Why Everybody Is Watching Chinese Animation Industry中国动画产业何以引全球关注

菲利普·马克　郝福合

China is cementing itself as a frontier and focal point of the entertainment industry; the largest nation by population is projected to overtake the United States as the worlds biggest box office in 2020， bringing in an estimated $12.28 billion. The country is also attracting the attention of Western animation studios， both as a target audience and as a service work destination， and is increasingly producing its own homegrown hits.

So why is it only now that China is establishing itself on the animation map？

History of animation in China

The answer requires going back to the early 20th Century. The first animated film to reach Chinese audiences was screened in 1918 and in the subsequent decade， a quartet1 of producers known as the Wan Brothers would pioneer techniques and join the Great Wall Film Company.

The Wan Brothers created Chinas first animated film with sound， The Camels Dance， and would continue to innovate the medium—progressing towards longer-format productions until WWII. Around this time， there was an East-West cultural exchange， with global films like Snow White and the Seven Dwarves being screened in Shanghai and influencing local creators.

Chinese animation flourished during the post-war recovery， with the Wan Brothers creating Why Is the Crow Black-Coated （their first feature-length colour toon2） and Havoc in Heaven， a musical masterpiece inspired by the classic story of Journey to the West. However， the “Cultural Revolution” from the late 1960s until the end of the 1970s put the industry on pause.

Will 2020 be the decade of Chinese animation？

While the Chinese animation industry would not have been considered a power player at the turn of the millennium， in 20 years it has established itself as both a creator and consumer of high-quality content. The proof is in the productions： films like 2016s Big Fish & Begonia have been compared to the anime of Studio Ghibli and it was subsequently distributed across the West. It also became the single most successful Chinese crowdfunding project to-date， raising $260，000—and grossing nearly $85 million at the Sino box office.

“There are big opportunities right now for domestic studios who want to create content， both domestically and internationally，” says Vivan Han， a producer at Chinese animation studio Feitong Cartoon.

In July 2019， Enlights latest CG-animated film Nezha landed the biggest-ever opening weekend for an animated film in China—grossing $91.5 million. It also took second place at the global box office， beat out3 only by Disneys The Lion King reboot4. Similarly， 3D films Monkey King： Hero Is Back and White Snake have had financial success at Sino cinemas， with the latter becoming GKIDS first Chinese acquisition and to receive North American distribution.

Plus there are plenty of international co-productions in the pipeline5， from The Monkey Prince （a collaboration between Beijing-based Bona Film Group and Japans Toei Animation） to Wish Dragon， which is being created through a partnership between Sony Pictures Animation， Chinas Base Animation and Jackie Chans Sparkle Roll Media. With so much looking up6， whats keeping the countrys industry down？

Beyond co-productions and original IPs， China is also continuing to establish itself as a hub for service work. As of 2017， Asia produced around 90 percent of American television animation—though the Chinese industry has not traditionally been a key player in the market. The reasons why range from the cultural to the governmental.

“Chinas animation market is completely different from other countries， not only in the culture， but also in the strategy and government policy，” says Han.

She continues， “The world is shifting and with streamers like Netflix and Disney+， distribution is changing and there is greater demand than ever for content. Western studios cannot keep up with the demand for work and it is improving our opportunities to work with foreign studios.”

Chinese animations opportunities and challenges

According to Mars Dai of Animated-China.org， Chinas GDP per capita now exceeds $10，000 and for more than 150 million， is above $20，000. Additionally， over 230 million people there are aged 0 to 14—presenting a huge opportunity for cartoon creators.

On the flip side7， Chinese audiences and authorities tend to view animation as something for younger viewers， which comes with its own baggage.

Additional challenges the countrys animation industry faces are related to a growing demand for professional education and training. This often becomes the responsibility of the studios themselves， which can decrease quality and increase costs.

“Although animation education in China has improved， when it comes to character effects or other technical skills， they dont teach any of it in universities—you can only learn it on the job in a company environment，” said Yuan Ye， cofounder of Lightchaser Animation Studios （the creators of White Snake）， as quoted by Variety.

He continues， “Weve made our company like an extension of college. For an animation company hoping to put out a consistent pipeline of films， this sort of in-house8 talent pool is a necessity.”

There is also a groundswell9 of organizations emerging to support the industry. Dais platform， Animated-China.org， is， “collecting and collating10 the information of hundreds of animation-related enterprises and individuals in China. Through websites and publications， we will transmit this information to those interested in Chinese companies globally at major animation festivals and exhibitions， and facilitate more cooperation across creativity， production， financing， distribution， merchandising11 and more.”

He continues， “Meanwhile， as a bridge and platform， we are also synchronizing12 the information of the global animation industry to China to help the Chinese animation industry better understand the world.”

His is not the only entity that recognizes the huge potential in Chinese animation， with great interest and investment coming from outside its borders; Canadas Corus Entertainment， Nelvana and Toon Boom Animation partnered with local toon distributor and brand managers WeKids on a joint talent initiative， China Tales Incubator.

China Tales Incubator invited China-based creators to submit kids animated content concepts—hosting six workshops across the country. The winning project was Dreamweavers by Beijing-based Bingo Animation Studio， which has gone into development.

While new productions like Dreamweavers offer an optimistic view of the future， it will likely be some time until China truly rivals the United States and Japan in terms of output. That said， if the latter half of the 20th Century proves anything， things tend to move quickly in the country. It may not be long until “Made in China” becomes the new industry standard of quality.

中国正确立自己在娱乐产业的前沿和中心地位;据估计，到2020年，这个人口最多的国家将实现票房收入122.8亿美元，有望超过美国，成为全球最大电影票仓。同时，中国正在吸引西方动画公司的关注，成为其目标受众国和外包业务目的地，而且正越来越多地推出自己的本土大片。

那么，缘何直到今天中国才逐步确立起在动画版图上的地位呢？

中国动画史

要回答该问题，需追溯到20世纪早期。中国观众看到的第一部动画影片在1918年上映，随后10年，“万氏兄弟”四人创作组合开创技术，并受邀加入长城画片公司。

万氏兄弟创作出中国首部有声动画影片《骆驼献舞》，并不断对动画电影加以创新——朝着创作动画长片的方向取得持续进展，直到二战爆发。大约在这个时期，出现了一次东西方文化交流，《白雪公主和七个小矮人》等国外影片在上海放映，对本土创作者产生了影响。

中国动画在战后恢复期曾一度繁荣，万氏兄弟创作出《乌鸦为什么是黑的》（他们的首部彩色动画长片）和《大闹天宫》。后者是一部配乐杰作，改编自《西游记》这部经典。然而，1960年代后期至1970年代末的“文化大革命”使动画产业陷于停滞。

2020年能否成为中国动画的十年？

尽管在千年之交，中国动画产业在人们看来也许尚不具雄厚实力，但20年后，却已成为优质内容的创作者和消费者。证据在于影片产出：有人把《大鱼海棠》（2016）等影片与日本吉卜力工作室的动画片相提并论，随后该片在西方发行。这部影片也成为中国迄今最成功的众筹电影：融资26万美元，国内票房收入近8500万美元。

“当下，无论在国内还是国际上，希望创作内容的国内电影公司都有大好机会。”中国动画公司飞侗动漫的一位制片人薇薇安·韩表示。

2019年7月，光线传媒最新的CG动画影片《哪吒之魔童降世》拿下中国动画电影首映周末史上最高票房——收入9150万美元。同时，该片在全球票房位居第二，仅次于迪士尼的《狮子王》重启版。同样，3D电影《西游记之大圣归来》和《白蛇：缘起》在国内影院也取得了商业成功，后者成为美国GKIDS公司买下北美发行权的首部中国电影。

此外，许多国际合拍片正在制作之中，包括《猴王子》（北京博纳影业集团与日本东映动画的合作影片），以及《许愿神龙》，后者正在由索尼影视动画、中国的倍视动画以及成龙的耀莱传媒联手打造。向好情况如此之多，还有什么可阻碍中国动画产业的脚步呢？

除合拍片和原創IP电影以外，中国正不断把自己打造成外包业务中心。截至2017年，美国电视动画约有90%由亚洲制作——尽管历来中国动画产业并未扮演重要的市场角色。究其原因，涉及文化和政府等多重因素。

“中国的动画市场完全有别于其他国家，不仅反映在文化方面，也反映在战略和国家政策方面。”韩如是说。

她接着讲道：“世界在变，有了奈飞和迪士尼+这样的流媒体平台，发行方式也在变，对内容的需求之大超过以往。西方电影公司无法满足制作需求，这就增加了我们与国外公司合作的机会。”

中国动画的机遇和挑战

据Animated-China.org网站的马尔斯·戴所说，中国的人均GDP现已突破1万美元，有1.5亿多人达到2万美元以上。此外，0至14岁的中国人口超过2.3亿，为动画创作者提供了巨大机遇。

但另一方面，中国观众和有关部门往往认为动画片是拍给孩子看的，从而束缚了动画片的手脚。

中国动画产业面临的挑战还在于，对专业教育和培训的需求日益增长。专业教育和培训往往由动画公司自行负责，这样做会降低品质、增加成本。

“虽然中国的动画教育已有改观，但说到角色特效或其他专业技能，大学都不教授，只能在公司环境下边工作边学习。”美国《综艺》杂志引述追光动画（《白蛇：缘起》出品方）联合创始人袁野的话说。

他继续说道：“我们让公司成了大学的延续。对于想源源不断推出影片的动画公司而言，这种内部人才储备必不可少。”

同时，涌现出一批支持动画产业的机构。戴的平台Animated-China.org正在“汇集和整理中国数百家动画企业和从业人员的相关信息。通过网站和出版物，我们会在大型动画节和展会上把信息传递给国际上对中国公司感兴趣的人，促进创作、制片、融资、发行、衍生品开发等方面的更多合作”。

他接下去说：“同时，我们发挥桥梁和平台的作用，将全球动画产业的信息同步介绍到中国，帮助中国动画产业更好地了解世界。”

戴的网站并非唯一看到中国动画产业存在巨大潜能的机构，浓厚的兴趣和投资来自国外。加拿大的Corus娱乐公司、Nelvana动画公司和Toon Boom动画软件公司携手中国本土动画发行商及品牌管理公司万童互动，共同发起一项人才计划——“中国有故事”孵化器。

“中国有故事”孵化器已在全国举办六场宣讲会，邀请中国的创作者提交儿童动画创意方案。胜出项目为北京缤格动画公司的《魔法衣世界》，现已进入开发阶段。

尽管像《魔法衣世界》这样的新片带来了乐观前景，但是论产量，中国要真正比肩美国和日本可能尚待时日。虽说如此，20世纪后半叶却证明了一点，即中国各个领域往往都发展迅猛。或许“中国制作”成为行业质量新标准的日子已为期不远。

（译者为“《英语世界》杯”翻译大赛获奖者）