Text/Big Strange
The fourth stop-motion animation film "Legend of the Magic Strings" produced by Laika Studios is about to be released in China, directed by CEO Travis Knight, and until then he has participated as a producer and chief animator, such as "Box Monster", "Psychic Boy Norman" and "Ghost Mother". This time, with Japanese culture as the background, you can see that from the scenes to the characters in the film, they are deeply inspired by traditional Japanese culture. The story is naturally not the strength of this film, nor is it the focus of this article, stop-motion animation is really the pinnacle of shooting like this, this article is only from the perspective of legends, works of art and borrowing from the film to look at this film in detail. (The content includes interviews with reference directors, the book "Illustrated Japanese Yokai" published by Shaanxi Normal School, and the introduction of Japanese yokai by yokai.com.) ）
<h1>· Folklore · </h1>
Folklore "The Ghost of The Child"
According to IMDB information, this film has references to Takahata's animation "Monster Kitaro" (ゲゲゲゲの鬼tarō, 1968), where is the reference? In contrast, Kubo's hair covering style is a copy of Kitaro. The Kitaro manga, formerly known as Kitaro, was created between 1933 and 1935 and was adapted from the folk tale "Zi Yu Ghost" (子育て幽霊). The mother-daughter drama that opens with The Legend of the Magic Strings should also borrow from the mother-daughter duo in Hachimanhama's painting "The Ghost of Son", I guess.
"The Ghost of Child Breeding"
《Monster Kitaro》
Monster "Earth Cloud"
Kubo makes a paper spider while performing the origami story, and the spider totem on Hanzo's cloak, which is supposed to be shaped like the yokai "Earth Cloud". It is a giant spider with a legendary grimace and a tiger body, which can transform into a beautiful woman and a teenager. Legend has it that the Japanese samurai Genrai Hikari encountered Antomo on his way to find the Great Skeleton, who transformed into a samurai to seduce him, and was eventually recognized and beaten back to his original form. The scene between the paper samurai and the paper spider in "Legend of the Magic String" is a reproduction of this fight.
Youkai "Hasan"
Similarly, Kubo also made a big yellow chicken, which is the monster "Wave Mountain". Legend has it that "Boshan" is a chicken that breathes fire, and it is said that the eggs produced by chickens that have been raised for more than seven years will hatch and become "Boshan". It will break out of its shell on its own, be born like a snake, burrow under the floor of a house, grow in the dark, and then turn into a chicken, but this process will never be seen. After growing into the shape of a chicken, it begins to move. Little by little, they will suck the blood of sleeping people and finally kill people. The hen that gives birth to "Boshan" will crow like a rooster, and at this time, the eggs must be burned immediately and the hens killed.
Monster "Whale"
The "whale" is a type of monster in Japanese legend at sea, also known as the "bone whale". Similar to a whale skeleton, it is said that anyone who sees it will bring misfortune. However, in The Legend of the Magic String, Kubo and the monkey are hiding from a blizzard in the belly of a frozen whale, but they resemble "whales".
Monster "Night Sparrow"
In the film, Kubo builds a flock of sparrows and flies with a real sparrow. In Japanese legend, this is a bit like a flock of "night finches", they are like ordinary sparrows, just day and night (similar to bats), often appearing in remote mountain passes and woods, clustered, noisy. Once it flies into the cuff of a passerby, then that person will face misfortune, so people often close the cuff when traveling to the sparrow gathering place.
Look at the cuffs of this dude, finish playing
Octopus monster
The octopus monster under the sea should have nothing to do with Japanese legends, but more from the piranha flower in Little Shop of Horrors (1986) and the large octopus designed by Ray Harrison for the movie It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955), as if the combination of the two was the inspiration for the monster.
Moon King
There should be no such character in Japanese legends, except for the teacher killer in Assassination Classroom... The role of "Moon King" appears in Terry Gilliam's version of The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988), with Robin Williams playing the Moon King by his head, designed to resemble an artificial satellite, and Le voyage dans la lune (1902). The moon is quite the same. The Moon King in Legend of the Magic Strings appears as an old Japanese man, but his appearance seems to be a reference to the late British actor Peter Gushin, who often starred in horror movies. Recently, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story also used CG to restore his Tarkin character. Of course, this is my wishful thinking, and I also think that the old lady in the villagers is like Ken Takakura.
The Adventures of the Bullfight King
Peter Gusin
Moon Beast
After the Moon King transforms into a monster, it feels like the head of Alien (1979) and Piranha (1978), plus the tail of the serpentine Medusa designed by Ray Harrihausen for Clash of the Titans (1981).
Ray Hallihausen and his model of the serpentine Medusa
Friends who do not know Harryhousesen can go to the two albums translated by Captain Van Cliff - "Ray Harrison's Film Concept Art" and "Ray Harrishausen's Film Fantasy Scrapbook: Models, Paintings and Memories from Sixty-Five Years of Film Art", both of which are published by Houlang and are very collectible.
<h1>· Classic painting · </h1>
Ukiyo-Yō, Kanagawa Chunami
The huge wave at the beginning of the film is from the ukiyo-e "Kanagawa Surf Map", which is a representative work of ukiyo-e katsushika Hokusai. With its unexpected composition and fleeting variety, the painter outlines the posture of the waves and sets off the indomitable spirit of the people on board in their struggle against nature. In "Legend of the Magic String", it becomes dynamic, and the mother takes the swaddled child on a boat, showing the greatness of motherhood.
《Kanagawa Chunami- 2010》
Prints by Kiyoshi Saito
According to Travis Knight in an interview, the biggest influence on the artistic creation of "Legend of the Magic String" was the printmaker Kiyoshi Saito. Most of his paintings are known for architecture, and all the houses are very affordable.
One of Saito Kiyoshi's prints
Monster "Giant Skeleton" & Ukiyo-e "Soma Old King Castle"
Travis Knight has said he was deeply influenced by stop-motion animation guru Ray Harryhausen and said the movie The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1959) was his childhood favorite. The giant skeleton in The Legend of the Magic Strings, which I previously thought was based on The Skeleton soldier designed by HarryHausen for the movie Jason and the Argonauts, has just been homaged by Tim Burton in Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. However, when you look at the second painting below, you know that it is more from the "giant skeleton monster" in Utagawa Kuniyoshi's ukiyo-e painting "Soma Old King Castle" (Soma の古内裡), which is now also a famous japanese decorative painting.
"Soma Old King Castle" in "Legend of the Magic String" cottage goods
"Soma Old King's Castle" is authentic
The main scene in the Japanese drama "Okawabata Detective Agency"
According to legend, the Giant Skeleton is not friendly, and its huge body is composed of the bones of the undead who died of hunger or battle, so the Giant Skeleton looks mentally weak. The giant skeleton monster in "Legend of the Magic String" also looks sick and sloppy.
Movie "Prince Jason Wars Demon"
<h1>· Crafts · </h1>
Traditional Japanese origami
Finally, let's talk about the Japanese origami art in the film. Although China has been using paper for 600 years before Japan, it has its own origami tradition. But at present, Japan is indeed the best origami country in the world, and a large number of origami artists have been born, and Kubo in "The Legend of the Magic String" is also such an artist. Traditional Origami in Japan first appeared in the Edo period (1603-1867), and the earliest documentation is the origami work "Male Butterfly" mentioned by Ihara Nishizuru in 1680. female butterfly".
Kubo enters the village and uses a few simple shots to show the greatness of paper craftsmanship – paper dragon dances, paper lanterns, paper umbrellas, paper baskets and paper fans
This scene also uses leaves to make the "paper wind boat" The most famous origami art is the thousand paper crane, and the legend of the thousand paper crane also originates from Japan, for example, if 1,000 paper cranes are folded, the wish will be fulfilled. In Japan, the crane is a sacred creature. Now, the paper crane is used to pray and bless, representing peace and health. In Legend of the Magic String, the creators use golden herons twice to carry the souls of the dead and send them to any place they want. Similar to the chinese Kong Ming Lantern's mourning function, at the end of the film, the golden heron used to "gobon" can be seen appearing at the same time as the paper lamp.
In Kubo's dream, he saw a paper house with a helmet, and wasn't the paper house here a model of the paper-based three-dimensional puzzle building that is now? You can see them in many Japanese craft shops.
It is said that some puppeteers at Laika's studio were asked to attend origami classes, while others went to the Mizugan History Museum to see an origami exhibition. Animator Kevin Perry is responsible for several origami scenes, while animation director Bled Schiff demands that origami must be both functional and fantastical: "The first step in making origami animation is to disassemble the real origami and study the form and the folding method. "With a basic understanding, the next step is technical testing—the process of faithfully animating origami." The technical test should be shown to the director, and then discuss the emotional performance of the shot, for example, the director may be a little more elegant, or a little angry. ”