The story is well-known but never grows old in the retelling. Spawned from a stone egg, Sun Wukong quickly rises through the ranks to become king of the monkeys. Though playful, he is fearless and strong, so strong that to find a worthy weapon, he must dive to the depths of the ocean. Undaunted, he says:

Ǎn Lǎo Sūn shàngtiān rù dì, wú suǒ bùnéng, nǎ li yǒu bùnéng qù dì dìfāng.
俺老孙上天入地,无所不能,哪里有不能去的地方。
“Me, old Sun, up to the sky or down to the earth: there’s nowhere I can’t go”.

Arriving in the deep, he steals the pillar supporting the sky vault in the Dragon Palace from the Dragon King of the East Sea (东海龙王 Dōnghǎi lóngwáng). This becomes his legendary weapon, also known as the “As you will” (如意金箍棒重三万六千斤 Rúyì Jīngūbàng), a magic golden staff weighing 36,000 jin that can be transformed into almost any shape imaginable.

The furious Dragon King (voiced by director Chen Kaige) is powerless to stop him and can only report his misdeeds to the Jade Emperor (玉帝 Yù Dì):

Jīn yǒu yāo hóu sūnwùkōng mánhèng wúlǐ, dà nào lónggōng, bà qǔ wǒ zhènhǎi zhī bǎo. Cǐ hóu yāo fǎ shéndà, ruò bù chùqú, lónggōng yǒng bùdé ānníng, wàng wànsuì wèi lǎochén zuò zhǔ.
今有妖猴孙悟空蛮横无理,大闹龙宫,霸取我镇海之宝。此猴妖法甚大,若不除去,龙宫永不得安宁,望万岁为老臣作主。
“Today the evil monkey Sun Wukong, for no reason, disturbed the Dragon Palace and took away a treasure of the seas with his sorcery. The Palace will never be at peace until he is eliminated. I hope your majesty will take action”.