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It has been a good year for Chinese animated films
Yes, I'm eating my own words
And it's oh so delicious
I'm super excited, and a little bit ashamed
Because, for decades at this point
Chinese animation has been struggling... Hard
Cynical people like me have already given up hope
I mean, just look at this!
Little did I know
The industry has been growing
Sprouting
And in 2019, it bloomed
Not once, but twice!
Today, we are going on a journey
Through the history of Chinese animation
See its rise and fall
And talk about the industry's everlasting struggle
In the search of a style we can call our own
And maybe
Just maybe
I can convince you to give it a chance
The same way the industry has convinced me
Our journey begins in the 1950s
While there were animations made before this
Much of it has been lost to history
You know, with WWII and things
So Chinese animation didn't really begin
Until the founding of Shanghai Animation Film Studio
A studio largely founded by the government
With the intent of creating works of art that represent Chinese culture
We can see this intent right from one of the studio's earliest works
The Proud General
A quick glance, and the film looks undeniably Chinese
The character design
The color palette
The movement
And the music are all heavily inspired by Chinese opera
But also pay attention to the weirdly shaped horse
And characters curvy, flowing line work
Even the general, who's supposed to be very masculine
Is very curvy, with almost no straight lines
That is, until you realize that is a look taken from Tang Dynasty paintings
With works like this
The studio quickly proves their talent and worth
And in 1956, the Chinese Government began the Hundred Flowers Campaign
A campaign in which the state heavily supported
And promoted the development of arts
Which ushered in the Golden Age of Chinese animation
The influence of the golden age cannot be overstated
During this time
Shanghai Animation Film Studio pushed the boundaries of animation
To places unseen in the rest of the world
On one side, we have Pigsy Eats Watermelon
Yes, it's actually what it's called
It's the first film to utilize the unique visual of paper cutout animation
Reminiscent of Chinese shadow puppetry
On the other end, we have A Clever Duckling
The first folded-paper animation
Even in a stop-motion animation
The filmmakers managed to compose the frame
In the style of ancient Chinese ink paintings
But perhaps the most striking work in this period
Is Where is Mama
and its stylistic successor
The Cowboy's Flute
These two animations are, without exaggeration
Some of the most beautiful films I've ever seen
It's Chinese ink paintings come to life
It oozes classical Chinese beauty
The serene, pastel look
With spots of vibrant colors
It takes my breath away
Look at those gold fishes and their translucent body
Such masterful work
All of these artistic developments culminated to
Arguably the highest achievement in the history of Chinese animation
Havoc in Heaven
An adaptation of a story from Journey to the West
Havoc in Heaven mastered the Tang Dynasty painting landscape
And the opera style character designs and movements
With its vibrant color
And grand scale
It is a treat for the eyes
Everything from the shape of the clouds
The angle of the mountains
The manes of the horses
To the ribbons on the gods
Are all stylized to be filled with Chinese iconography
It's traditional
Yet radical
Much different from western animations from the same period
This came out in the 1960s
I was born in the 90s
And I still remember watching and loving this movie
A true testament to its timelessness
Sadly, the golden age didn't last long
1966, China entered the period of Cultural Revolution
During this time, animation productions were practically non-existent
And the few films that were produced
Were highly propagandistic
Gone are the traditional elements of Chinese visuals and stories
The films look... safer
While they nevertheless look beautiful
It's hardly a progression for the industry
Things didn't go back to normal until 1976
With the fall of the Gang of Four
Came the end of the Cultural Revolution
And the studio, once again, produced their masterful works
1979 saw the release of Prince Nezha's Triumph Against Dragon King
The traditional folk tale elements return
And so do the landscape and character design
It's also interesting to see that Nezha's design sticks closer
To the more realistic style seen in propaganda films
Changing from this
To this
I quite like it, actually
In many ways
This film is a spiritual successor to Havoc in Heaven
And its legacy is also very similar
To this day, this remains the definitive version of Nezha to many Chinese people
Myself included
Another spiritual successor is Feeling from Mountain and Water
A 1988 film that continued the legacy of Chinese ink painting animations
In this story of an old guqin master passing his art to his young apprentice
We see the film's visual style become even bolder and more abstract
Often, large sections of the frame are left completely white
And objects like this boat are barely detailed enough to be recognized
These techniques can be traced back to Song and Yuan dynasty landscape paintings
Where the composition aims for a mood that is often beyond words
It's mesmerizing
And breathtaking
On the surface, this seems like a return to form for the industry
Some may even call it a Silver Age
I, cynically, disagree
While the quality of the films from this era is undeniable
To me, it feels like but an echo from the yesteryear
One last outing from the golden age
Trying to be relevant
Nearly 20 years had passed between Havoc in Heaven
And Nezha's Triumph
Very little stylistic and technological advancements were made
One year after the release of Feeling from Mountain and Water
Disney blew everyone out of the water with The Little Mermaid
And Japan took over the world with Dragon Ball Z
China was lacking way...
Way behind
Our story brings us into the dark ages of Chinese animation
Awaiting for a hero to save the day
And, what if I tell you
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Towards the end of Feeling from Mountain and Water
The old master passes his instrument down to his young apprentice
And the old masters from the Shanghai Animation Film Studio
Also passed the torch to the younger generations
It was the 90s
The economic reform was in full swing
And China opened its gate to the outside world
Almost immediately, the Chinese animation industry
Found itself crushed between two giants
The Disney Renaissance
And the booming popularity of anime
Like many of you
I also grew up with The Lion King
And Digimon
Chinese animations?
Not exactly a big part of my childhood
Mainly because Disney had cornered the animated feature market
And Japan took over TV
After a decade of stagnation
China simply could not compete
I mean, which one are you going to watch?
This?
Or this?
But the main issue is...
The parents...
Look, I don't want to blame the boomers, but it is true!
People who were born and/or raised around the Cultural Revolution
Did not grow up with animations...
And if you are my generation
You know how much our parents dislike cartoons
It's common for animation to be stigmatized as a medium for children
But Chinese parents don't just believe that
Many parents actively shun the viewing of cartoons
The act of viewing anime is seen as a sign of laziness
So the industry's achievements
The beautiful ink wash animation
The abstract bold cartoons
It's too old school for children
And paradoxically, too childish for adults
The industry could not compete
In a market that didn't exist
Chinese animation was barely kept alive
Doing outsourced work for Japanese and Western animations
As well as producing low budget TV programs
Aimed at extremely young children
And I mean toddlers
For the next two decades
Chinese animation struggled
Occasionally, a feature film comes out
Trying to rekindle interest in classic style Chinese animation
Due to limitations of all kind
It usually ends up looking very bland
See how much the characters now resemble Disney designs
For a long time
it seemed like Chinese animation was truly dead
Chasing after other popular styles that are more profitable
God, I hated this...
But then, in 2015...
The dead tree... sprouted
In 2015, Monkey King: Hero is Back was released
And it blew everyone away
Which is weird
Because the movie is not really all that good
The plot is messy
The pacing is all over the place
The characters, other than the titular Monkey King, are either bland
Or annoying
But the opening sequence
Oh my god, the opening sequence
IT'S HAVOC IN HEAVEN
The familiar Chinese music
The ribbons and the exaggerated proportions of gods
The stylized clouds and mountains
It's oh so familiar
But now, the action is like...
Anime!
After 20 years of soul searching
My generation finally grew up
And we never stop watching animations
The stigma went away
In the same 20 years
The constant outsourced work had trained a generation of artists
To handle a wide variety of art styles
Their technical competency has always been there
And many of those same artists never gave up hope
In this one scene, the animators reawaken something inside the Chinese audience
A memory
We did grow up watching Havoc in Heaven
We just didn't remember it
Like the Monkey King returning after 500 years
Suddenly, Chinese animations came back at full force
2016's Big Fish & Begonia is a valiant attempt at merging the Ghibli anime style
With a Chinese visual aesthetic
The visual is undeniably beautiful
That Chinese color palette does wonders
But at the same time
The Chinese elements are not strong enough
To really sell this Chinese fantasy story
Each frame looks more anime than it is Chinese
The landscape, the mise-en-scene
There, but not quite there
I suspect that's why people criticize its story
And are willing to overlook the flaws in The Monkey King
Its visual and character design don't quite resonate with the audience
One year later
The Guardian also aims for an anime aesthetic
A bit more comedy driven, this time
Right from the opening shot
You can see how it brings back the ink painting visual from the golden age
Although substituting the monochromatic ink
With vibrant watercolor
Giving it an identity to stand on its own
I'd say it is more unique looking than Big Fish & Begonia, already
But the industry pushes forward
2018's The Wind Guardian
And Crystal Sky of Yesterday
Are both aesthetically competent
Although stylistically kinda basic
What's important
Is that unlike Big Fish, or the Guardian
These two films didn't create a world decorated with Chinese elements
They actively flaunt about their settings
Crystal Sky of Yesterday, for example
Depicts the idealized Chinese highschool life wholesale
No more lampshading with Japanese high school uniforms
With each film
It seems like the industry is gaining more and more confidence
In depicting and selling its own culture
Its own identity
All of it came together in 2019
With the release of
White Snake
And Ne Zha
And my god, it is glorious
White Snake, in particular, is one of the most beautiful CG films I've seen!
Using the foundational technique learnt from American and Japanese animations
White Snake builds its identity on top
The clouds and mountains
The graceful, flowing line works
The shape of a character's eyes resembles Chinese religious murals
So does the movement, actually
Small details like these show that the animators weren't just making a Frozen clone
The film has a well thought out
Culturally driven aesthetic
That aims to resonate with Chinese audience
I mean, if they want to copy Disney
They wouldn't make Ne Zha an imp
Oh my god he's so ugly I love it
In fact, Ne Zha's character design draws a lot of similarities to Havoc in Heaven
And even The Proud General
The exaggerated proportions and contours
And even the movements give me deja vu
Not to mention the updated Chinese iconographies
They are unique
Familiar
Yet fresh
But perhaps the most significant part of the two films
Is the way they adapt existing Chinese stories
Unlike Havoc in Heaven or Nezha's Triumph
They are not retelling of same old legend
Ne Zha merely uses existing characters to tell an original story
Replacing the old story of a son fighting against patriarchy
With a more up-to-date moral tale of a young boy fighting against fate and destiny
Whereas White Snake is a prequel to the original folk tale
Further expanding the theme of human prejudice
Adapts and changes
The industry isn't just looking to relive the glory of the old days
But is pushing ahead, in search of new identities
It has been 30 years
But finally
Chinese animation has started going forward once more
Towards the end of Feeling from Mountain and Water
The old master passes his instrument down to his young apprentice
What I didn't realize is that the apprentice was still young at the time
It takes time for him to become the next master
At the end of the day
The industry is blessed and cursed by its history
Its fragmented legacy delayed its development multiple times
Yet it also gave the industry a much wider range of style to work with
In the pursuit of that nebulous ideal of a Chinese visual identity
The animators have not forgotten what inspired them
But are not afraid to learn from others
With this newfound confidence in self expression
Chinese animations are looking better than ever
And most importantly
This is just a beginning