Best Animated Movie !!!

Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much

~~Helen Keller

This story teaches a gentle, humorous lesson about responsibility. It's a story about 3 monks who allow personal pride to interfere with the performance of daily task, each believing that the other two should be the ones to go downhill to fetch water. 

Three Monks and no Water

The movies starts with a young is making a pilgrimage a journey which is so grueling that he decides to rest at a remote empty temple he has discovered on the side of a mountain. 

He is soon joined by another monk, who is making the same journey. At first they are glad of each other’s company. But soon they begin to argue over how the daily chores should be divided. When a third monk arrives, the squabbling only becomes worse. He tries to share the job with another monk, but the carry pole is only long enough for one bucket. 

The arrival of a third monk prompts everyone to expect that someone else will take on the chore. Consequently, no one fetches water though everybody is thirsty. At night, a rat comes to scrounge and then knocks the candle holder, leading to a devastating fire in the temple. Each monk can see only the merit of his own argument, and all three are stubborn to the point of self-destruction. 

The three monks finally unite together and make a concerted effort to put out the fire. Since then they understand the old saying "unity is strength" and begin to live a harmonious life. The temple never lacks water again.

Analysis of the Movie :


Lets start with analysing the methods of carrying water at three different stages of movie: 


Stage 1 : When only 1 monk lived
He was a happy soul carrying the two buckets on his shoulder with a stick daily, though the method meant alot of physical labor and fatigue to him. He could have went for the pulley arrangement initially itself, but since his needs were limited, he could easily satisfy them with 


Stage 2 : When second Monk moved in 
Initially both the monks fought over how they would carry the water. After a while, both of them tried to come up with something they saw as solution, but as none of the solution was a standard solution and was biased towards the person offering it, no consensus was reached. Finally, first monk came with scale and center of the bamboo was located. No further quarrels occurred but none of them seemed satisfied working together.


Stage 3 : When the third monk came
This was the point when all the dynamics changed. None of them agreed on bringing  water. Infact, 3rd monk once brought the water from the foothills but consumed it all by himself. This was a perfect example of a selfish employee who is least bothered about the well being of his colleagues.
At the time of fire, though all three came together to save the temple, there was lack of planning and leadership. All three ran for water together. 
Finally, they were able to extinguish the fire but it displayed few very important management principles; Planning- vision, Innovation (how at the time of crisis they came with drastic innovation and after that they came up with a pulley arrangement).

This story is a satire on how we mess up our things, simply by no planning. Had there been some planning and teamwork this problem wouldn't had occurred. Planning is important in any individual's life or, organisation for that matter. Very simply put, planning identifies where the organization wants to be at some point in the future and how it is going to get there. Skills in strategic planning are critical to the long-term success of your organization. 


This form of planning includes: 

a) Taking a wide look around at what's going on outside my life or the organization and how it might affect my life or the organization , (identifying opportunities and threats).
b) Taking a hard look at what's going in my life or inside the organization, including its strengths and weaknesses (perhaps doing a SWOT analysis)
c) Establishing statements of mission, vision and values (some prefer to do that as the first step in planning)
d) Establishing goals
e) Identifying how those goals will be reached (strategies, objectives, responsibilities and time lines)

Awards won by this Movie

• Won the outstanding film award at China's Ministry of Culture.
• Won the Best animated film prize at the first Golden Rooster Awards in 1981.
• Won four international awards including a Silver Bear for Short Film at the 32nd Berlin Film Festival in 1982.

Your views and comments are always welcomed :)