A century of Chinese animation: once infinitely close to the peak of the world
China News Weekly reporter / Li Jing
Published in the 1051st issue of "China News Weekly" magazine on July 11, 2022
If nothing else, in the second half of this year, five animated films featuring "Erlang God" will compete on the big screen.
After "The Return of the Great Sage" and "Nezha's Devil Child Comes into the World" brought up the hope of "the rise of Guoman", looking for the modern expression of traditional national symbols in animated films seems to be the only way to attract audiences.
It seems like a reincarnation. They have become a unique mirror image of "Havoc in Heaven" and "Nezha Naohai", which pushed domestic animation to the highlight more than half a century ago, and today's young animators, like the explorers of the year, Looking for the language to tell my story.
As far back as 1936, Wan Guchan, a pathfinder of Chinese animation, once said in the article "Gossip Cartoons": "To make the Chinese animation industry have infinite vitality, it must take root in the traditional soil of its own nation." Perhaps, this is not only It belongs to the topic of animators, but it is an inner anxiety that we have been difficult to relieve since the country's door opened and foreign culture and technology continued to enter our daily life.
When Chinese animation originated in the 1920s, when we learned this kind of art that combines painting, film, digital media, photography, music, literature and many other art categories, it originated in the United Kingdom in the first half of the 19th century and flourished in For the artistic expression of the United States, generations of Chinese animators have been asking a question: "Who am I?" Over the past 100 years, on this long journey, they have explored an artistic style that is unique to China, and has competed with the world's first-class level. So close, it can even be said to be one of them, and then, in the storm of the times, it is confused, imitated and interrupted, and even today, it is still looking for the unique philosophy and character of Chinese animation.
The "Princess Iron Fan" who enlightened "Astro Boy"
If you can go back 100 years and walk into the 7-square-meter pavilion in the small alley in Sanfengli, Zhabei Road, Shanghai, people will know how Chinese animation started in a blank space in the 1920s.
The small pavilions were rented by the Wan brothers who would later be known as the founders of Chinese animation - Wan Laiming, Wan Guchan, Wan Chaochen and Wan Dihuan. Several of them have been experimenting here all night long - they have been passionate about painting since childhood. The brothers in the shadow puppet show want to try how to make the characters under the brush move like the clips before the main film of foreign movies.
Almost all the equipment and supplies related to shooting animation were made by the brothers themselves, and only one cartoon wooden camera was bought from a foreigner at a junk stall.
In 1922, they produced China's first animated short film "Shu Zhendong Chinese Typewriter" with advertising nature, although their techniques were still very primitive when making this short film, the characters were always shaking, and the background was not displayed. It came out, but this short film became the prototype and precursor of Chinese animation.
In 1926, after studying animation for many years, the Wan brothers launched a real cartoon in Chinese history, "The Studio", which is a cartoon combining live action and animation. The story of the little black man.
At this time, their work inevitably imitated the American style clearly.
No art can be separated from the background of the times and the social context. After the 1930s, the Wan brothers, like many Chinese artists and writers at that time, were influenced by the left-wing literary and artistic trend and created works that reflected social reality and propaganda against Japan, calling on people to resist Japan. .
In "Compatriots Awakening Quickly", a huge male lion blocked the attack of the Japanese invaders, and the lion's limbs and tail evolved into the image of workers, peasants, businessmen, and soldiers.
Later, Wan Laiming said in his memoirs that from the very beginning, Chinese animation was not only a pastime for people to enjoy and entertain, but closely coordinated with reality and took a different path from European and American animation films.
They gradually explored some production experience in these works.
At that time, Disney's "Snow White" was shown in Shanghai. Inspired by the Wan brothers, they decided to create "Princess Iron Fan" based on the plot of Monkey King in "Journey to the West" borrowing banana fans three times, using the bull devil as a metaphor for the Japanese invaders. Boost the morale of the people.
In order to shoot this film, the Wan brothers successively organized more than 100 people to participate in the drawing, drew nearly 20,000 drawings, and shot nearly 20,000 feet (about 6,666 meters) of raw footage. It took more than a year to finally produce the film. China's first animated feature film with sound.
Faced with the peril of their country and their country, the Wan brothers began to consciously get rid of the influence of Western aesthetics. In the film, Chinese landscape painting was brought to the screen for the first time. In the character modeling, although Monkey King still has the shadow of the Disney cartoon character Mickey Mouse, other characters It obviously absorbs the characteristics of Chinese opera art, making it have strong national characteristics.
In the history of world film, it is the fourth large-scale animation art film after "Snow White", "Lilliput" and "Pinocchio" in the United States. With this work, China's animation art was infinitely close to the world's advanced art. Level.
In the war-torn 1941, the 80-minute animated feature "Princess Iron Fan" made a splash in Shanghai. At that time, it completely outperformed all live-action films released during the same period.
By the time the film was released a month and a half, its influence had swept across Asia, and it was showing in cinemas in Southeast Asia and even Japan.
In Japan, a teenager became fascinated with animation art because of this film, his name is Osamu Tezuka.
In the future, he became the "father of Japanese animation" with cartoons such as "Astro Boy" and "Forest Emperor".
Decades later, in 1981, he came to Shanghai and finally met Wan Laiming. Tezuka Osamu held his idol's hand and said, "I started animation after watching your film." A few years later, Osamu Tezuka, who was terminally ill and knew that his time was short, went to Shanghai again to meet Wan Laiming in his dwindling years, and completed the draft of the cartoon "My Monkey King" while ill. He wrote "This is my Monkey King" on the title page. Use this work to bid farewell to the Chinese animation that once enlightened him.
"Journey to the West" has always been Wan Laiming's favorite work. Since he left his hometown of Nanjing at the age of 18, he has always carried a copy of "Journey to the West" with him. What he most wants to shoot is "Havoc in Heaven", but the scale is too large, he Worried about the lack of human and material resources, they turned to "Princess Tie Fan". After the success of "Princess Tie Fan", the Wan brothers originally planned to start "Havoc in Heaven". At this time, the war changed, the Japanese army entered the concession, and the investors withdrew their capital. "Havoc in Heaven" became his lifelong long-cherished wish, buried in the bottom of his heart.
At the beginning of 1949, the Wan brothers were invited by the Hong Kong Film Company to go to Hong Kong to engage in art design. Soon after, the technical department of the Northeast Film Studio set up an art film group. The following year, the main members of the art film group moved south to Shanghai. (hereinafter referred to as Shangmeiying) has basically taken shape.
In 1954, Wan Laiming returned from Hong Kong to Shanghai to visit relatives. Influenced by the atmosphere of the times, when he walked into the soon-to-be-established Shangmei Film, he had made a decision to fulfill his lifelong long-cherished wish here - to make "Monkey King make a big havoc in the heavenly palace". The story was drawn into an animated film, and he immediately wrote to his younger brother, Wan Guchan, who were about to create the most brilliant business card in the history of Chinese animation.
With the continuous influx of talents from all walks of life, Shanghai Meiying was finally officially announced in 1957. In the following at least 30 years, it supported the childhood of the post-60s, post-70s, post-80s and post-90s generations.
"Chinese School"
Li Shaobai, a well-known film historian, once summed up the film system at the beginning of the founding of New China: On the basis of learning from the experience of the Soviet Union, a highly centralized management system and a strict planned economy model were established and improved.
This means that filmmakers, including animators, don't need to think about commercial characteristics, only artistic and educational.
From the word "art" in the name of Shanghai Meiying, you may have a glimpse of the aesthetic taste and pursuit of the animators in those days.
At the beginning of the establishment of Shanghai Meiying, it has successively established animation departments in various categories such as hand-painted cartoons, puppet cartoons, paper-cut cartoons, and ink cartoons.
Under the unique political atmosphere of that era, Shangmeiying filmed a quite Soviet-style cartoon "Why the Crow is Black" in 1955. ” and other famous works as the main original artist recalled that it was almost a history that Shangmeiying had no information to refer to. From the limited western animation works, they mainly learned techniques and experience in character characterization, how to use their own Storytelling in the national language is the core of that generation of animators who have always been groping.
In the spring of 1956, "Exploring the Way of National Forms" was proposed by Te Wei, the first director of Shangmei Film. In the following years, the cartoon "Proud General", the puppet cartoon "Magic Pen", and the color paper-cut "Pig Bajie" were released. Eating Watermelon" and the classic ink cartoon "Little Tadpoles Looking for Mother" were released one after another.
"Havoc in Heaven", which has always made Wan Lai's heart ache, finally waited for its historical opportunity. In 1959, "Havoc in Heaven" was finally formed and prepared.
At that time, the main creator went to various historical sites to collect customs, watch Peking Opera, observe animals in zoos, and even learn dance in order to draw the movements of fairies.
They draw nutrients from a large number of ethnic arts and ponder innovation. Zhang Zhengyu, who was hired by China Youth Art Theater to do the scene design, once said to the background designers: "You don't want to be too honest when you paint, that is, don't honestly take the traditional You must use your brain to deform and draw it again.” In the end, the “green mountains and green waters” in the background design style of “Havoc in Heaven” are mainly based on the strong style of Tibetan painting, and also refer to the style of Mexican murals.
In the action design of the characters, there are moves and styles of Peking Opera, which have been recreated by the animation designers.
In 1961, when the first episode of "Havoc in Heaven" was released, it had been 20 years since "Princess Iron Fan". Wan Laiming listened to the sonorous drumbeats and watched Sun Dasheng, who had finally risen to the clouds. He was 64 years old and was so excited. Cried.
This animated feature film successfully created a classic image familiar to the world for Monkey King, the character of "Journey to the West". Among them is the 86 version of the "Journey to the West" series.
The image of Sun Wukong's face like a peach, a pale yellow jacket, an emerald scarf, a leopard skin skirt, red pants and black boots has been remembered by people to this day, and it seems to have become what he should have been like.
In 1978, the film went to the UK to participate in the London International Film Festival, shocked the international animation industry, won the Best Film Award, and was later released in dozens of countries and regions.
"Le Monde" once commented: ""Havoc in Heaven" not only has the beauty of ordinary American Disney works, but also the plastic art is beyond the Disney-style art. It perfectly expresses the traditional Chinese art style."
At this time, the national language unique to Chinese animation has been basically formed.
In 1979, Shanghai Meiying launched China's first color wide-screen animation film "Nezha Naohai", and in 1983, it produced "Tianshu Qi Tan" adapted from some chapters of "Ping Yao Zhuan". Havoc in Heaven" has become the most classic masterpiece in the history of Chinese animation films.
Aesthetically, they integrate Peking Opera, Chinese painting, ceramics, ancient architecture, wedding customs, classical furniture, and classical gardens, and the details are controlled to the extreme.
In the era of just reform and opening up, the ideas and values embodied by the creators also amaze today's viewers.
In "Books of the Book", there is not a single high-ranking character. They are scholars who act as elegant scholars, immortals with clear distinctions between superiors and subordinates, and "giant baby" emperors who regard human life as a must-have... A poignant irony, exploring the awakening of human nature and the The fall is shown in the animation.
The core theme of "Nezha in the Sea" is deeper and darker than the content about human nature and destiny in "Nezha's Devil Child Comes to the World" in recent years. It is destined to be out of tune with the world, and finally kills himself with a sword - the tragic and solemn scene of that year will remain in the history of the film forever.
In this sense, at that time, Shanghai Meiying did not limit its audience to children, or in other words, they did not underestimate children.
Scholar Foucault once said: "It is important to tell the times of myths, not the times of myths." Obviously, although that generation of animators talked about ancient myths, they did not only indulge in legends and the past, everything pointed to present and reality.
Chen Liaoyu, an associate professor at the School of Animation, Beijing Film Academy, was a student of Qian Yunda, director of "Fantastic Books" when he was studying. Whenever he mentioned these animated feature films in China, he couldn't help but sigh. If "Princess Iron Fan" is a Telling "one's own story" in "other people's words" has strong imitation traces, then "Havoc in Heaven" is a symbol of the complete formation of Chinese aesthetics, skills and the entire audio-visual language of animation, "Nezha Nao Hai" means Chinese aesthetics It has reached its peak and is deeply rooted in Chinese culture, and "Fantasy Books" is "just one layer of window paper" away from the cinema entertainment blockbuster.
"We Chinese finally told our own stories in our own words. We digested what we learned and turned it into our own." Chen Liaoyu told China News Weekly.
It was an era when animation masters were full of fantasy, and they were extremely ingenious in their shooting methods, and they could animate plants, trees, bamboo and stones.
In addition to the animated feature films, "Snow Child", "Nine-colored Deer", "Three Monks", "Monkey Fishing for the Moon", "True and False Li Kui", "Li Kui", "The Donkey", "Zhang Fei's Examination of the Melon"... Excellent animated short films one after another.
At that time, Chinese animations, no matter how long or short, were almost certain to win awards as long as they appeared in the world. The international animation industry called these animations full of Chinese aesthetics the "Chinese school".
In the early 1980s, Japanese artist Hayao Miyazaki, who began to independently create comics, was deeply influenced by the "Chinese School". In 1984, he took a pilgrimage to Shanghai Meiying to exchange and study. The most amazing thing for him was "Little Tadpoles Looking for Mother" The ink animation had a decisive influence on his future creation. Hayao Miyazaki later recalled that his works with more blank space were inspired by watching "Little Tadpoles Looking for Mother".
Animation "Foxconn"
With the completion and operation of the first color TV production line introduced in China in 1982, color TV gradually became popular, and foreign cartoon series such as "Smart Break", "Flower Fairy" and "Popeye" began to occupy Chinese TV screens.
In 1988, the Ministry of Radio, Film and Television of the People's Republic of China issued a document stipulating that from now on, the creation and production of Chinese art films should follow the production of compressed single-episode short films, and actively develop the number of series films.
To this end, it is required that the series should account for two-thirds of the total amount of animation produced by Shanghai Meiying.
The creative direction of Shangmeiying has been changed.
At the beginning, they handed in a good answer sheet - "The Adventures of the Sloppy King", "The Legend of the Demon", "The Gourd Brothers"... But soon, in the tide of China's economic transition in the 1980s and 1990s, Shangmeiying and all Like the old state-owned enterprises, in the process of facing the market, they began to encounter difficult transformation.
Suda, the current director of Shanghai Meiying, remembers that it was a low point for the entire Chinese film industry. Many theaters stopped showing films and turned into shopping malls to sell things. At the same time, the country completely pushed film distribution to the market, and art films were the first implement.
"In the past, any film we made was purchased by the state at a price higher than the cost. Therefore, the workers of Shanghai Meiying were a group of artists whose main job was to strive for perfection and concentrate on artistic creation. They were suddenly pushed to the market, to be honest. , it is really difficult for Shangmei filmmakers to adapt." Su Da recalled to "China News Weekly".
At this time, after decades of uninterrupted development, Japanese and American animations have successfully completed their industrialization, and foreign animations produced under the industrialization model have been sold to the Chinese market at low prices.
The Tezuka Osamu, who had switched to animation because of "Princess Iron Fan", rushed to China with "Astro Boy" many years later, followed by "Doraemon", "Slam Dunk" and "Slam Dunk". "Mickey Mouse", "The Smurfs", "Transformers"... An era dominated by foreign animation has quietly begun, and the survival of Chinese local animation companies has faced unprecedented challenges.
Ishi Chuan, a professor at the Shanghai Theater Academy, told China News Weekly that when TV became the main broadcast carrier of animation, the policy for producing series of animations and the time for the animation to be broadcast—6:30 pm—after school and before dinner, will undoubtedly make the animation more popular. The main audience points to children, Chinese animation is unknowingly moving towards a younger age, and the adult audience is gradually losing.
In 1990, Chen Liaoyu was admitted to the animation major of the Fine Arts Department of the Beijing Film Academy. At that time, only the Beijing Film Academy had an animation major, and the animation major only recruited students every 6 years. Chen Liaoyu was in the third class, and there were 8 students in the class.
He recalled to "China News Weekly" that children who learned to draw at that time had almost no good way out if they could not get into the university, and with so few university enrollments, a considerable number of them entered foreign animation processing companies.
After the mid-1980s, with the deepening of reform and opening up, foreign animation processing companies also entered China in large numbers along with animation.
In Shenzhen, Zhuhai and Guangzhou, there are animation processing factories next to electronics factories and garment factories. Most of the businesses they undertake are line drawing, coloring, background and other low-tech links. They recruit a large number of young people with art skills. They can be employed after training. In essence, they are no different from "Foxconn".
Gradually, some companies found that Chinese painters are hard-working and have strong learning ability and skills. They can be competent for the work of the second original painting and even the first original painting, so they are looking for more experienced and capable animation workers.
At this time, Shanghai Meiying is facing a painful transformation, losing money for several years in a row, and the first generation of animators who created classic works are getting old. people.
Su Da recalled that in the 1990s, as a state-owned enterprise, the monthly salary of Shanghai Meiying was only a few hundred yuan, while the monthly salary of foreign-funded foundry companies that came to poach people was several thousand.
Ten times the salary is of course attractive, and the younger generation is more willing to choose well-paid animation OEMs than the painstaking originals.
When the big set of the era was suddenly replaced by triumphant progress and reinforced iron bones, those light and fresh fantasies were no longer able to rise.
In the day-to-day OEM, Chinese animation, like the child in "Spirited Away" who lost his name by mistake, gradually forgot himself, and only told other people's stories in other people's language, from the "Chinese school" Transformed into the world's largest animation processing base.
"Detective Conan", "Inuyasha", "Naruto" and "Insect Master", these Japanese animations that have gained waves of fans in China, all have Chinese OEM factories behind them.
As for Chinese animation, looking at the entire 1990s, only the first commercial "blockbuster" after the transformation of Shanghai Meiying, "The Lotus Lantern", entered the first ten years of the 21st century. With the Big Big Wolf", "Bears" and "Mobis Ring" which failed miserably by westernization.
A survey by the Institute of Journalism of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences showed that 66.7% of the cartoons broadcast in Beijing in 1991 were imported cartoons, of which 50% were from Disney.
From 2002 to 2003, Japan was the first producer of the most popular cartoons by teenagers, followed by the United States.
Domestic animation has begun to be associated with words such as shoddy production and copycat. "Autobot" has also been sued by Pixar Animation, not to mention some wonderful animations that appear under the animation support policy.
Chen Liaoyu, an associate professor at the School of Animation, Beijing Film Academy, said with emotion: "The classic domestic animation has been frozen in history, while the animation of most other countries has survived from the past to the present." What will it be like to go all the way with "Books from the Sky"?
The traditions of the older generation have been inherited and developed to the present, and they will adapt to the changes of the times and continue to move forward.
Unfortunately, history cannot be assumed.
Find yourself
In 2015, a new term appeared on the domestic Internet - "tap water".
This is the nickname given to him by fans of the animated film "Journey to the West: The Return of the Great Sage", which means "spontaneous 'water army'".
This film that changed people's impression of Guoman finally closed with a box office of 956 million. At the 16-day screening, it had surpassed Hollywood's "Kung Fu Panda 2" and became the highest-grossing animation in mainland film history.
In the film, Sun Dasheng, who once lost and found himself, and put on the purple and gold crown again, seems to be a metaphor for a century of Chinese animation. People vaguely see in it the man who stepped on the southern sky and broke the sky 50 years ago and brought Chinese animation to the top in one fell swoop. Sun Wukong.
Returning with Dasheng is the audience's interest and expectations for domestic animation. A group of audiences who would not consume domestic animation films entered the cinema and became the main force at the box office of "The Return of the Dasheng", and also become the box office space for domestic animation films in the future. Expanded new increments.
In the film arrangement, the theaters also began to tilt towards the category of domestic animated films. After the "Great Sage", "Big Fish and Begonia", "Little Door God", "The Great Protector", "White Snake: Origin" and other domestic animated films, all It was given by the theater line that the amount of films exceeded the previous practice.
No matter the audience or the theater chain, the trust of the restart has not been lost. In 2019, another landmark work "The Devil of Nezha" won the box office of 5.013 billion yuan, becoming a phenomenal film and ranking in Chinese film history. 2nd in total box office.
The revival of domestic animation may really come.
At this time, looking back at the 20 years of OEM, it did interrupt the former "Chinese school", but it also laid the foundation for the huge production capacity required for the formation of the Chinese animation industry, and trained a large number of animation practitioners. I have been exposed to the production management experience and technology of foreign advanced animation.
Since 2004, China's animation outsourcing processing business has entered a period of adjustment and transformation. India and Vietnam have become strong competitors with lower labor costs. Some Chinese companies that perform animation OEMs for Japan and the United States have embarked on original projects. development road.
According to Su Da, the director of Shanghai Meiying Film Studio, the glory of Shanghai Meiying Film is largely a "state behavior", because the country has brought together a group of top artists, and "it is difficult to produce good works".
Today, a large number of private animation companies have emerged, making achievements, and it is a good thing to let a hundred flowers bloom.
Shanghai Meiying itself has undergone transformation in recent years. Now it is not only developing and operating classic IP, but also has more than 1,000 trademarks in more than 20 categories such as toys, clothing, and food. It has carried out cross-border cooperation with various industries, and has already turned losses into profits. High-quality circulation, not only on Taobao, JD.com and other platforms to build the flagship store of Shanghai Meiying, but also continue to invest in the creation of high-quality films with copyright management income, in addition to the ink animation feature "Eral Flying" and the CG animation film "Monkey King: Flaming Mountain" In addition to blockbuster movies in theaters, there are also many TV network series animations and art short films being produced or incubated.
Suda told China News Weekly, "The new works have been polished, we adhere to the traditional art style, and add modern aesthetics to create national-style animation works with 'roots, beauty, promise, and soul'. "
According to iResearch's 2020 "China Animation Industry Research Report", since 2015, China's online animation industry has entered a period of rapid growth.
At present, there are more than 970,000 animation-related enterprises in China, and 348 undergraduate colleges and universities across the country offer animation majors.
In 1990, when Chen Liaoyu enrolled in Nortel, there were only three or four units capable of producing animation in the country: the animation department of Shanghai Meiying and CCTV, the animation workshop of Beijing Science Education Film Studio and Changchun Film Studio.
Until Chen Liaoyu graduated, there were less than 30 animation workers in China with a bachelor's degree.
The introduction of a large number of foreign animations, the rich film sources in the Internet age, and the resulting two-dimensional culture have given today's young people a different vision.
In the past, film academies recruited students, and students who applied for animation mostly talked about well-known films such as "Havoc in Heaven" and "Nezha Naohai". In the past five years, Chen Liaoyu found that the works mentioned by the children made them look at each other in dismay -- no I have heard that as an animation professional teacher, many people may be far less aware of the latest animation than the current teenagers.
Animators who have grown up in this context have to use animation more diversely.
Yang Cheng, the producer of "The Big World", the first absurd realistic crime-themed cartoon in China, told China News Weekly that the animations that can be seen by mainstream Chinese animation audiences have always been relatively simple. In the past, people generally believed that animations were for children. In recent years, although there are animations for all age groups, they still take the aesthetic route. Only when the market matures, people can see more content, and their understanding of animation will be broadened.
According to Ishikawa, a professor at the Shanghai Theater Academy, the attempts of such young filmmakers are the beginning of the improvement of the Chinese animation market system and the rise of Chinese animation.
After all, buying off-the-shelf things is cheap and labor-saving, and independent research and development always takes a lot of time, money, and risks.
If in the foundry era, animation workers holding brushes were the same as workers on the assembly line of an electronics factory, then today, the confusion and difficulties they face are no different from those in the technology industry that are developing their own core technologies. This is not A problem unique to animators.
Their risk may be even greater. "Even if one film succeeds and the second fails, no one will invest any more money immediately, and the market will be so cruel," Ishikawa said.
These young animation practitioners are telling their own stories, taking advantage of their acquired strengths.
From a certain point of view, history seems to be returning to the starting point at another latitude. Like other Wan Laiming, they are drawing their own "Princess Iron Fan".
Chen Liaoyu said: "Chinese animation has set off again, and we have set off twice." Next, they have to re-establish their own artistic language like their predecessors, and this language does not come from the data of the survey company, let alone some experts. Sitting in the room with practitioners to plan and discuss collectively, it should be a director who naturally grows from personal life experience and cultural soil, and cannot be pre-designed.
So what is needed now may be some time, tolerance and determination. Chen Liaoyu often thinks that when a group of excellent directors emerges in Chinese animation, they can produce enough successful films in a period of time, then one day, maybe they will again Someone concluded: This is Chinese-style animation.
"China News Weekly" Issue 25, 2022
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