar level of

scientific Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

knowledge, but equal levels of superstition and

prejudice Prejudice can be an affect (psychology), affective feeling towards a person based on their perceived In-group and out-group, social group membership. The word is often used to refer to a preconceived (usually unfavourable) evaluation or classifi ...

towards their Woonko cousins whom they believe to be savages. While at the King's castle, Kom befriends and falls for Gina, a young maid, while the castle librarian, Master Martin, teaches him to behave as a Lankoo while also teaching him about academic topics such as astronomy. The King is amused by Kom's attitude and impressed by the various cries his people use to communicate, prompting the King to make Kom his jester, although Gina gets annoyed when he tries too hard for popularity, and forgets her, prompting her to break off their relationship. Kom briefly attempts to return home, only for the King to remind him that he isn't a prisoner of the Lankoos, prompting Kom to return and reconcile with Gina. Meanwhile, the King's royal

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

Sebastian, the governess to the King's daughter, Princess Ida, and their dim-witted side-kick, Gerard the Gormless, plot to kill the king while slowly poisoning Ida. During a cold spell, the lake which the Lankoos believed to be cursed, freezes over and the king leads his army to cross it in order to reach the "promised land" on the other side of the lake. Unfortunately, the ice melts and the king and his army all drown, save Kom and one other soldier named Lionel. Sebastian believes his plan has worked and moves to claim the throne, but the governess (who was giving the princess the poison) is given it herself by Gina and Lionel, subduing her, while Gina administers an antidote to the princess which Kom had heard of from the Woonko elder. Ida recovers from the effects of the poison and claims the throne before Sebastian can. Sebastian attempts to escape, but is pursued by Kom who subdues him after a fight while Lionel does the same to Gerard. The film ends with Sebastian and Gerard imprisoned, Ida as the new queen, and Kom and Gina returning to the land of the Woonkos, with the implication that the two tribes will learn to know each other once more.

Characters

* Kom - the protagonist; a rebellious, cheeky, but brave and kind young Wonkoo monkey who helps uncover the treacherous plot. Voiced by Tara Römer, singing voice by Stéphane Peccoux (French); Matt Hill, singing voice by Paul Holmes (English), Daniel Brühl (German). * Gina - Kom's love interest; a feisty, benevolent, clever, and jolly Lankoo monkey. Voiced by Nadia Farès (French); Sally Anne Marsh (English). * Master Martin - the altruistic, wise, and loyal old

scholar A scholar is a person who is a researcher or has expertise in an academic discipline. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researcher at a university. An academic usually holds an advanced degree or a termina ...

, who is a good friend and mentor to Kom and Gina. Voiced by Michael Lonsdale (French);

Michael Gambon Sir Michael John Gambon (; 19 October 1940 – 27 September 2023) was an Irish-English actor. Gambon started his acting career with Laurence Olivier as one of the original members of the Royal National Theatre. Over his six-decade-long career ...

, singing voice by Robert Henry (English). * Sebastian - The main antagonist of the film, he is the chancellor and is feared by many people, although he is trusted by them too. Only the workers building the castle are suspicious of him. Voiced by Jean Piat (French);

John Hurt Sir John Vincent Hurt (22 January 1940 – 28 January 2017) was an English actor. Regarded as one of the finest actors of his time and known for the "most distinctive voice in Cinema of the United Kingdom, Britain", he was described by David Ly ...

(English). * Governess - The princess Ida's malicious governess, who helps Sebastian, is poisoning the princess and realises Gina is suspicious of her. Voiced by Janine Souchon (French); Shirley Anne Field (English). * Gerard the Gormless - A villainous character, although he is just a sidekick, and does not appear to have many villainous qualities. He is one of the comic relief characters. Voiced by Patrick Préjean (French); Rik Mayall (English). * The King - A kindly, but eccentric old man, who lets fantasy lead over fact. It is believed that he died by drowning in a lake. Voiced by Pierre Arditi (French); Michael York (English). * Princess Ida - The King's sickly daughter who is being poisoned by the governess. By the end of the film, because of the help of Kom and Gina, she has recovered and becomes queen. She is also the one who realises they must give up the idea about the "better world" on the other side, and that the two tribes need to reunite. Voiced by Ivana Coppola (French); Diana Quick (English). * Lionel - A Lankoo soldier, one of the few to trust Kom right from the start. Voiced by Bruno Choël (French); William Vanderpuye (English). * Gavin - Kom's more sensible older brother. Voiced by Lionel Melet (French); Paul Dobson (English). * Kom's mother - A kindly woman who loves both her sons. Voiced by Laurence Jeanneret (French); Janyse Jaud (English). * Korcnak - The pompous, bossy and ignorant elder of the Wonkoos, who warns them about the Lankoos. His views are revealed to be very incorrect. Voiced by Yves Barsacq (French); French Tickner (English). * Lankoo workers - They are surprised about Kom. They provide us with much of the gossip and information that is going on. They are also comic relief characters. * Narrator - He tells the story right at the start.

Sequel

A sequel titled ''The Prince's Voyage'' was produced in 2019. In this film, it is revealed that the King of the Lankoos survived falling into the lake and is rescued by a younger monkey named Tom.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Monkey's Tale, A 1999 films 1999 animated films 1999 children's films 1990s French animated films Animated films about monkeys Films directed by Jean-François Laguionie Films with screenplays by Norman Hudis Films scored by Alexandre Desplat French animated feature films French fantasy films 1990s French-language films Hungarian animated films 1990s English-language films