Written by a Ming-era writer, Wu Cheng-en, Journey to the West, is based on myths surrounding the 17-year joumey to India of a Chinese monk, Xuan Zang, to get the Buddhist Sutra during the Great Tang era. One of the six greatest novels in China, the novel is composed of 100 episodes of some legendary figures with supernatural powers that enable them to ride the clouds and form fog, and also to create hundreds of their own clones out of a hair and to go a far distance within a few seconds. No wonder quite a few filmmakers, especially animators, have wanted to adapt this novel into a film. Wang Toon, a director from the Taiwanese New Wave generation who has made 10 films so far that are quite different from those of his peers such as Hsiao Hsien Hou and Edward Yang, chose to adapt the episode of the Mountain of Fire in the grandiosely fantastic novel into his first animated film. The story revolves around the monk and his disciples on their way to India. As their way is blocked by the Mountain of Fire′, they struggle to put out the fire. In the process, they find out about the dark plot set by the Spider Queen′ to steal the "Absolute Fan", the only thing that can put out the fire in the Mountain of Fire′, from the Empress. (Michelle Sohn)