Movies Like Monkey King: Hero Is Back (2015)

Monkey King: Hero Is Back is a 2015 animation, comedy, fantasy film from Tian Xiaopeng with a MovieMagicScore of 6.9/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with New Gods: Nezha Reborn and Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons.

Animation Comedy Fantasy

New Gods: Nezha Reborn

2021

While living as an ordinary deliveryman and motor racing fan, Nezha encounters old nemeses and must rediscover his powers to protect his loved ones.

8.1

MagicScore

Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons

2013

In a world plagued by demons who cause great human suffering, young demon hunter Tang Sanzang must fight against monstrous demons, as well as contend with a beautiful demon hunting woman on his path to enlightenment.

6.9

MagicScore

Night on the Galactic Railroad

1985

Giovanni currently lives a dreary life of near non-stop work. At school, his peers ridicule him incessantly, and his employer at work is distant and cold. As his isolation from society becomes unbearable, he suddenly finds himself on a train heading far away from his miserable home. Accompanied by Campanella, an acquaintance from school, Giovanni embarks on a journey that will define the rest of his life.

7.2

MagicScore

Ne Zha 2

2025

After a catastrophic event leaves their bodies destroyed, Ne Zha and Ao Bing are granted a fragile second chance at life. As tensions rise between the dragon clans and celestial forces, the two must undergo a series of perilous trials that will test their bond, challenge their identities, and decide the fate of both mortals and immortals.

8.2

MagicScore

Ne Zha

2019

A young boy is born as the reincarnation of a demonic power, into a society that hates and fears him. Destined by prophecy to bring destruction to the world, Nezha must choose between good and evil to see if he can change his fate.

7.9

MagicScore

Once Upon a Time

2017

Bai Qian, a goddess and monarch from the Heavenly Realms, is sent to the mortal world to undergo a trial to become a High Goddess. There, she meets Ye Hua, with whom she falls in love and marries. When an old enemy reappears in her life, everything she holds dear is threatened.

6.8

MagicScore

Saint☆Young Men

2013

Jesus Christ and Gautama Buddha, the founders of Christianity and Buddhism, are living together as roommates in a Tokyo apartment while taking a vacation on Earth. The comedy often involves jokes about Christianity, Buddhism, and all things related, as well as the main characters' attempts to hide their identities and understand modern society in Japan.

7.7

MagicScore

Yoddha

1992

Fate brings a young man from rural Kerala to be the protector of a young Lama in Nepal, who is being chased by a dangerous cult.

7.6

MagicScore

The Art of Happiness

2013

Sergio driving a taxi in a white Naples overflowing sadness and garbage. Pouring rain leads her clients through the city trying to process the death of his brother, who started ten years earlier for Tibet and never returned. A pop singer, a recycler of fragments of life, a radio announcer, an old uncle, alternate seats on its bearing, each in its own way, a trace of his brother loved. Stubborn not to go over and get lost in an endless race, Sergio is overwhelmed by memories and the music produced in pairs with Alfredo, which in Buddhism and in its foundations had found the strength to cope with the disease. Those notes that he believed buried and laid to always return overbearing and demanding a soundboard that resonate and express his being sound. Putting his hand on the piano, Sergio Alfredo feel again, giving the past with the present and realizing itself in the feeling.

8.1

MagicScore

#10

A Touch of Zen

1970

Gu Sheng-zhai, an artist in his early 30s, still lives with his mother, but he is suddenly shaken by the arrival of Yang Hui-zhen, a mysterious princess on the run. Yang brings Gu into her circle of protectors, including a nameless monk whose spiritual guidance transforms him into a valiant fighter.

7.7

MagicScore

#11

Tai-Chi Master

1993

Falsely accused for cheating in a martial arts competition, two boyhood friends are banished from their Shaolin Temple and go their separate ways. As adults, they join opposing sides in a civil war. When one betrays the other, they settle their differences mano-a-mano.

7.2

MagicScore

#12

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives

2010

Suffering from acute kidney failure, Boonmee has chosen to spend his final days surrounded by his loved ones in the countryside. Surprisingly, the ghost of his deceased wife appears to care for him, and his long lost son returns home in a non-human form. Contemplating the reasons for his illness, Boonmee treks through the jungle with his family to a mysterious hilltop cave—the birthplace of his first life.

6.6

MagicScore

#13

The Boxer's Omen

1983

After his brother was crippled in the ring by a cheating Thai boxer, Chan Hung goes to Thailand to avenge his brother, and finds the key to an omen which may release their family from an ancient curse. He is then caught up in a spiraling web of fate, Buddhist curses, and black magic.

6.4

MagicScore

#14

The Golden Child

1986

After a Tibetan boy, the mystical Golden Child, is kidnapped by the evil Sardo Numspa, humankind's fate hangs in the balance. On the other side of the world in Los Angeles, the priestess Kee Nang seeks the Chosen One, who will save the boy from death. When Nang sees social worker Chandler Jarrell on television discussing his ability to find missing children, she solicits his expertise, despite his skepticism over being "chosen."

5.9

MagicScore

#15

You People

2023

A new couple and their families reckon with modern love amid culture clashes, societal expectations and generational differences.

5.6

MagicScore

#16

The Touch

2002

A sister and brother, the last heirs of a family of acrobats, are called upon by a Buddhist monk sect to retrieve an artifact that their ancestors have protected throughout the ages.

5.0

MagicScore

#17

The Burmese Harp

1956

In Burma during the closing days of WWII, a Japanese soldier separated from his unit disguises himself as a Buddhist monk to escape imprisonment as a POW.

7.9

MagicScore

#18

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring

2003

An isolated lake, where an old monk lives in a small floating temple. The monk has a young boy living with him, learning to become a monk. We watch as seasons and years pass by.

7.8

MagicScore

#19

TINA

2021

Tina Turner overcame impossible odds to become one of the first female Black artists to reach a mainstream international audience. Her road to superstardom is an undeniable story of triumph over adversity. It’s the ultimate story of survival – and an inspirational story of our times.

7.8

MagicScore

#20

The Last Emperor

1987

A dramatic history of Pu Yi, the last of the Emperors of China, from his lofty birth and brief reign in the Forbidden City, the object of worship by half a billion people; through his abdication, his decline and dissolute lifestyle; his exploitation by the invading Japanese, and finally to his obscure existence as just another peasant worker in the People's Republic.

7.6

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Monkey King: Hero Is Back?

The top films similar to Monkey King: Hero Is Back by MovieMagicScore are New Gods: Nezha Reborn (8.1), Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons (6.9), Night on the Galactic Railroad (7.2). Each shares animation/comedy/fantasy themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Monkey King: Hero Is Back worth watching?

Monkey King: Hero Is Back holds a MovieMagicScore of 6.9/10 from 279 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is Monkey King: Hero Is Back?

Monkey King: Hero Is Back (2015) is a animation, comedy, fantasy film directed by Tian Xiaopeng, starring Zhang Lei, Lin Zijie, Wu Wenlun.

Where can I find more recommendations like Monkey King: Hero Is Back?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more animation recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like New Gods: Nezha Reborn Movies like Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons Movies like Night on the Galactic Railroad Movies like Ne Zha 2 Movies like Ne Zha Movies like Once Upon a Time

About movies like Monkey King: Hero Is Back

This ranked list pairs Monkey King: Hero Is Back (2015), a animation and comedy and fantasy film from Tian Xiaopeng, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Zhang Lei take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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