My Animation Era

Among the four famous classics, the one that Gu Miao likes the most and is most eager to adapt is definitely "Journey to the West".

The Three Kingdoms, Water Margin and Red Mansion are classics, but to be honest, these three masterpieces are not very suitable for animation, and no matter how they are adapted, they cannot match half of the effects of live-action film and television dramas.

No way, it's a matter of subject matter.

Take the animated Three Kingdoms as an example. No matter how exquisite and beautiful it is, it is not as grand as the scenes in live-action film and television dramas.

But "Journey to the West" is different.

Journey to the West is a masterpiece with fantasy elements. The characters in it are very suitable for animation, but it is a bit difficult to adapt it for live-action film and television dramas. After all, it is difficult for actors to portray the soul of a non-human character like "Monkey King".

certainly!

This is normal.

Abnormal situations, that is, the 1986 version of the "Journey to the West" TV series, are another matter.

All in all, among the four major classics, the only one that is more suitable for adaptation into animation and is also most likely to be adapted to the extreme is "Journey to the West".

This is one of the reasons why Gu Miao is so interested in the animation "Romance of the Three Kingdoms".

The news that all four major classics will be adapted into animations has already spread throughout the industry, and the animated version of "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is just an appetizer.

If it does well, Wanbao will have a chance to get involved in the next animated adaptation of the famous novel. If it is not done well, the remaining masterpieces will have little to do with Wanbao.

"Water Margin Red Mansion doesn't matter, but Journey to the West still has to be fought for!"

Gu Miao said with a smile: "I believe that with the completion quality of the animated version of "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", we will definitely get the opportunity to adapt the animated version of Journey to the West."

"That is, apart from our Wanbao, who else in China dares to pat their chests and guarantee that they will be able to complete animation adaptations of the four major classics?" Ma Kui said proudly.

"Don't be too inflated!"

"Although our Wanbao is powerful, we are not absolutely invincible." Somewhat dissatisfied with Ma Kui's arrogant expression, Gu Miao rolled her eyes and said, "Without Wanbao, there are giants like Meiying Studio."

Oh yes, there is also the Meiying Studio!

Ma Kui slapped his forehead and suddenly woke up. If Mr. Gu hadn't said anything, he would have almost forgotten that there is a low-key animation giant called American Film Studio in China.

Don't blame him for not thinking of it.

The main reason is that in recent years, there has been no news about the release of any new works from Meiying Studio, which has made everyone almost forget about their existence.

"Speaking of Meiying Studio...if I remember correctly, Liang Xiaodong seems to have a good relationship with them. We often work together, right?"

"right!"

Hearing this, Ma Kui nodded and said, "Since "The Story of Avanti", the relationship between Meiying Studio and Puppet Studio has always been good, and they often work on projects together."

Tsk tsk!

Judging from this trend, Liang Xiaodong, the head of the puppet studio, will sooner or later become a double agent of Meiying Studio.

But it doesn’t matter.

The close relationship between the Puppet Studio and the Meiying Studio was originally the result of Gu Miao's efforts. After all, he gave Liang Xiaodong an order to win over more bosses from the American Film Studio to change jobs.

Meiying Studio is a crouching tiger, hidden dragon!

This state-owned company was founded sixty years ago and has produced nearly 500 classic animation works. There are many veteran talents within it.

If Liang Xiaodong is really capable and recruits some great talents from Meiying Studio, then Gu Miao won't be too happy.

To put it bluntly, even if Liang Xiaodong fails to recruit people, it is still worthwhile to simply learn from the bosses of Meiying Studio.

what?

Do you look down on other people's antiques?

Despite his age, Old Antique is not bad at craftsmanship. If he just learns a few skills, he will be qualified to be the art director of some animation companies.

"What has Liang Xiaodong been doing recently?"

Out of curiosity, Gu Miao casually asked about the current situation of Liang Xiaodong and the puppet studio.

After all, as the boss, he hasn't heard of any action in the Puppet Studio for a long time.

"Working on a new work!"

As a Wanbao socialite, Ma Kui knows more than Gu Miao. He also has his good buddies in the puppet studio, so he naturally knows what Liang Xiaodong is busy with recently.

According to him, the Puppet Studio's period of silence was just to hold back a masterpiece.

Ma Kui actually didn't know much about the new work of the Puppet Studio. After all, he still had his own things to do, so how could he have the time to pay attention to others?

He only knew that the animation being produced by the Puppet Studio seemed to be an adaptation of folklore. The plot roughly told the story of seven gourd dolls with different abilities who worked together to defeat the scorpion spirit and the snake spirit.

"Calabash baby? Scorpion spirit?"

Hearing this, Gu Miao suddenly lost his composure.

Although Ma Kui didn't know the specific name of this animation, through these two settings, he still subconsciously asked: "Isn't it called "Calabash Brothers"?"

"Yes, yes, brother Calabash!"

"It seems that the name is just that, seven gourds were grown on a gourd vine, and then they turned into gourd brothers and defeated the monsters..."

Good guy!

Are they really Hulu Brothers?

It was just a casual guess at first, but she didn't expect that it was really the Calabash Baby in her memory. Now Gu Miao was also shocked.

How did Calabash Brothers become a Puppetry Studio production? Isn’t this a classic work from American Film Studio?

Gu Miao, who was so curious, didn't even care about the business at hand, and headed straight to the puppet studio with Ma Kui.

When he arrived at the puppet studio, he discovered that what Ma Kui said was absolutely correct. Liang Xiaodong was really making the gourd doll, and he almost finished it without making a sound.

"This paper-cut animation was originally a suggestion from the American Film Studio."

After learning Mr. Gu's intention, Liang Xiaodong smiled bitterly and said, "But Meiying Studio has not been having a good time recently, so we put the project on hold."

"I thought the story of the Calabash Brothers was very good, and the paper-cut design was also very innovative, so I discussed it with the American film manufacturer and the two companies jointly produced it."

"I see, no wonder... wait! What did you just say, paper-cut animation?" Gu Miao suddenly realized.

"Yes, paper-cut animation!"

Liang Xiaodong was a little surprised and said: "Didn't Ma Kui tell you? "Calabash Brothers" is an animation made with paper cutting!"

Ah this...

Gu Miao was speechless for a moment.

Liang Xiaodong didn't say anything, but he really didn't realize that the "Calabash Brothers" he watched as a child was actually a cartoon made using the art of paper-cutting.

It's really not his fault.

After all, he had never been exposed to paper-cut animation and was not very familiar with this craft, so it was understandable that he could not recognize it.

But now I learned the truth, and through Liang Xiaodong’s introduction, I gained an in-depth understanding of the production process and steps of paper-cut animation. Many questions that had puzzled me when I was a child were finally answered.

Why does the screen of "Calabash Brothers" look like a flat surface, and the characters mostly appear in "profiles"?

nonsense!

The character is a paper cutout, so it must be mainly in profile! Is it possible to give you a 360° rotating bird's eye view like a 3D animation?