Recently, several major events have happened in the field of Chinese animation.
One is that the animated version of China's top sci-fi IP "The Three-Body Problem" has been launched.
The anime was launched in 18 years, officially announced in 19 years, and released a trailer.
Although the trailer is not long, it can still be seen that the details are full, which directly raises the audience's expectations.
Unexpectedly, when it was officially launched, this animation ushered in a word-of-mouth collapse.
The animation has fallen all the way from 7.2 in the opening score to 4.8 today, and it is not an exaggeration to say that it is a cliff-like decline.
The second is that the national comic "Deep Sea" is finally scheduled for the Spring Festival.
This big movie of Tian Xiaopeng's 7-year sharpening of a sword has finally been decided, and according to the behind-the-scenes documentary of the film, it can be found that this movie is amazing at the technical level alone.
There are 200,000 particles in a single shot.
Third, the original online animation short film collection "China Qitan" jointly produced by Shanghai Art Film Studio and Bilibili was officially launched.
The volume of this animation before it started broadcasting was not large, but it was directly sealed after 2 episodes were broadcast, and the 3 episodes were viewed more than 50 million.
Up to now, there are almost no bad reviews, the Douban score is as high as 9.5, the number of ratings exceeds 100,000, and the highest time has reached 9.6.
Open the comment area, and it is all praised.
Indeed, Chinese animation really hasn't had such an exciting moment for too long.
"Chinese Strange Tan" is the work of Shanghai Meiying.
Audiences familiar with Chinese animation must be familiar with Shanghai Meiying.
Shanghai Meiying was founded in the 50s of the last century and soon entered its heyday.
After the establishment of the factory, more than 500 art films have been filmed, more than 400 domestic and foreign awards have been obtained, and the "Chinese School" has been created and internationally renowned.
Now the famous boutiques in national comics are all from Shanghai Meiying.
Such as "Trouble in the Heavenly Palace", "Nezha Troubles the Sea", "Tianshu Qitan", "Little Tadpole Looking for Mother", "Black Cat Sheriff", "Hulu Brothers", "Pauline Lantern" and so on.
Unfortunately, for various reasons, the works of Shanghai Meiying in the past 20 years have slowly become out of touch with the previous boutiques.
But don't worry, the level of the upper beauty shadow is back.
"Chinese Strange Tan" is a collection of Chinese strange stories.
Shanghai Meiying gathered 10 directors and produced 8 stories, how to produce, there is no restriction on any style.
There is only one point, the theme must be "youkai".
Because of this premise, the stylistic performance of "Chinese Odd Tan" is extremely amazing.
In addition to the common styles of two-dimensional and three-dimensional, there are also three-shaded two, stop-motion, paper cut and ink painting styles.
At the story level, this 8-episode small animation is also very rich.
Looking forward to the past and present, looking forward to the future, from local attachment to scientific and technological fantasy, from the theme of life to human thinking, it shows Chinese imagination and carries Chinese national culture and philosophy.
The emergence of this animation makes us believe in the unlimited potential of Shanghai Meiying in creation, and we can finally say with confidence:
Chinese animation, the future can be expected.
Well, without further ado, let's talk about why this anime made so many people fall?
The first story of "Chinese Wonders" is "Summer of Little Monsters".
The story is derived from "Journey to the West", which tells the story of a little pig demon on Langlang Mountain.
Langlang Mountain belongs to the great king, and the Tang monk and his party are about to pass by, and the king wants to eat Tang monk meat.
So layer by layer, the little pig demon working under the hands of the miscellaneous bear began to get busy.
First he was asked to make 1,000 arrows, then sacrifice pig bristles to brush the pot, then a thousand pounds of firewood, and finally buy seasoning.
In the process, the piglet demon discovered something different.
Langlang Mountain, which was originally thought to be extremely powerful, did not seem to be so powerful, and the Tang monks and his group, who originally thought that they were the same as them, also had a new image through the storyteller.
Slowly, the piglet demon wants to change.
But he still encountered the most terrifying thing he encountered in such a big pig.
At the end of the story, the heart-warming ending, the audience cried and laughed when they saw it.
This episode is a down-to-earth storytelling episode.
As the director said in the interview, "I hope to have a good story", it is ups and downs enough and unexpected enough.
In both cases, "Summer of the Little Goblin" has done both.
In the 5 days since the piglet received the task, all the events experienced were enough ups and downs.
The little crow was captured by the white-haired wolf because he peeked at the trap of the king and never returned.
I thought that drinking the Tang monk broth that could live forever became an introduction that allowed him to see the facts clearly.
Pee accidentally saw the trap, and was chased and killed by the white-haired wolf, and almost lost his life.
Which of these experiences is not surprising?
Which one can the little pig demon who was lying on the top of Langlang Mountain dozing and basking in the sun 5 days ago think?
And the end of the story that triggered heated discussions is a perfect interpretation of what is called "unexpected and reasonable".
The Great Saint is still the hero of the children, and Langlang Mountain is finally no longer the place where the little pig demon is trapped.
In addition to the good story, the metaphors of this episode are also empathetic and warm.
The changes before and after the little pig demon who was summoned by the miscellaneous bear are not the current situation of our workers dominated by 996?
Before starting work;
After actually going to work;
When you meet a rigid leader, even if you have new ideas and better ideas, you will still be blocked by the phrase "you are teaching me to do things".
Even in these 20 minutes or so, the family part is just right.
The little pig demon mother's sentence "I just don't like to drink water", I don't know how many people cried.
When he heard the little pig demon say, "The king sent me a lot of work, I can't finish it", he clapped his hands and sighed that the little pig demon was finally reused.
You will also see the pig bristles that have fallen off the little pig demon, so that he should not be too tired from work and pay more attention to rest.
Every sentence is almost what our migrant mothers will say, and it is too easy to empathize.
"The Summer of the Little Pig Demon" is very obvious in terms of feelings, from funny to empathy at the beginning, and then to empathy.
To tell a story so completely and excellently, in Chinese animation, it deserves a high score.
By the way, the style of this story is not weak, and it is very comfortable to watch.
The clip of the white-haired wolf chasing and killing the little pig demon is even more a must.
Unlike the first episode, which focuses on "story", the second episode of "Goose Goose Goose" wants artistic conception more.
The style of this episode is very unusual for Chinese people, but it is actually the unique personal style of director Hu Rui.
The story of "Goose Goose Goose" is adapted from the strange novel "Goose Cage Scholar" in "Taiping Guangji" ("Continued Qi Huoji").
Cargo Lang wants to send two geese, and meets a fox scholar with a broken leg in the eerie Goose Mountain, and the fox wants Cargo Lang to send him to the top of another mountain.
The fox scholar got into the goose cage, but when he reached his destination, he put both geese in the cage into his mouth.
In order to repay the merchant, the fox scholar decides to invite him to drink.
Out of his mouth he took out the wine table, the wine cup and the wine, followed by its sweetheart, and the sweetheart.
The last sweetheart is the goose demon who has changed, and the cargo man is moved and wants to leave with the little goose demon.
Unexpectedly, the fox scholar suddenly woke up, and everything came into its mouth.
It also confirms the sentence at the beginning of the episode: "I lost 3 geese".
The whole film revolves around "desire" and "human nature", and Lang's desire is broken and restored, and finally finds that everything that seems absurd is just a "goose cage".
This story is not as easy to understand and bring in as "Summer of the Little Goblin", so there are many interpretations of this story on the Internet.
But whether you can really understand the core of the story is not really important.
Because of the director's rich imagination, everyone can still easily see that this is a strange and strange story.
Compared to the story, the graphics of "Goose Goose Goose" are more impressive.
From the picture to the lens to the characters' perspective and narrative, "Goose Goose Goose" has a strong personal style.
Director Hu Rui studied Chinese painting when he was a child, and studied the illustrations in Ming and Qing dynasty picture novels, and then studied abroad and came into contact with a new style.
So in the subsequent works, the dark circles of the Gothic style were integrated.
With this ingenuity, the characters look more melancholy, and the whole story is more weird and charming.
"Goose, Goose Goose" uses the most detailed sketch-style drawing, and every frame needs to be hand-painted.
There are 208 shots in total, and each shot and frame takes at least three to four hours, some even seven or eight hours, and sometimes a frame for more than ten hours.
Since many shots need to be painted by hand many times, the production rate is not high, and there are many waste films.
In addition, the series adopts a second-person perspective for narration, and the black screen subtitles that appear many times emphasize the identity of "me" over and over again, further strengthening the audience's emotional experience.
The silent film method restores the effect of early film film, making it easier for the audience to substitute into the background of the era in which the story is located.
In terms of character design, the director also mixed in some private goods.
The design of the fox scholar's lame leg is to pay tribute to Ah Qiu in "Tianshu Qitan" produced by Shanghai Meiying, a fox with broken legs who loves to eat.
The appearance of "Goose Goose Goose" actually shows that sometimes even if the audience does not understand, it still does not affect the work to become a masterpiece.
Another important reason why "China Qitan" has been able to maintain a super high rating of 9.5 is the advancement of technology.
The third episode of "Linlin" does not need much interpretation in the story, and there is no special style in terms of artistic conception.
But it's better than technology.
For example, this realistic wolf hair;
Smooth lens movement;
Wonderful fights;
and a composition with a very national artistic conception;
There are also directors' tentative use of frame extraction techniques
In addition, in this episode, music has also become a point of discussion.
If you find it, the story of "Linlin" has begun to try in more fields, and many of them are still very successful.
While the reputation of "China Qitan" continues to ferment, there is a voice "as promised" - "parents bombard China Qitan".
The parent posted a long article attacking "China Odd Tan" from many aspects.
(Only part of the intercept)
One is that cartoons are for children, but children cry when they see it.
The second is that it is not educational, and the metaphor of the first episode can also make children tired of the world from an early age.
Third, it is not only not educational, but also does not bring joy.
The fourth is that adults feel naïve when they watch it, and the plot is still forcibly funny.
Sadly, if we still see animation as a product that only children can watch, it will be difficult for Chinese animation to create glory again.
But fortunately, parents with such radical ideas are very few.
When most people see "Chinese Wonders", they are praised, amazed, moved, and supported.
It is precisely because of the support of so many people that Chinese animation can let go and go further and further.
As early as the last century, the father of Chinese animation, Wan Yiming, when answering why "Trouble in the Heavenly Palace" was successful, said:
"Fine art films should take the road of nationalization;
strive to adapt the theme of the fine art film of the mainland's classical literature;
The art form of art films should be subordinate to and serve the content. ”
"China Strange Tan" is trying to get closer to these three points.
As chief director Chen Liaoyu said:
Whether in content or form, the works rooted in the mother culture and sincerely created are today's Chinese things.
(Note: This picture is the end of the doujin sequel)
Now, after 20 years, we can finally say that Chinese animation has finally become a god again.
But, not The Three-Body Problem.
Bluestone Films | Old Meng
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