Chapter 290: A Very Peculiar Animation

For the public, the Chinese entertainment industry that has just entered 94 years is lively and full of events-

First of all, it is about Dunhuang and the five major last year's ups and downs, which has aroused widespread attention;

However, the public's attention did not last long, and they began to look forward to the arrival of the Spring Festival, looking forward to what wonderful masterpieces they would see in this increasingly popular schedule;

In addition, as always, the Spring Festival will usher in the climax of the awards season - in fact, as soon as the new year begins, both sides of the Pacific Ocean have entered the awards and public relations season, with one after another carefully planned hype marketing, one outpost award after another, and of course, the most eye-catching Tianma Awards and Oscars......

And just behind the public's dizziness, there is a surging undercurrent: the giants call after call, and the continuous coercion, promise, and analysis...... It's like a pair of hands, opening the curtain and moving the set, paving the stage for a new round of seeing the truth.

And the "actors" who appear on the stage will definitely be movies, and they will only be movies.

At this time, Wang Wei has put aside the matter of "Jurassic Park" for the time being, and paid attention to the first movie released in Dunhuang this year.

Dunhuang is aiming at this year's Spring Festival, not a live-action movie, but an animated film - the animation "My Neighbor Totoro" created by director Xu Zhonghe!

After more than a year of investment, Dunhuang Animation Studio's first 2D animation film officially announced the completion of production, just waiting for Wang Wei to watch it again before the internal preview screening to make the final adjustments.

Not only Wang Wei, but most of the executives in Dunhuang, as well as several directors from the animation studio, came to watch the sample film.

Although this is not the first work of Dunhuang Animation Studio, just looking at the attention of the people in Dunhuang, it is obviously not weaker than the original "Toy Story".

This is because the success or failure of "My Neighbor Totoro" is related to the "battle of routes" of animation studios.

One side of the argument is naturally the 3D animation school represented by Gu Xiji.

In their opinion, Dunhuang Animation Studio is most proud of opening the era of 3D animation, and it is natural to continue along this path firmly.

Especially in the case of the traditional animation overlord Lianya Entertainment catching up, the resources invested should not be dispersed.

- Despite the resources invested in animated films, 3D animated films have taken the lion's share; But who wouldn't want to monopolize all their resources if they had the chance?

On the other hand, most of them are from the traditional animation film school of Lianya Entertainment.

For this faction, they believe that 2D animation still has a future, but they are all swept away by Lianya Entertainment, resulting in their own lack of confidence.

In this case, they naturally pinned their hopes on "My Neighbor Totoro", which was also written by Wang Wei.

It is done, proving that 2D hand-drawn animation is still promising, and it can also relieve the evil spirit of being ruthlessly cut by Lianya Entertainment;

If they lose, they may really be able to think about how to resign......

With all kinds of thoughts, everyone quickly finished watching "My Neighbor Totoro", which lasted less than 90 minutes.

This is a movie with a very simple story - in the season when the corn is about to ripen, the father takes his two daughters, Xiaoyue and Xiaomei, to move to an old house near the forest in the countryside, waiting for the mother who is about to be discharged; All the stories revolve around the sisters, cleaning the house, going to school, planting trees, visiting their mother, getting lost, and encountering Totoro and Bobcat buses......

Before I knew it, after watching the movie, no one spoke in the screening room, and everyone was immersed in a quiet and peaceful atmosphere.

Until Wang Wei smiled and broke the silence,

"How is this film, let's talk about it?"

"A childlike animation!"

Gu Xiji gave an analysis from his own point of view, and then glanced at director Xu Zhonghe, who had a smile on the corner of his mouth,

"Although the animation effect made by traditional hand-drawn is not as exquisite as that made by computer, I have to admit that these simple works drawn by hand have more touching power, which is worth learning from our group."

——Although he hopes that all the company's resources will be invested in 3D animation, Gu Xiji does not deliberately belittle the other party's works.

Wang Wei nodded slightly.

Ma Qingshi, who has also always adhered to the traditional hand-painted method, frowned, and then relaxed, "Zhonghe is really a person with an innocent childlike heart. ”

Wang Wei nodded again.

Ma Qingshi got to the point.

Nature, childlike innocence and hope come together in this film – something that would not have been possible if it weren't for someone with an innocent childlike heart.

In fact, Xu Zhong's personal experience is a bit tragic - because of his style, he has not been appreciated by Lianya Entertainment; When people reach middle age, they are unemployed because of the changes of the times; If it weren't for Dunhuang's acceptance, they might even be forced to leave their beloved animation production career......

In a sense, he is somewhat similar to the situation of the little girl in "My Neighbor Totoro" - her mother is sick and has to move to a strange place, and her mother has never returned......

However, he did not lay out the tragic rendering of life into a tragedy, nor did he even deliberately take the "healing" route, just like the two sisters in the film, in a strange environment, everything only made them feel unprecedented novelty -

There are black dumplings rolling around in the old house, and the small garden connected to the forest has amazing adventures. In this pure and natural land, all they have to do is laugh and scream, and run barefoot through puddles to chase after them......

It's no wonder that Xu Zhonghe said that this is the most lighthearted film he has done as a director - when the creator's voice is fully coupled with the work, the appeal of the work created is also incomparable.

From this point of view, Xu Zhonghe put Wang Wei's project purpose for "My Neighbor Totoro": to make a happy and heart-warming movie, a movie that allows the audience to have a light and happy mood after watching it...... It's done perfectly.

Art creators, whether it is Wang Wei himself, Gu Xiji, Ma Qingshi, or even Lao Zhou and Lao Xu, they are more or less emotional, and it is relatively easy to feel the appeal - behind the not strong plot story, some people remember the childhood resonance in their memories, and some people think of a period of time in the past......

So the mood is light!

And yet—

Wang, who has been silent after watching the movie, are we watching the same movie, it seems that I am alone, and I can't help but press my temples,

"There's no doubt that it's a very peculiar anime."

"It's special!" He emphasized, and then poured cold water and said, "It's so special that I can't even evaluate it!" ”

……