Interpretation of Dick Pig’s Blue Ocean Romance： Two-dimensional animation, going against the wind

Special feature of 1905 film network On November 6, 2021, a two-dimensional animated film dubbed by, director,, and was released nationwide. The film tells the story that the adventurer "Dick Pig" was separated from the elf pet bean bag because of a shipwreck. On the way to find the bean bag, he met the head of Shenzhou Island who was looking for his younger brother. In order to find his beloved partner and relatives, they embarked on a fantastic adventure journey together.

Looking at the animated film market in China, three-dimensional animated films can be described as unstoppable. Among the top ten box office movies, only two are two-dimensional animated films, namely Japanese animated films and Japanese animated films, while the number of domestic two-dimensional animated films is few and far between, and the box office performance is not optimistic.

Even in this background, the two-dimensional hand-drawn animation "Pig Dick’s Blue Ocean Romance" still goes against the wind, and it is released nationwide and touched many small audiences. Yang Yi, the film director, is a guest in Today’s Film Review to share the courage of the creative team and the story behind the creation.

China’s classic two-dimensional animation works, Gourd Baby and Black Cat Sheriff, are accompanied by Yang Yi’s growth, which makes him have a complex, hoping to inherit the soul of the older generation of creators and make excellent two-dimensional animation. At the same time, compared with three-dimensional animation, two-dimensional animation is more suitable for children’s eyes.

Yang Yi mentioned: "From my own personal point of view, if an adult wears 3D glasses for 90 minutes, I will feel a little tired in my eyes. Moreover, the effect of each cinema may be uneven, sometimes the picture is dark or fuzzy. I hope to bring a more relaxed and comfortable visual experience to children. I also support the current three-dimensional animation, because the market should be diversified, but as a creator, I hope to stick to my original heart. "

If you never forget it, there will be repercussions. From the detailed design to the unique painting style, Dick the Pig’s Blue Ocean Romance has made many people shine. Yang Yi said: "The style of film painting combines some traditional fine arts in China, as well as American and Japanese styles digested over the years. The title is somewhat similar, and it is the artistic style of a team called cartoon salon. Our art director especially likes to create handwritten accounts by painting, so there is a strong handwritten, hand-painted and light-colored temperament in the design. The film combines the cornice design of dragon dances and temples in China traditional culture, and it is an inclusive style as a whole. "

Behind the film’s praise is the hard and time-consuming production of the creative team, which took three and a half years from preparation to release.

The long road of creation was overcome by Yang Yi’s persistence: "In the past two years, the whole animation market has had excellent works and good market performance, but not all cartoons have a very mature direction.When doing two-dimensional animation, I have always resisted the temptation of the market, and I have also experienced economic and production pressures, even doubts about my own style. We hope that there will be a part in the film that resonates with children and parents, and we also hope to present the content through two-dimensional means. I cried countless times when I saw the end of the film. On the one hand, I was moved by the plot, on the other hand, we persisted and did not deviate from our ideals and direction. "

After the screening of the film, the reputation is very ideal, in which the forgotten island created by imagination out of thin air presents the paradise imagined by children, which is colorful, beautiful and surprising, and has won many praises. In the process of self-growth, the thinking logic of the creator is getting farther and farther away from the children. It is necessary to explore the remaining innocence in the heart and return to the imaginative imagination in order to make excellent works that meet the children.

"Dick Pig’s Blue Ocean Romance" did not forget its own pursuit when satisfying children’s innocence. The creative team explored the depth of the story, conveyed the positive energy concept of environmental education, and gave up the happy ending that was more acceptable to children. Many children were moved by the film at the end of the screening and shed tears. The regret at the end of the story made many children feel the pain of loss, but it also made them cherish the family and friendship around them more.

The film "Forgotten Island", which is highly praised, shows a beautiful and amazing paradise. This scene has a touching design: every detail of Forgotten Island comes from the childhood picture book of Weiya. This is related to Yang Yi’s own experience. His parents are engaged in scientific research and are always prepared for possible accidents, so every time they leave home, they will tell Yang Yi a lot.

This lack of childhood happiness has been enlarged with the growth, which has also caused certain difficulties for him to communicate with his parents. Suddenly one day, when Yang Yi opened the photo album of her childhood, she found that every photo with her father in the photo album was laughing.

Yang Yi couldn’t help crying when talking about this incident: "At that moment, I suddenly realized that maybe those parts of my memory that I didn’t like were constantly strengthened and enlarged by myself after I became an adult. Therefore, I also hope that through movies, everyone can reconcile with their childhood regrets. "

The hero of the film is a lovely pig image. In animation, there are many classic pig images, such as McDull and Page, which are deeply rooted in the minds of many viewers and lead to fierce market competition. At this stage, it is very challenging to create another pig as the protagonist.

In this regard, Yang Yi said: "Insisting on choosing the image of the pig is to make some symbolic images that are particularly simple and particularly recognizable. We want an ordinary character who pays attention to ordinary people. The image of pig is quite like ordinary people. When we want to praise it, we say that it is blessed and full of treasures. Let it be a negative role model, and call it lazy and dirty. We hope that the image is an ordinary person, but doing things that help everyone like a hero is also concerned about the life situation that children will face in the future. "

Famous IP in China, such as Pleasant Goat and Xiongda, are constantly innovating their images and upgrading their production scale. Can "Pig Dick" develop into such a series to cater to the commercial competition in the market and make changes and adjustments?

When talking about the future planning, Yang Yi said: "Our world view is actually different from other cartoons, and it can be combined with some real content. We hope to plant a seed for the children watching movies in the future with the help of cartoons. "Dick the Pig’s Blue Ocean Romance" also practices this matter. All the scenes refer to Dongshan Island Volcanic Rock Geological National Park, which is the only volcanic rock in the country. This scenic spot ranks very low in Xiamen, but it also has its charm. We want to pay attention to some attractive scenery that has not yet entered the public’s field of vision. "

The image of "Dick Pig" has been created since Yang Yi was a graduate student, accompanied him all the way, and witnessed his courage and persistence. I hope this courage and persistence can bring more people with this image, stick to your courage and stick to what you think is right. Maybe I can’t give you feedback at this stage, but the seeds of goodwill will sprout and grow one day.

Today’s film review　Director’s observation:People who insist on making two-dimensional hand-drawn animated films for children are particularly pure and delicate in heart, which is the intuitive impression given to me by director Yang Yi. In the animation world he constructed, every frame of painting is attached with nostalgia and affection for childhood, every line and every color contains the painter’s unique understanding of the world, and he is also making up for the regret of missing childhood by creating parent-child animated films. No matter which point, it is worth your coming to know the story behind this little pig named "Dick Pig". (Xu Jinqiu, director of Today’s Film Review.)