There is an overall gap with imported films. How can domestic animation align with high standards?

A prominent feature of current movie audiences is that more and more audiences watch movies without clear motives, and aimless movie viewing may become a new trend. For the film industry, the uncertainty and even unpredictability brought about by this arbitrariness will become the norm.

April 26, the 13th China International Animation Festival "Golden Monkey Award" was announced in Hangzhou,"Journey to the West the Great Sage Return" won the animated film gold medal. At this "Golden Monkey Award", although "Journey to the West: The Return of the Great Sage" has suddenly emerged, there is an overall gap between domestic animated films and the introduced films, whether in terms of their intention or the exquisiteness, perfection and simplicity of production.

Statistics show that in 2016, domestic animations accounted for only 34% of the total box office of animated films released in mainland theaters. Among the top ten animated film box office lists, except for the American animated film "Zootopia", which leads the box office of 1.53 billion yuan, 5 animated films were produced separately by the United States, and 2 animated films were co-produced by the United States with other countries. How can domestic animation align with higher standards? In this issue of Kanying, we will make some historical reviews and comparisons of the current situation between domestic animated films and American animated films.

In December 1937, Disney Pictures of the United States completed the production of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs", an animation of contemporary significance, which had an important impact on the industrial production of animated films. A large number of talents flowed from the cartoon field to animated feature films. In the next few decades, the American animated film industry will experience the decline of the Fleischer brothers, the decline of Warner Bros. classic IP, the acquisition of Pixar after its glory, and the gradual decline of DreamWorks. Disney, relying on its strong financial resources and creative talents, has gradually established its position of being alone and seeking defeat.

The prosperity of Disney animation began in princess movies. Although it suffered a certain blow after the box office defeat of "Sleeping Beauty", it finally turned around with the 1989 "The Little Mermaid". With the great success of "The Lion King" in 1994, Disney basically established two animation directions: the Princess movies of the Arcane series and the talking animal movies.

In recent years, the "Frozen", which became popular around the world in 2013, has pushed the series to a climax. As a classic princess movie, it has achieved innovations that keep up with or even surpass the times in character creation and plot development. It is also the successor to "The Magic" A more profound discussion on women's independence consciousness after the "Magic". Different from traditional princess movies that focus on the love between princes and princesses,"Frozen" focuses the conflict in the story on Queen Aisha and Princess Anna. The final resolution of the conflict is not the kiss of true love, but the family affection of sisters. Queen Aisha's rising popularity around the world confirms the feasibility of this innovation. Hollywood has always been the world of romance, but in the fragrance of the colorful roses of love, there are also lilies of family love blooming.

In 2016, Disney produced the animated film "Zootopia", which tells the wonderful story of Judy, a rabbit who is popular with children, who struggles and dreams come true. She and Nick Fox fight crime and protect Zootopia. Parents love this kind of story. It educates their children that success stems from their own efforts and spirit of not giving up. The more important reason why adult audiences are willing to sit in the cinema and enjoy this movie is that it shows adult audiences The deeper side of the story: apartheid, stereotypes and populism covered up by prosperous cities, combined with current social and political issues such as anti-immigration policies, refugee flows, and terrorism,"Zootopia" may be able to compete with John. Lennon also became a banner of the spirit of the times.

Unfortunately, these profound ideas are not yet available in domestic animations.

Even "Journey to the West: The Return of the Great Sage", which has amazing box office and constant reviews, has a very weak plot. Considering the team's lack of funds during the production period, it is understandable that an 87-minute movie cannot tell a story completely.

The biggest victims of the pale and young plot are the parents who accompany their children to watch the movie. The main movie-watching groups for movies such as "Pleasant Goat" and "Bear Haunted" are TV animation enthusiasts, that is, school-age children, who often need the company of their parents when watching movies. The younger plot causes children in the audience to enjoy it, while parents to accompany it in pain. What harms the reputation of national comics, which is already at a disadvantage in the competition. The plot of national manga has not always been so terrible. In the early years, animations such as "Black Cat Sheriff" and "Gourd Baby" were also classics that influenced a generation. However, driven by profit-seeking in recent years, national manga has shown an extremely high-yield but worrying quality. It takes about a year and a half for a Disney team to devote themselves to making a movie. While domestic animations are "new year", they are also efficiently produced in hundreds of TV animations every year. It can't help but make people wonder what its quality is.

To sum up, if domestic animation wants to achieve such success as Disney, there is still a long way to go. The first thing we should do is to correct our attitude and stop equating animation with young age. Only by making animated films with a wide audience can we gain more benefits and better reputation."Return of the Great Sage" is a pioneer in national comics in this regard. Although it has various shortcomings, it has successfully attracted audiences of all ages into the cinema, and the audience also affirmed and praised the efforts made by the production team. But ask yourself, whether it be "Pleasant Goat","Bear Infested", or even the unanimously praised "Return of the Great Sage", which one has such a plot, depth, details and a realm suitable for all ages as "Zootopia" and "Frozen"?

Only by creating with an attitude towards art can domestic animation be recognized by the world and enter the list of classics.

Film and television chatter: Improving quality is the right way to film and television works

The recently released "Blue Book on Film and Television Risk Control: China Film and Television Public Opinion and Risk Control Report (2017)" stated that unqualified IP and stars, as well as poor plots and production have increased the risk of film investment. A prominent feature of current movie audiences is that more and more audiences watch movies without clear motives, and aimless movie viewing may become a new trend. For the film industry, the uncertainty and even unpredictability brought about by this arbitrariness will become the norm.

For some time, IP and fresh meat flowers have become the double insurance for movies. However, unqualified IP, the self-degradation of fresh meat flowers, and the trend of random and aimless demand from movie audiences, then the box office will not be guaranteed. The recent popularity of "In the Name of the People" is also a slap in the face to the current popularity of IP and fresh meat, demonstrating the audience's desire for high-quality original content.

Improving the quality is the right way to fight risks in film and television works. What did "In the Name of the People" capture the hearts of the audience? The first is the social focus of anti-corruption, the second is the hard work of actors, and the third is that anti-corruption must be done in the name of the people. Obviously, the success of a film and television work also needs to conform to the mainstream values of society.

Editor: Nancy