The story begins with the water over Jinshan, Bai Suzhen is pressed under the Leifeng Pagoda, and Xiaoqing falls into the city of Asura
In January 2019, the animated film “White Snake: Origin” achieved a box office counterattack based on word of mouth. The sequel “White Snake 2: The Green Snake” (hereinafter referred to as “White Snake 2”) created by the original crew was released recently. As of 18:00 on July 28, on the sixth day of its release, “White Snake 2” had the top spot in the box office and schedule of films of the same period. The cumulative box office has exceeded 270 million. According to the forecast of the professional version of Maoyan, its total box office in mainland China Up to 515 million.
Judging from the current reputation, many viewers gave “Awesome” evaluations to the visual presentation of “White Snake 2”. Whether it is the city of Shura where ancient and modern coexist, time and space overlap, or the Batu Caves transformed by flowing watercolor, many scenes and settings will bring viewers an unprecedented spectacle experience.
“The Rise of National Comics” in recent years, with the release of a blockbuster animation, the technical level of Chinese animation creators has been recognized by more audiences. At the same time, controversy over the script of domestic animation still exists. While “White Snake 2” was affirmed in terms of visual effects and story innovation, some viewers questioned the motives and image shaping of the characters in the film.
As the producer of “White Snake: Origin” and “White Snake 2,” Cui Di accompanied and witnessed the critical period of the development of China’s animation industry. She has been associated with the “White Snake” project for six years, watching Xiaobai, Xiaoqing, Axuan, Fahai, Baoqing Fangzhu and other characters step by step lively and full, and finally boarded the big screen to meet with the audience, and was loved by the audience. In an exclusive interview with China Business News, Cui Di revealed that the entire creative process of “White Snake 2” has experienced many difficult moments, including the epidemic. The creative team strives for perfection in the details, and strives to present the work in a relatively limited time. Best state.
Cui Di hopes that the audience can pay more attention to domestic animation: “The entire industry is still in the early stage of development. I hope that everyone can pay more attention, and be patient and tolerant, so that they can continue to go on and explore. Regardless of the content theme or production style, it can grow further. Progress is very important. The next one must be better than before.”
Robbery and fate
As one of the four major love legends in China, the story of “The Legend of the White Snake” is well-known and spread through various literary and artistic forms. There are countless only film and television versions, including “The Legend of the New White Snake” and “Green”. “Snake” and other classic works.
Zhang Xianfeng, director of the Cantonese opera film “The Legend of the White Snake: Love”, which was released not long ago, mentioned in an interview with CBN that the love of the transfiguration and breaking through the barriers has its charm in all ages. At the same time, it is also an extension. With highly sexual texts, each creator can dig out a new understanding of the characters based on the original story, and deduce stories of different styles.
Before the release of “White Snake: Origin”, the creative team discussed the story development of the sequel. Cui Di said that they thought very well and would not adapt the main story again: “We want to try to tell the traditional story from a different angle to make it more realistic.” They discussed that the “water overflows with the golden mountains” will happen afterwards. The story can be extended from Xiaoqing’s perspective. As an important role in “The Legend of the White Snake”, Xiaoqing’s stories were told less in the past, and there is more room for imagination and development.
After the release of “White Snake: Origin”, many viewers expressed their love for Xiaoqing’s role, and they confirmed Xiaoqing as the protagonist of the sequel: “She is very sassy, daring to love and hate. A lot of interesting things have been gathered in her. Personality, such as persistence, independence, and recklessness, is closer to the preferences of young audiences.” Cui Di said.
“In the stage of discussing the story, we kept asking ourselves, what is the most moving thing about this story.” In Cui Di’s view, this story has been circulating for thousands of years, with different interpretations, but the most moving spiritual core is unchanged. : One emotional clue is the emotions between Bai Suzhen and Xu Xian for generations, waiting, searching and sacrifice for emotion; the other emotional clue is the companionship between the green snake and the white snake for thousands of years, whether it’s disaster or friendship, always Inseparable, this is a deep friendship that transcends time and space and transcends gender. As a result, the emotional relationship between Xiaoqing and Xiaobai was extracted and became the emotional core of “White Snake 2”.
Based on this emotional core, the traditional story is subversively edited. On the one hand, the creative team has absorbed the concepts of obsession, reincarnation and reincarnation in traditional culture, and added modern elements to tell stories with more modern significance. The story begins with the golden mountain in the water, Bai Suzhen is suppressed under the Leifeng Pagoda, and Xiaoqing falls into the city of Shura, experiencing catastrophes such as wind, water, fire, and air. She meets all kinds of people in the city of Shura. , Or deceived selfishness, or integrity and kindness, relying on the powerful obsession to find Xiaobai, she fought Fahai in the illusion, and finally got the opportunity to escape from Shura City and meet Xiaobai again. This is also a story of female growth. In the process of hardship and adventure, Xiaoqing’s understanding of love has also been sublimated.
“You can see your own shadow in Xiaoqing, just like in daily life, you may encounter unsatisfactory or uncomfortable places, you will encounter a lot of confusion, and there are many moments when you want to give up and lie down. Give up her obsession and original intention and come back again? In the film, relying on the obsession to find her sister, Xiaoqing has gone through a thousand catastrophes and died for a lifetime. I also hope that her power can infect everyone.” Cui Di said.
Visual wonder
The city of Shura, where the past, present, and future intersect, is a living city and a world that is constantly collapsing and reborn. From the perspective of visual style, Shura City is mixed with post-modern elements such as steampunk and industrial waste. Skyscrapers and ancient buildings exist at the same time. The deeper the city, the more ancient it is.
This high-concept setting needs to be refined in the details so that the audience can be convinced. Cui Di revealed that the setting of the entire Shura City has made a set of detailed worldview explorations and explanations: For example, how long will the city experience a “catastrophe”; the scale of this city is roughly the size of Beijing’s Fourth Ring Road. What is the vegetation, light, fresh water and resources, and then through the actions and performance of the characters, the audience can be convinced of the logic of the operation of this world.
The fragments of Xiaoqing and Fahai fighting in the Batu Caves are the brilliance of the film: the mountains, temples, pagodas and trees in the cave change different scenes with the seasons, and the watercolor randomly produces a blooming effect to show the cave. The illusory space and the distortion of time and space in.
Twenty years in the cave, one day outside the cave, Fahai in the illusion gradually ages, and Xiaoqing becomes more and more frustrated, and finally toppled the Leifeng Pagoda in the illusion, and he also got the opportunity to escape from Shura City. Cui Di told CBN that the visual presentation in Batu Caves is the most time-consuming link, and it is also one of the earliest pieces of the film that were put into technical testing. The scene was developed from the beginning of the project, and it was covered from setting to completion. The production cycle of the entire film.
Cui Di said that they not only want to make new stories based on Chinese legends, but also hope to present the temperament that truly belongs to Chinese animation. “This is also our obsession. We want to make exquisite, world-class animated films. We hope that overseas audiences will be surprised by the Chinese culture and spirit in the story when they watch it, and they can also feel the Chinese artistic style technically. We hope Able to create expressions that are different from Western styles such as Disney Animation.”
The animation industry is still at a relatively weak stage. As the leading company of China’s animation industry, Chasing Animation excavates characters from traditional Chinese culture, and on this basis, it makes new stories and explores new spaces. From “Little Door God” to the birth of “White Snake: Origin” and “New God List: Nezha Rebirth”, two series of “New Legend” and “New God List” have been developed. Cui Di revealed that “New Legend” will be based on traditional Chinese story adaptations, including but not limited to the theme of white snakes. In the future, there may be stories from Liao Zhai. The popular character in the “White Snake” series, Baoqingfang, the double-sided fox demon may have its own Independent film, this will be a highly original story. Return to Sohu to see more
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