He becomes arrogant as king, much to his subjects' dismay and he grows insecure when he learns about the existence of humans from Rin-Rin, who claims they are the smartest beings around.

Goku shows off his new abilities to Rin-Rin, and to further impress her, goes to heaven to retrieve the sacred fruit the hermit fed him.

When Rin-Rin nearly succumbs to a blizzard, she is saved by Kanon, who heralds the arrival of the monk, Genjo Sanzo, who frees Goku and asks him to accompany him to a pilgrimage to Tianzhu to retrieve a sacred sutra.

Goku disguises himself as the girl and takes her place when the monster, the pig-man Cho Hakkai, arrives that night.

Gyū-Maō tasks Shoryu to lure Sanzo and company to his dominion of the Flaming Mountains so he can eat the monk and extend his lifespan.

Goku learns about the Basho-Sen, a magical fan owned by Gyū-Maō’s wife, Ratsunyō, which can freeze the lava flow.

For the American release, a few scenes were heavily edited and rearranged and bandleader Les Baxter was hired to compose a new soundtrack.

[8] The film was a great success in Japan but a flop in the United States, despite a large marketing budget and heavy promotion.

The film also did poorly in other countries where AIP released, and was banned in Denmark and Norway due to its horror elements.

[9] According to Variety it and another Japanese cartoon film released by the US, Magic Boy, earned a combined $425,000 in rentals in North America.

[10] The AIP version of the film was first released on VHS in the 1980s by HBO/Cannon Video (under licensed from then-owner Orion Pictures).

Although MGM Home Entertainment has not released the film on DVD, the AIP version has been made available for streaming on Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.

Nintendo designer Shigeru Miyamoto received inspiration for the character's appearance from the anime film.