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Editorial Content
A Push to Revitalize the Animation Industry in China
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The Business of Animation in
China–
Cosponsored by the State
Administration of Radio Film and Television, and the Zhejiang
Provincial Government, on April 28, 2006, the 2nd China
International Cartoon and Animation Festival kicked-off for a
six-day run in Zhejiang’s thriving capital city of Hangzhou. About
300,000 visitors toured about 1,500 exhibits while businesspeople
and artists attended conferences focusing on topics like the state
of digital technology, trends in cartoon art and international asset
management.
One of several major animation
expos conceived and made popular in recent years in China, the
Hangzhou event is just one element of a resurgent strategy
tactically executed by a cohesion of government, industry, and an
ever-more technically-savvy and increasingly educated workforce.
The objective is to regain
ground in a worldwide field of art and commerce that annually
generates about $500 billion.
To Capture the Cartoon Cash
—
China Reanimates an Industry
China’s animators annually crank out
about 40,000 minutes of cartoons for domestic TV consumption. That
may sound like a lot, but that production level bottom line amounts
to one massive missed opportunity.
Total broadcast demand for animated
products is estimated at about 300,000 minutes a year in China. And
so government, industry and educational institutions are now
channeling considerable resources into seizing a more equitable
share of what is a clean, dynamic and potential-packed industry.
The domestic cartoon market here is
enormous. The primary consumer segment, China’s citizens under the
age of 16, number more than 370 million. If you need some
perspective: That number of Chinese kids surpasses the entire
population of the US by about 80 million. And those Sino juniors
tally up to equal about 80 percent of all those humans residing
within all the nations comprised by the European Union.
The Figures of Fantasy
Today animated products generate
more than 18 billion yuan in gross revenues within the nation,
according to the Animation Association of China. The Motherland’s
problem is that only about 10 percent of those dollars stay here.
The vast majority of product is turned out primarily by Japan, with
a lesser share snagged by the US and Europe.
And not a lot of progress has been
made in recent years. According to 540 kids in four mainland cities
surveyed in 2002 by the China Mainland Marketing Research Company,
of their 10 favorite cartoon programs, six were Japanese, two were
US-made, and two were produced in China. Since that survey was
conducted, more recent studies indicate no gains. Reportedly, today
only about 11 percent of Chinese youngsters say they prefer
homegrown cartoons.
According to John Lent, the author
of Animation in Asia and the Pacific, and a professor of
communications in the Department of Broadcasting, Telecommunications
and Mass Media at Temple University in the US, a shortfall in
technical expertise may not be the primary holdback for China’s
producers. "I have no doubt that the technical skills in China are
beginning to rival those of Hollywood or Europe." But, he says, "One
of the problems I hear coming out of China and many other places in
the Far East is the storytelling. Zhang Yimou [the big time Chinese
director of films like ‘Hero’] said himself that when they have a
good story they want to make a motion picture out of it, not an
animated film.”
The Glory Gone
Well ahead in the cartoon game in
decades past, Chinese animation began its rise in the 1920s, notably
driven by the WanSi Brothers and their animated silent films, such
as their renowned “Princess Iron Fan.” In the 30s and 40s, even
during times of international conflict, China-produced animation was
ascendant in the Eastern markets, far ahead in terms of artistic
rendition, technology and storytelling.
In the early 1950s, sponsored by
the central government, the Shanghai Arts and Film Production
Company was established and became a primary driver in China’s rise
to something of a golden era in the years that followed. After
consistent success in the domestic market, in 1956 their “Why is the
Crow Black-Coated” gained international acclaim and awards.
The industry of animation in China
arguably reached its zenith in the early 60s, with “Uproar in
Heaven,” produced by the Shanghai Animation Studio and featuring the
“Monkey King,” for centuries a mythical character beloved and
venerated in China. Director Wan Laiming and his illustrators spent
four years creating the two-part, 11,000-foot film feature,
releasing the first installment in 1961 and the second in 1964.
The setback came during the years
of the Cultural Revolution, 1966 to 1976. Like all film production
houses, animation studios stagnated and lost ground—just as Japan’s
anime producers came on strong.
And so China is now out to regain
lost territory.
Encouraging Enterprise
In 2004, the State Administration
of Radio, Film and Television officially put in place new policies
aimed to encourage and accelerate production—especially on the
mainland—and four colleges and nine studios became the inceptive
primary centers for development. Notable institutions at program
startup included the Communication University of China, the Beijing
Film Academy, and the China Academy of Art. Concurrently, the
Shanghai Animation Film Studio and the China International
Television Corporation became active industrial players.
Today, a growing number of major
art schools offer programs in animation. And cities like Beijing,
Shanghai, Changsha, Guangzhou and Hangzhou have established
high-tech zones specifically to accommodate and nurture viable new
animation firms.
In particular, Hangzhou, the
capital of Zhejiang Province, has become a fast-rising center for
the development of the industry. More than 20 animation-related
enterprises operate R&D and production centers within the Hangzhou
High-Tech Industry Development Zone, officially part of the National
Animation Industry Base. And since 2005 the city has devoted 20
million yuan to a plan whereby its local animation production
companies are paid 1,000 yuan for each minute of their product that
makes it onto China’s TV screens. Since the plans inception, within
the Hangzhou National Animation Industry Base five firms have
benefited from payouts totaling more than 7 million yuan.
But the climb back to the top may
take some time, according to Zhang Hongjian, who heads up Hangzhou’s
Department of Publicity and Information. At a press conference in
advance of his city hosting the 2nd China International Cartoon and
Animation Festival, he said, "There is a remarkable gap between
China's animation and cartoon industry and that of Japan. In fact,
China lags behind at least 10 years in terms of technique and
originality."
•••
Zhang is no doubt right about that
gap. But given China’s seemingly supernatural ability to effect
change, accelerate development and advance across a wide spectrum of
industrial production, one might presume that a 10-year lag in
“technique” can be overcome in short order. Originality, however,
is a byproduct of open innovative collaboration and creative
freedom.
Considering the range of diversions
available to technically-savvy young people in this digital age, the
days of cartoons that compromise on plot in favor of hammering home
a blatant message may well be over. And so the fate of this industry
could rest within the nimble hands of those who best know their
market: the youngest of China’s storytellers.
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