After The Autobots, a Chinese animation about car racing, hit the screens last weekend, its producer might never have expected that the only heated discussion about the movie was focused on whether it is a copycat. CNN tossed out a question over its poster, asking if it is promoting the Chinese edition of the Pixar animation Cars.
Whether the director did plagiarize elements of his film or not, different opinions have flooded the Internet. Its director Zhuo Jianrong soon denied the accusation, claiming that he has heard of but never seen Cars, and his storyline has nothing in common with that of Pixar's. Yet he has still allegedly received legal letters from the Walt Disney Company which owns Pixar.
If you only look at the plotline, the story is indeed a different adventure when compared with Cars. So Zhuo was probably telling the truth when he said he had never watched Cars. However, disappointed viewers are not buying this, saying that they could sense the smell of a knock-off just by glancing at the poster or the images in the film. Isn't the red racing car with shiny white teeth and the wicked grin exactly the same as Car's Lightning McQueen?
It is thus obvious that Chinese audiences expect a higher standard than the director over the similarity of characters' appearance. Or, in other words, viewers now share high expectations on innovation of not only the story, but also the roles in the animations.
The US animation industry has been a world-leader for quite some time, while China is only a beginner, and has a lot to learn.
Yet even against this backdrop, China has already created a series of popular original cartoon characters, such as Monkey King and Black Cat Detective, which have turned out to be some of the favorite childhood memories for those Chinese who were born in 1970s and 80s.
Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf is another successful independently produced cartoon that is accompanying the youth of today through their childhood.
The public should offer more patience, encouragement and support to the development of original cartoons in China. In the meantime, filmmakers should also consider, and manage to meet, the high requirements of the audience.
Just on Thursday, Zhuo announced that he will make a sequel to The Autobots, explaining that his team is determined to create better stories and improved character design for the very reason of viewers' incredulity and questioning. Maybe after a few days of a "war of words" on the Internet, this is the best outcome.