Animation is Film Review: Nobody is a goofy, warm, and beautiful journey to the west

I don't if other people who review movies feel the same way, but I almost feel like it's harder to write about a movie I really love than one that I like or have mixed feelings on. Maybe it's because I want to avoid dipping into hyperbole, which can be hard when I'm passionate about something I've seen. I think more than that, it's a daunting task to put into words what it's like to watch something that hits you like a lightning bolt, that makes you cry, that you'll never forget. So I come into this review hoping to do my best, but knowing that words might not be enough to capture the magic of Shui Yu's Nobody, which is my favorite movie I've seen at Animation is Film in my five years of attending.

Ever since I first heard about Nobody, when it broke box office records in China a couple months ago (it's now the country's highest-gossing 2-D animated movie ever), I have been obsessed with seeing it. It was the movie I was most hoping would show up at Animation is Film, and of course, they delivered, master programmers that they are.

The film is a fresh take on Journey to the West, which is saying something, because Journey to the West gets adapted seemingly constantly. I have to wonder if it's the single most-adapted work of literature ever. Hell, even within animation, it seems like there's a new movie version every year. Netflix's 2023 release The Monkey King comes to mind. Pigsy is another recent one that had a nifty sci-fi flare to it. A lot of the adaptations are especially interested in Sun Wukong (aka the Monkey King), the crafty and powerful disciple of Tang Sanzang. In Nobody, he certainly looms large, despite never being cleary shown.

Which brings us to the brilliance of Nobody. Rather than being a straight-on adaptation of Journey to the West, this is more like a Life of Brian or a Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead situation. Our heroes aren't the band of scripture-seekers venturing to the West to try to claim immortality. No, our heroes are a rag-tag bunch of (yup) nobodies who are pretending to be those scripture-seekers in their own bid for immortality. As you can imagine, hilarity ensues.

The world of Nobody is populated by humans and Yao, monsters who take the form of anthropomorphic animals. They walk on two legs, talk, and are often up to no good. Our hero is a nameless boar Yao who is gagged and gooped to learn about the Tang Monk. It's said that taking a bite of his flesh grants you immortality. He recruits his friend, Toad, to try to ambush the Tang Monk as he travels, so they can get a bite. But once they figure out that Sun Wukong is among the monk's traveling companions, they know they need to rethink their plan.

So, they end up recruiting a very chatty weasel and a very nervous ape (to play the part of the Monkey King, naturally) and start on their way. They have a decent head start on the actual scripture-seekers, so they figure they can make it to the Buddha first and hopefully claim that sweet, sweet immortality before anyone becomes the wiser of their plan.

The film takes on an episodic structure, with certain scenes playing out as comedic setpieces, while others are longer sequences where our heroes get themselves tangled up in various situations, such as being recruited to help rid a village of a nasty rat Yao.

As you might imagine, a lot of the joy of this movie comes from the dynamics within our core group. These are just a bunch of random Yao who have ended up together, and trying to figure out how best to work together. There are obviously growing pains in that. Weasel never shuts up, despite his character supposedly only having two designated lines he ought to be saying. Ape is prone to crying, when he's supposed to be this tough action hero. And Toad is a ball of nerves and regret, wondering how he managed to let Boar pull him into this cockamamie scheme in the first place. He longs for his bygone life, where he was a simple dishwasher for a king.

But that's only one source of joy here, among many. The film is brought to life in this beautiful, expressive inkwash animation that gives the (often extremely silly) proceedings an air of mythological might. We're watching these randos go on a quest, but in this style, and with a gorgeous backing score, it feels like a truly epic adventure.

And it is that, too. For as funny and goofy as Nobody often is, there's also a gorgeous thematic undercurrent of choosing who to be, and what to be. These guys could easily just rush to their destination in the hopes of getting their wish (however unlikely that outcome seems), but instead, they start to find their footing in being heroes, and making a positive impact in a world where they've often been shunned, hated, or chased away. The sweep of the story takes us to an incredibly emotional finale that I am literally crying over right now just remembering it. It's an unspeakably beautiful arc watching these selfish buffoons become something more, and not out of necessity. It's about the innate goodness they carry, that they don't even realize they possess. But when push comes to shove, they do what's right, even when it's not easy.

I'm still basking in the warm glow of Nobody. Some of the final scenes unfold as dawn breaks, and we see various locales we've already visited bathed in the gleaming orange rays of a new day. I felt that light reaching right into my soul, making me feel so blessed, so lucky to have spent a couple hours with these characters, a group of unlikely heroes that I'll treasure forever. And I only hope this film finds the international distribution it deserves so more audiences can experience the warmth, humor, and wisdom for themselves.