With the popular screening of the National Day movie "Jiang Ziya", the mainland audience once again saw the new hope of the rise of domestic animated films.
And whether the final result of "Jiang Ziya" can compete with "Nezha: The Devil Child" (a cumulative box office of 5.035 billion), which has a big box office last year, is also worth looking forward to.
The animated film "Jiang Ziya" jointly produced by Caitiaowu Pictures and Zhongchuan Hedao, mainly tells the story of Jiang Ziya who was trapped in Beihai after the Conferred God War and the unknown girl Xiaojiu. The highlight of the film, in addition to the trump dubbing team and animation special effects, there are also adaptations of the characters and fate of Jiang Ziya, Su Daji and Shen Gongbao.
Hollywood has a complete system and mature technology, and there are many well-known animation studios, such as Disney Animation, DreamWorks Animation, Sony Animation, Lighting Entertainment, Blue Sky Studio, and so on. Therefore, Hollywood has also delivered "Toy Story", "Crazy Zoo", "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" and other well-loved animated films to mainland audiences over the years.
If it was in the past, when it comes to excellent domestic animated feature films, people might still only think of Shanghai Fine Arts Film Studio.
"Havoc in Heaven", "Nezha Nao to the Sea", "Book of Heaven", "Bao Lian Lan" and other animations have always been dominant in the mainland, which can be called "the ceiling of domestic animation movies."
is different from Hollywood, domestic animation movies seem to have been stagnant and in a silent state. The audience's confidence in and expectations for domestic production have gradually decreased. Even if there are many well-known animated films ("Quiba", "Dragon Valley", etc.) in the middle, they have not caused much splash.
It wasn't until the "phenomenal" film "Journey to the West: The Great Sage Returns" was released that all this changed.
Next, let’s take a look at the trajectory of the popularity of domestic animation feature films in recent years!
2015 "Journey to the West: The Great Sage Returns"
"Dreams never die, we never leave"
is produced by Sky City, Weiying Times, Hengdian Film and Television, Yancheng October and other companies, with a cumulative box office of 957 million, nominated for the 52nd Golden Horse Awards "Best Animated Feature Film", and won the 30th Chinese Film Golden Rooster Award. Best Art Film".
October Digital Animation Workshop is the earliest and most professional character animation production company in China, and it is also known as China Pixar.
Chinese people's love for "Journey to the West" and Monkey King has never retreated. As a powerful IP, creators have been trying to create new things on the original basis to inject vitality into "Journey to the West".
The plot of "Journey to the West: The Great Sage Returns" is relatively simple, and there is still a lot of room for polishing and improvement. After 8 years of production cycle and the director’s extremely meticulous requirements, the fighting effects of the whole film are wonderful and the soundtrack is full of excitement, while only considering the effects and not considering the cost. The dubbing of the villain also invited Mr. Tong Zirong, which is very worthwhile one look.
The audience loves "The Great Sage", and they love to voluntarily promote it everywhere, and are willing to go to the cinema to buy more tickets. Tap water, pure water has become the new name of the spontaneous water army, also because of this movie.
It may not be a perfect animation, but it is indeed a good animation. It takes into account the audience of all ages, so it is also called "the spring of the national comic" and "the watershed of the national comic" by the audience. It is in sharp contrast with the domestically-produced animation "Autobots" which was shown in the same period.
The forthcoming "The Great Sage Naotian Palace" has nothing to do with the previous work, but the producer also declared that he hopes to make the series "The Return of the Great Sage" the first world-class animation brand in China.
2017 The Great Guardian
"Man is human, and ants are ants. Each has its own destiny. Recognizing one's fate is a blessing."
"The Great Guardian" is produced by Guangguang Films, Caitiaowu Films, etc. Its box office performance is not as eye-catching as "The Return of the Great Sage" or "Begonia", but its style is very unique. As an "adult dark animation" with lines full of metaphors but difficult to understand, "The Great Guardian" naturally has to abandon part of the box office source-children's viewsPublic (the film is recommended for elementary school students or preschool children to watch with their parents).
produced by crowdfunding has a good story, but it does not have a good script. Maybe the creators do not have the ability to tell good stories. Therefore, many viewers reported that it was difficult to understand, or did not understand at all. Some people touted it and some people downplayed it, which is why everyone is curious about this movie.
"Daily Xinbao" commented that "The Great Guardian" is a dystopian allegorical animation. The film as a whole is based on hand-painted ink and wash landscapes as the background image, which retains and promotes the characteristics and meaning of the exquisite Chinese oriental style. What's more rare is that the colors become more free and absurd, more intense and bold. The characters in the painting are mostly ghosts and charms, and the style is also dark and thrilling.
On July 31, 2020, the animated film "Mr. Miao", produced by Caitiaoya, based on the short film of the same name directed by the director of "The Great Guardian", "Mr. Miao", was released, perfecting the original dark fairy tale movie world view, and Chinese adult animation movies are also moving forward Entered a new chapter.
2019 "White Snake: Origin"
"There are many wicked men with two legs in the world. What if they have a long tail."
"White Snake: Origin" was jointly produced by Chasing Animation and Warner Bros., with a cumulative box office of 468 million, and was nominated for the best art film in the 32nd Golden Rooster Awards. The plot is different from the "Legend of White Snake" that I have seen before. This film tells a poignant love story between Bai Suzhen and "A Xuan" who was in the snake hunting village in the previous life. Netizens also jokingly called the film "Snake Catcher".
With limited budget and shortage of manpower, "White Snake: Origin" can be regarded as a passing answer sheet. The characters in the film are well drawn with props and dynamics, clothes texture, and hair details, but the facial expressions of the inadequate characters are still slightly stiff and unnatural.
uses Chinese elements well throughout the film. Freehand ink painting and CG animation are combined. Scenes drawn by landscape painting techniques appear many times in the film. At the end, the scenery of the broken bridge in West Lake, and the freehand drawing scroll of Chinese painting at the end also tells the story after Xu Xian and Bai Suzhen met again.
seems to be a common problem of the current domestic animation, and the film is still adult-oriented, not particularly suitable for children's audiences. The parents laughed and said, "It is really rare that there is finally a sex scene on the big screen of Guoman." At the same time, "White Snake: Origin" was also released in overseas markets such as North America, and played a certain role in spreading Chinese local myths and Chinese animated films.
2019 "Nezha: The Devil Child Comes into the World"
"My fate is up to me"
"Nezha's Devil Child Comes into the World" is produced by Caitiaoya Pictures and directed by Jiaozi as a screenwriter. It is the first IMAX 3D domestic animated film with a cumulative box office of 5.035 billion and has been nominated and won multiple awards.
Contrary to the previous Nezha story, the Demon Boy came to the world to make a great adaptation and breakthrough to the plot. The character characteristics are more full, and the story rhythm is more compact and logical.
This time, Zhuo Bing also has a name, and the hottest CP in 2019 is none other than "Loup Bing". The strong contrast between the character and destiny of Nao Bing and Ne Zha, the contrast between the young Ne Zha and the style of Ne Zha after the runaway, and the friendship story between Na Zha and Ne Zha also cater to the preferences of many viewers.
Nezha in "Nezha Nao the Sea" has a very poor relationship with the third prince of the Dragon King, Nao Bing. Nezha, who killed Bo Bing, shook the Dragon Palace and flooded Chentangguan, also paid the price for it. Ne Zha, who cut the bones to return to the father and the flesh to return to the mother, left a deep impression on everyone. The fate of the first half of Ne Zha was also sad and annoying. The audience was also dissatisfied with the inaction of Li Jing as his father. Li Jing has always been an unflattering character.
And Li Jing in "The Demon Boy of Nezha" and Mrs. Yin Nezha's mother both have better character characters, which are more in line with contemporary thinking. Li Jing finally asked that unpopular role back then and became a good father with a human touch and a less "daddy" taste. Mrs. Yin’s role has also greatly increased compared with before, as a strongThe female characters add a lot of brilliance to the whole movie.
An anecdote: The director found a special effects company, and the staff produced two months of special effects for the villain Shen Gongbao’s transformation, but no results, and finally resigned due to frustration. So the director found another company, and the transformation shot eventually fell into the hands of the person. It can be seen that this animation is also very particular and pursues perfection in terms of pictures and special effects.
The naughty and unruly little Nezha has the dual identity of comedy and tragedy, which also makes Nezha who has changed his fate and faced unfair fate. The audience is also full of expectations for the "Biography of Ao Bing" produced by dumplings in the future.
2020 "Jiang Ziya"
"A person is like dew, and the common people are like rivers and seas. There is no difference."
is an animated film directed by Cheng Teng and Li Wei, and produced by companies such as Caitiaowu Pictures and Guangguang Pictures. "Jiang Ziya", which debuted as an egg from "Nezha: The Devil Child Comes to the World", only one egg drew the audience's appetite.
As of today, the cumulative box office has exceeded 1.2 billion yuan, breaking the box office record for the first day and week of animation films in the Chinese film market.
The level of art and special effects of "Jiang Ziya" shows that domestic animation has taken a new level of technology.
through a two-dimensional animation, the opening of the film intuitively depicts the scene of the Conferred God War in the late Shang Dynasty.
The huge workload of the two-dimensional animation part is unprecedented, and the painters have put a lot of effort into this. It can be seen from many film reviews that the use of two-dimensional animation this time has captured the hearts of many viewers.
Jiang Ziya is not as well-known as Nezha, so he is not so friendly to audiences who don’t understand the Kingdom of Fengshen. The film's adaptation of Jiang Ziya, Daji, Shen Gongbao, Yuanshi Tianzun and other characters is beyond everyone's previous knowledge.
Regarding the story of "Jiang Ziya", director Cheng Teng said, "This is a process of collapse and re-establishment of faith."
movies, "Four Dislikes" are also very popular among audiences.
there is something pure in Jiang Ziya's heart, which is gradually forgotten by modern people in the fast-paced life.
The story of "Jiang Ziya" is more adult-oriented than that of "Nezha". There are many questions worth thinking about, which is still unfinished.
"Jiang Ziya" and "Nezha" are both produced by Caitiaowu, but they are in different movie universes, so don't ask why there are two completely different "Shen Gongbao".
also made the audience full of expectations for Caitiaoya's new work, but the director has not revealed more about whether there will be a sequel to "Jiang Ziya".
Despite mixed reviews after its release, it still couldn't resist the momentum of "Jiang Ziya" hitting the box office record.
Whether a movie is good or not, the audience still has to walk into the movie theater to feel it before they can make a judgment.
Finally, with the development of Guoman, it is difficult to say whether the "Fengshen Universe" compiled by enthusiastic netizens will come true in the future.
hope that domestic animated films can take advantage of this opportunity to ride the wind and waves, Chinese animators should not give up, I believe more fresh blood will be added to this battlefield soon.
In the future, there may be more domestic animation universes appearing, which also allows us to have higher and newer goals and expectations for domestic movies.
