Zouwu Qilin has entered "Fantastic Beasts" one after another, and Chinese mythical beasts have become the protagonists

Zouwu Qilin has entered "Fantastic Beasts" one after another, and Chinese mythical beasts have become the protagonists of the magical world

　　In Fantastic Beasts: Dumbledore's Mystery, which premiered last weekend, another brand-new Fantastic Beast in the series was unveiled.

Chinese audiences were delighted to discover that it was the well-known oriental mythical beast, the unicorn.

In fact, this is the second Chinese magical animal launched in the "Fantastic Beasts" series. In the last "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald", the mythical animal Zouwu from "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" also helped. Righteous sorcerers in predicament.

　　Although the appearance of the unicorn in the film is not the same as the impression of the Chinese, it is the uncompromising protagonist in the third "Fantastic Beasts".

Moreover, compared to the stereotyped use of oriental elements in western films in the past, this time their understanding of traditional Chinese culture seems to have improved a little.

Kirin's appearance 

　　Most viewers probably won't recognize a unicorn from Fantastic Beasts: Dumbledore's Mystery by looks alone.

But in fact, there are different records in China since ancient times about the appearance of the unicorn.

For example, according to the "Rui Ying Tu", the unicorn's appearance is "sheep's head, wolf's hooves, dome, multicolored body, and a height of one zhang and two feet".

"Erya · Shi Beast" says that it has "grinding (that is, Lin), elk body, ox tail, and one horn".

In the long history, people's imagination about the unicorn has also been changing.

The wrong silver-bronze double-winged divine beast in the Warring States Period is an ancient kylin image art unearthed so far. As the name suggests, the kylin already had wings at that time.

Later, the appearance of the unicorn became more and more powerful, and some even changed from a sheep's head to a lion's head or a dragon's head.

　　"Fantastic Beasts: Dumbledore's Mystery" visual effects supervisor Christian Manz once revealed his idea of ​​​​creating a unicorn: "There have been many different versions of the description of the unicorn since ancient times: it may resemble a deer, and some have horns in the description. , sometimes not, some depict it with a lion's head... but we hope that the magical beast we create looks like a being that is beyond any human reality."

　　Although it doesn't adopt any of the unicorn looks familiar to Chinese audiences, the mythical beast in this latest "Fantastic Beasts" seems to be recognized by most audiences.

Yangcheng Evening News all-media reporters observed audience evaluations on platforms such as Douban, TaopiaoPiao, and Maoyan, and found that although everyone had mixed praise and criticism for this "Fantastic Beasts", few people expressed dissatisfaction with the appearance of the unicorn.

The choice of the unicorn The beast of extreme purity recognizes Dumbledore

　　There are actually two "secrets" in Fantastic Beasts: Dumbledore's Mystery.

One is Dumbledore and Grindelwald, two incompatible great wizards, who had a deep friendship in their youth.

The second is about the Chinese mythical beast, the unicorn. In the film, it is the incarnation of extreme purity. Therefore, the magical world has always used the unicorn to choose the leader of the alliance.

Grindelwald, the dark magician with evil intentions, could not pass the test of the unicorn, so he sent his men to hunt down the newborn unicorn at the beginning of the story.

Unexpectedly, the unicorns are twins, so Dumbledore and Newt and other justice wizards' biggest task in this episode is to protect the remaining little unicorn that was not captured by Grindelwald.

　　In addition to the opening scene of being chased and killed at birth, the highlight of Kirin is also reflected before the end.

Grindelwald killed the little unicorn he caught, strengthened his abilities with the blood of the unicorn, and then used magic to make the little unicorn who was actually dead choose him as the leader.

But his conspiracy was exposed by the little unicorn protected by Dumbledore and others-under the eyes of the public, the little unicorn knelt in front of Dumbledore on one knee...

　　In the film, the magical zoologist Newt introduced: "This is a unicorn, it is a benevolent beast." This is in line with the traditional Chinese cognition.

"The unicorn treads on the auspicious clouds, and it is difficult to disappear in the world." According to legend, the unicorn from the blood of Yinglong is called the five auspicious beasts along with the dragon, the phoenix, the turtle and the pixiu.

In addition, the unicorn is also a famous benevolent beast.

"Zhengxiang Ji" has a cloud: "The unicorn, the peony is called the unicorn, and the female is called the lin. Xu Yun is kind, and he uses the ram to say that it does not walk on the worm, and does not break the grass." That is to say, the kylin is kind by nature, Neither stepping on living bugs, nor breaking living flowers and plants.

　　The plot of "Kirin Chosen Lord" in "Fantastic Beasts: Dumbledore's Mystery" can be found in "The Legend of the Rams".

The unicorn "will not leave unless the king of Ming Dynasty", "the one who has a king will come, and the one without a king will not come", which means that the unicorn will only appear when the monarch Shengming is on the throne.

In the popular Chinese costume drama "Langya Bang", which was broadcast a few years ago, there was also a plot of "unicorn choosing the master". The "unicorn" in the play refers to Mei Changsu, who has "unicorn talent".

Zou Wu's contrasting cuteness is very powerful but "submissive" to the funny cat stick

　　Through the last "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald", overseas audiences also got to know the magical animal Zouwu from China's "Book of Mountains and Seas".

"Shan Hai Jing · Hai Nei Bei Jing" records: "Lin's country, there are rare beasts, as big as tigers, complete with five harvests, with long tails on the body, the name is Zouwu, and they travel thousands of miles a day." In the film, the righteous The magicians took advantage of the characteristics of Zuwu's "traveling thousands of miles a day" to travel through time and space.

　　It is worth mentioning that "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald" also did not forget the benevolent nature of Zou Wu.

The plot of Newt subduing Zouwu with a cat-teasing stick fully demonstrated his lovely and kind nature under his mighty appearance, which made the audience laugh.

　　It is reported that JK Rowling, the screenwriter of the "Harry Potter" and "Fantastic Beasts" series, is a loyal fan of the Chinese novel "Shan Hai Jing".

This makes her repeatedly put Chinese mythological elements into her works.

It is worth mentioning that the birthplace of the little unicorn in "Fantastic Beasts: Dumbledore's Mystery" this time was specially placed in the Detian Waterfall and Li River in Guangxi, China. The shooting team used a drone to shoot the scene, and then used special effects. Create a magnificent scene of Guilin landscape.

　　In addition to the "Fantastic Beasts" series, "Minions with Big Eyes: The Prequel to Despicable Me", the second installment of the "Minions with Big Eyes" series, which is expected to be released this year, will also have strong Chinese cultural elements.

Michelle Yeoh joins the dubbing to create a highly skilled acupuncturist, Master Zhou.

　　The netizen "Rabbit Tear Home" commented: "In the past 'Chinese for foreign use' movies, only "Kung Fu Panda" surprised me. But from the "Fantastic Beasts" series, I once again felt the understanding of Westerners The intention of Chinese culture. I heard that there will be five films in this series, and I hope that in the next two films, I can continue to see magical animals from China.”

　　Yangcheng Evening News reporter Li Li