ATTRACTED TO THE DARK
New Chinese ‘ Tarantino- esque’ animated film inspires confi dence in the future of the industry
For a long while animated fi lms produced in China have been labeled as childish and lacking in quality, but in recent years a streak of high quality works have started to change people’s opinions about the animation industry in the Chinese mainland. Following the footsteps of 2011’ s Kuiba, 2015’ s Monkey King: Hero is Back and 2016’ s Bigfi sh & Begonia, recent black humor animated fi lm Dahufa ( Lit: big doctrine) has sparked another discussion about the future of the domestic animation industry. Black humor Hitting theaters nationwide on July 13, the mature animation tells a simple story with a deep and dark theme: A guard for three generations of the royal family, warrior Dahufa makes his way into a remote village in search of a lost prince. One major aspect that has set the fi lm apart from most animated Chinese fi lms is the violence involved in the story. While promoting the fi lm before release, the studio issued a content warning for audiences, saying that the fi lm was not suitable for children under 13 due to the violent nature of some scenes in the fi lm. It seems this more mature approach has been both a blessing and a curse.
Though it has jumped between the third and fourth spot at the daily box offi ce since its opening day, the fi lm’s audience rating on domestic fi lm websites Mtime ( 7.7) and Douban ( 8.1) are much higher than either of the box- offi ce champions, Chinese fantasy blockbuster
Wu Kong ( 6.4 on Mtime and 5.5 on Douban) and US animated fi lm Despicable
Me 3 ( 7.3 on Mtime and 7.0 on Douban). Industry insiders have noted that the high scores yet lower box- offi ce results are most likely due to the loss of the young child and family demographic during the summer vacation period.
While critics have been quick to point out that the fi lm has many obvious blemishes, they also note that the fi lm is worth such overwhelming applause thanks to its willingness to take critical aim at today’s society and its overall depressing tone, things that many Chinese fi lms lack.
“It’s not a cartoon for small children or families… As a mature animation, it has a distinctive voice and is a sharp satire of reality. Though it has certain defects, the pacing causes you to forget its fl aws, while the black humor on display has a Tarantino- esque aesthetic,” fi lm critic Chu Mufeng wrote on Sina Weibo.
“It is the most ‘ errant’ fi lm of 2017 so far. Neurotically negative, anti- idea, anti- human, anti- beauty, anti- children and anti- art... I’m ignoring its defects because I think this type of work should be encouraged,” netizen Falansi Jiaopan posted in a review of the fi lm on Douban.
Bright future
The future of the Chinese animation industry has become a hot topic of discussion in recent years.
“I was so excited after seeing the fi lm. I couldn’t sleep the entire night,” said Chinese scriptwriter Shi Hang on Sina Weibo, going on to say that he was glad that children growing up today would be sure to have fond memories of Chinese animated fi lms.
When talking about Chinese animated fi lms, most people immediately think of big fi lms from the 1960s such as Havoc in Heaven and Where is Mama?, or 1980s fi lms such as Three Monks and
Calabash Brothers. Yet, there are few memories of fi lms from the 1990s, as an increasing number of animated fi lms from the US and Japan during that time caused domestic fi lms to be overlooked.
Domestic animated fi lms of the early 21st century were often very similar visually to US and Japanese productions, since the animators of these fi lms had been heavily infl uenced by fi lms from the two countries as children. This led to many moviegoers to criticize these fi lms for lacking a distinct Chinese style.
Although Kuiba was a huge hit after it hit theaters in 2011, it was still criticized for being too similar to Japanese anime stylistically. It wasn’t until Monkey King:
Hero is Back made a huge hit at the box offi ce that Chinese animated fi lms could have both a good story and their own homegrown style. Bigfi sh & Begonia the following year further reinforced audiences’ confi dence in the Chinese animation industry with its beautiful ink wash painting style, although it was criticized for poor storytelling.
Increased investment
This increased confi dence can be seen in increased investment in the industry.
Earlier this month, China Central Television ( CCTV) announced that it would be working with toy manufacturer Hasbro on an animated fi lm featuring the Transformers and the mythological Chinese character Nezha.
“The animation industry in China is becoming more mature,” Busifan, director of Dahufa, told the Global Times on Tuesday. “I think this could be the best time for domestic animation. All aspects of the industry, including human and technological resources, have seen tremendous improvement.”
Having grown up watching US, Japanese and old Chinese animations, Busifan admitted that animators his age have been greatly infl uenced by foreign aesthetics and are still struggling to fi nd their voice.
“We are still fi guring out what ‘ Chinese animation’ should be. We don’t have a model yet, all we can do is keep trying,” he said.