A new Chinese re-make of an old traditional story, shows advances in Chinese animation techniques and an ability to connect emotionally with contemporary audiences:
And some trailers have started hitting Youtube:
The Monkey King Returns
by fulltimestudent 4 Replies latest social current
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_Morpheus
Looks like it could be a good flick! You may be interested in a company called pixar. They have had some small successes with animation -
Vidiot
Jet Li and Donnie Yen both played the character in The Forbidden Kingdom and The Monkey King: The Legend Begins, respectively.
I suppose a CGI adaptation was inevitable.
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fulltimestudent
Morpheus: You may be interested in a company called pixar. They have had some small successes with animation
Indeed Morpheus! Pixar altered the animation game.
And, of course, if Chinese animated film makers want to succeed, they must, at least, equal the Pixar quality in some way. But you could argue, that Pixar was built on the cleverness of one man, Dr. Ed. Catmull from NYIT, while acknowledging that Pixar's success was much more complex than that.
But it was the NYIT teams research and results that led computer graphics to where it is now. So if somewhere in the tens of thousands (understated) of Chinese technicians who must be trained and working in the field there is another genius like Catmull, who knows where the Chinese industry will end up.
Undoubtedly, the Chinese film industry is out there attempting to be on top of the game. I know a small time player in that industry and they are certainly getting a lot of support. Who knows whether they will make it to the top? But, even if they don't, they'll be giving the tree a good bloody shake.
The progress the Chinese have made since 1949 is quite amazing, more so since the 1970s when they were set free from ideology (remember Deng's saying that the color of a cat doesn't matter so long as it kills mice).
From the viewpoint, of a contemporary historian, which I hope to be, what is happening in China is of major significance to the whole world. From a personal viewpoint, I watch with interest the efforts of a good friend in China. He made a lot of money importing and distributing products into China, and he is now investing in film making.
And, in turn, you may be interested in this Wall Street Journal assessment:
http://www.wsj.com/video/monkey-king-brings-hope-to-chinese-animation-industry/B08FB9FE-047A-4C9C-A2E7-15BE7C7A8CA6.html
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Vidiot: Jet Li and Donnie Yen both played the character in The Forbidden Kingdom and The Monkey King: The Legend Begins, respectively. I suppose a CGI adaptation was inevitable.I think I'd have to take my shoes off (stale joke) to count the number of film versions of the "Journey to the West" epic. Some of which can make you cringe.
I think the last Li/Yen version was released last year, a product of the Hongkong film industry. Even though HK is part of China, the film industry in HK is 'different' to the PRC industry, different (IMHO) in traditions and approaches.
I think the 2014 trailer illustrates my point, from an audience viewpoint, which one looks like it can 'connect' better to modern audiences?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCj-XP5cjOY
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Vidiot
I saw a bootleg of the Donnie Yen movie on Youtube a few months back.
Meh.