This video is sponsored by
Skillshare
Okay, before I show you the actual footage from the movie...
(Trust me, it looks nothing like the thumbnail)
Let me show you the end credits, first
Yes, the credits.
I have a problem with the credits
Because, you see
This movie's credits...
Are RIPPED from another movie!
Just with slight alterations to each person's name
Even the credits are a knock-off!
Makes sense, though
Because there is no way in hell that THIS MOVIE...
Has THIS many artists behind it
That's the god damn movie, people!
Just soak it all in!
This is The Autobots
Yes, it's actually called that
And it is, in my opinion, the most shameless Chinese movie ever made
The English title rips-off the Transformers
The Chinese title and character design copy Cars, of Pixar Studio fame
Part of the title is covered up
Just so it looks even closer to the Pixar title
The fact that the poster bears more resemblance to Cars 2's poster
Than the actual film itself
Makes the intention very clear
Like many egregious cases of Chinese knock-offs
This movie was mocked around the world
CNN from the US reported on it
SET News from Taiwan made fun of it
Nippon TV from Japan investigated it
But, there is one place where the reaction is often overlooked, at least in the west...
How did Chinese filmgoers react to this?
"There's a good meme on the internet"
"The cleanest water has no fish"
"The cheapest person has no shame"
Today, let me tell you the story of The Autobots
From its on-screen hilarity
To behind-the-scenes drama
And yes, to domestic audience reception
Let me help you make sense of this madness
And also, peer into the side of Chinese pop culture you don't often hear about
This is the most shameless Chinese movie
Ever made
THE MOST SHAMELESS CHINESE KNOCK-OFF
CHAPTER ONE
The story tells a 9-year-old... engineer?
Who wants to make the coolest, most badass smart car ever
But ends up making 3 cars, each with its own personality flaws
K1 is too restless
(And also flirtatious for some godforsaken reason)
Behold, the most annoying character introduction of all time
"Call me K1!"
"Uhh... 1 as in number one!"
"Ahoo, I'm number one!"
"Yeah! I'm the champion, number one!"
"Number one champion!"
"Yahoo!"
Does anyone feel dirty after that?
I feel like I will be charged 6 dollars per minute
For hearing that voice on a phone
Anyway, K2 is too rigid in programing
"Sorry, master"
"Please give me a precise coordinate"
"Which direction, for how many meters"
Simone Giertz would be proud
K3...
I think he's supposed to be lazy
But he looks more like he's drugged up the ass
I would too, if I was in this movie
"Why doesn't K3 move?"
"Oh~ Right?
"He should open his eyes"
"Run towards us"
"And play with me in the lab"
Oh my god, this horny car needs to calm the f**k down
"Dadadada, dadada"
Anyway, after their completion
The four decide to participate in a racing championship
In hopes of winning the coveted poop-shaped trophy
Thus begins a long and treacherously boring journey of training
And by training, I mean none of that
Bad weather? Upgrade
Potholes? Upgrade
Need someone to do chores? Upgrade
Got sick?
"I'm so sick.
Can you bring me home?"
Someone should neuter this oversized Lovense Lush
Finally, the big day came
And all of their hard works paid off
Cannonballs? Weather shield upgrade
Potholes? Suspension upgrade
Traps? Household chore upgrade
And most importantly
With each other's help, they overcome their flaws
Cheered on by all 4 audience members
In an epic slow-motion finale
They win
And the movie just immediately ends
Yep, 20 seconds after they cross the finish line
Credits
Oh well, at least it has a finale
SPONSOR MESSAGE
In our video about Mulan, I made fun of the animators
For creating a shoddy looking phoenix
And tell them to sign up for Skillshare
God, I wish I saved that joke for this video instead
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A beginner course for emerging cartoonists to come up with
*cough cough*
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All jokes aside, we all want 2021 to be a better year
And one of the best way to make the year better
Is to make yourself better
So, for real, I really do recommend giving Skillshare a try
Especially their workshops, which encourage you to create something
The most important thing is to get started, right?
So, what are you waiting for?
CHAPTER TWO
In a previous video of mine
I called Pure Hearts the worst Chinese movie ever made
While, visually, The Autobots is god awful
I still think that Pure Heart is the worse of the two
Mainly because The Autobots is at least coherent
But also, it isn't actually a movie
Not really
The Autobots was a TV animation
And like many other cheap toddlers shows around the world
No one really gives a sh*t about it
It also helps that the animation is so poorly made
It takes a second for you to realize who they are copying
The show was later stitched together into a feature film
And pushed into theatres for a quick buck
The controversy didn't start until the theatrical poster came out
Which, in a way, is more of a knock off than the movie itself
This similarity is, of course, immediately noticed by everyone
Nippon TV contacted the director for a comment
To which the director denied all accusations
Claiming it is just... learning from Disney
And this is where the crapshoot begins
Understandably, Chinese social media users sided with Nippon TV on this
Unlike Pure Hearts, which was mostly mocked and made fun of
Reviews for The Autobots were mostly of anger and frustration
Many called it shameful
Some wished Pixar would sue them
In response, the director accused critics of being, quote...
"A New Generation of Traitors"
Siding with "foreigners" instead of "supporting Chinese animation"
And blamed everyone for the film's poor box office return
If you know about Disney
The number one rule is, you do not piss off Disney
And, as you would expect, the Autobots got sued
Facing a lawsuit, the director has the gall to claim that
The Autobots is an independent creation
And accused Disney of abusing the legal system
While in the middle of a lawsuit
The director announced a sequel
Which never materialized
Thank f**k
And the kicker is, this film was pushed out allegedly as a way
For the director to exploit a loophole in government fundings
With its production company based in Xiamen
A city with media production fund programs
This film is eligible for 255 thousand Yuan
Or about 39 thousand US dollars in funding
It's probably more than enough to recoup the production cost and then some
In the end, Disney won the lawsuit
What else do you expect?
The news was reported by Mtime, one of China's largest cinema network
Their headline?
"REJOICE!
'The Autobots' Ruled As Copyright Infringement"
What a sh*t show
CHAPTER THREE
Do you know Genshin Impact?
Yeah it's one of those games that came out
Riding the success of Breath of the Wild
I suspect a lot of people didn't realize that this is a Chinese made game
Since "made in China" has a very negative connotation
The developer is likely aware of this, too
Which is why this game has its title in Japanese instead of Chinese
Anyway, the reception of the game is...
"Wait, what the f**k"
"SHE'S SO CUTE!"
... generally positive
After all, games that copy other games are nothing new
Ubisoft just released their own take on the same formula
And gamers are okay with it, as long as the product is good
But there is one place that really hates this game...
China
Now, you probably noticed that I haven't been very neutral in this video
That's because I, along with so many other Chinese artists and viewers
Am not only angry at this film
But the entire industry of Chinese knock offs
And that's a side of the story you don't often hear about
Mockbusters are not exclusively a Chinese phenomenon
Far from it
Yet, when you hear the word knock-offs
Your thoughts, and my thoughts, are almost always the same
"Of course it's China"
It is the equivalent of hearing news of an anti-mask protest
And going "of course it's America"
As an American, you know it's not your fault
And you dislike these people just as much
But it frustrates you that THAT is what your fellow people are doing
And this is why Chinese filmgoers would rather side with the media that make fun of China
Than stand with the film that represents the worst of the Chinese creative industry
Chinese people, especially the urban, middle class, educated people
Are increasingly frustrated with Chinese knock offs
Partly due to this international perception
At the risk of sounding overly sensitive
Here is a personal example
To this day, people still comment under our Chinese sword video with the same joke
Why are Chinese swords not as famous?
"Because they were made in China"
It's so normalized, people don't think it is an insult anymore
Despite the subtext being "nothing good comes from China"
And if something good is made in China
It will not be recognized as such
Even by its own creators
But the main reason for our hatred
Is just that, we are tired of seeing cheaters win
Guo Jingming, one of the most famous young writers in China
Plagiarized most of his famous works
He was sued in 2003 by fellow writer Zhuang Yu, whose work was plagiarized by Guo
Guo lost the lawsuit, but refused to apologize
He went on to become a director, writing and directing the notoriously bad "Tiny Times" series
With the first film alone grossing 484 million Yuan
Against its 45 million Yuan budget
Similarly, Chinese screenwriter Yu Zheng was sued by famous author Chiung Yao for plagiarism
He lost the case
Yet, he remains one of the most prolific screenwriters in the industry
And this sh*tty film grossed nearly 5 million Yuan
Although the production company claims it has a 10 million Yuan budget
I doubt that's the case
The public's frustration reached a boiling point recently
On December 31st, 2020
15 years after Guo losing the case
He and Yu Zheng finally apologized publically
Why?
Because just 9 days earlier
Over 156 media personnel cosigned an open letter, calling for the boycott of plagiarists
In which these two buttwipes were named specifically
Almost immediately, Yu Zheng is edited out of a variety show he appeared in
And a new show he wrote is now postponed
It seemed like justice is finally being served
The comments under their apologies are not acceptance
It's not even rejoicing
Some expressed relief
Most are still angry
And now you know why Chinese people find this movie so infuriating
CONCLUSION
I hate The Autobots
And so do people in China
Because it stands as the most glaring symptom
Of the rotten core within the Chinese creative industry
An industry where it pays to be a cheater
There are so many artists in China
Especially animators, who choose a life a hardship
Just to have a chance of pushing the Chinese animation industry forward
The director of Ne Zha graduated med school
Yet, instead of becoming a doctor
He decided to go into animation, self-taught
Because he loves the industry and wants to help make it better
He spent 3 years crafting his debut short film while living in poverty
He couldn't even afford Internet at home
If he needed to go online, he had to go to his friend's house
Yet you're telling me this creatively bankrupted f**kface is the most popular writer in China
And this horny car made it into the theatres?
Luckily, both the audience and the industry are changing
Ne Zha eventually became the highest-grossing animated film in China
Original films are being valued more and more
While copycats, even high-quality ones, are being called out
I sincerely hope the notoriety of The Autobots is a sign of change
That cheaters are being kicked out
That the truly passionate artists are finally getting the spotlight
Perhaps one day
China can shed away the knock-off label
And produce something truly loved by people around the world
And hopefully, next time
They don't have to hide behind a Japanese name