Entertainment tycoon since 83

Chapter 327 Animated Movie
"You can't make money on TV, and you can't make money on movies."

"It takes two to three years to make an animation. If it can't recover itself, how can the employees of Shanghai Animation Film Studio survive?"

"By loving animation?"

“Or do we rely on funding from above?”

"The problem is that there is no money from above right now. Besides, there are so many important projects that need money. Many places can't even pay the salaries of administrative staff. How can they give you a studio that makes cartoons year after year?"

"I have to do it again!" Huang Ze said with emotion, "I have money, I am not afraid of losing it!"

"I thought you were the one with the creativity." Gong Xing rolled his eyes at Huang Ze. "A few variety shows and Teletubbies have almost made ATV a big company that makes money mainly from copyright fees. I thought you could come up with some great cartoons."

"Hey hey hey..."

"Got an idea?"

"Let's talk about it after the company is established." Huang Ze smiled and waved his hand.

I watched a lot of cartoons in my previous life.

Although I haven't watched the three major popular cartoons because they are too long, I still remember those that are not too long. In addition, in order to learn a foreign language at the same time, I have watched quite a few classic American cartoons.

It shouldn't be a big problem if we come up with a few characters and let them draw them.

"It seems like you have an idea." Gong Xing smiled. "When I saw your smile, I felt that this was going to be another hit movie. Sometimes I really want to see what's in your head."

"When I split it open, it's all you."

"Stop talking about this. We are an old married couple. Isn't it cheesy?"

"You're not old, are you?" Huang Ze blinked. "You look like you're only in your early thirties, still pretty young. Let's go and have a second child first."

……

After dinner, Huang Ze sat in his study. He didn't even bother to write the rest of the script for Farewell My Concubine, but instead thought about the cartoon with his chin lowered.

The competition in animation is too fierce.

So many animations are broadcast free of charge to TV stations, with the main source of revenue coming from selling copyrights, although Teletubbies has also provided certain channels.

But this is not like "Teletubbies". There are only a few dramas in the world specifically for infants and young children, and this is one of them.

The animation market is not a red ocean, but the competition is fierce, especially in Japan and the United States, where there are so many cartoons. In the domestic Japanese market, even Hollywood cannot beat Japanese animation.

There is a Disney in every nest.

Whether your own film can get on TV is another matter, let alone competing with others.

It would be better to make an animated film and put your own name as the producer. With Warner as a long-term partner, they will always give you a chance and try with good distribution conditions.

Don't look at the monk's face and look at the Buddha's face.

As long as the box office is decent, the reputation of Star Ocean Animation will be established.

In terms of subsequent derivative products, Warner is definitely not as good as Disney, but it doesn’t matter if it’s almost there. The most important thing now is the box office first, and then we can talk about other things.

It is still worthwhile to exchange short-term benefits for long-term benefits.

The point is, "What kind of animated movie should I make?"

Another question popped up in Huang Ze's mind.

First of all, forget about 3D animation. Pixar hasn't even come out yet. Its first work will not be released until the end of November 95, which is still three years away.

Jobs founded Pixar to sell his production software, so Huang Ze couldn't do it even if he wanted to. Besides, the investment in such films was too huge, often hundreds of millions of dollars, and it would be difficult to make a 3D animation for the first film, so there was no need for him to be the first to do it.

That would be a 2D animation. Considering that most people at the Shanghai Animation Film Studio draw by hand, it would be best to make a hand-drawn animation.

When it comes to hand-drawn animation, the first thing that comes to Huang Ze’s mind is "The Lion King".

Unfortunately, the other party has probably already started production. I checked the script of "The Lion King" in the United States when I was free, and it had been filed long ago, so this can't be done.

Then...

"Hua Mulan"?
It is absolutely very suitable for me to shoot oriental features and oriental stories myself.

But after thinking about it carefully, Huang Ze was still a little hesitant.

In its previous life, "Mulan" was created by Disney with great effort. With Disney's global animation distribution capabilities, it was no problem to promote anything, even a film with an oriental theme.

But what about yourself?

I had never made an animated film before, and I didn't have any distribution channels, so it was a bit too risky.

It is still possible to try to put "Mulan" as the second animation filmed by the company. If it is the first one, it would be better to make a film with many American characteristics, try to conquer the North American market first, and then make a lot of dollars.

Of course, it would be even better if the protagonist had an Asian face.

"The United States, with an oriental face."

"Indians, or Hawaii, Hawaii..."

"I got it." Huang Ze had an idea and raised his hand and snapped his fingers.

In his previous life, Huang Ze had watched such a cartoon.

It tells the story of a doctor named "Jiangba" with many eyes in the universe who studied 626 experimental subjects. The strongest one among them, 626, lived with a Hawaiian yellow girl and captured other scattered experimental subjects.

Huang Ze liked watching the cartoon at that time very much. He thought the cartoon had a watercolor style, which was very different from other films.

Later I found out that the film was not just a cartoon, but its origin was an animated film called "Lilo and Stitch".

It was released in 2002 and grossed $1.45 million in North America and $2.73 million worldwide.

The key is that this is a hand-painted two-dimensional watercolor animated film.

With the current technology and the strength of the staff at Shanghai Animation Film Studio, Huang Ze is not worried at all whether they have the ability.

What they lack is the understanding of the U.S. market. Otherwise, we would send them to Hawaii to travel, collect some customs and experience the Hawaiian culture.

Besides, I'm the one here. I can write the script and do the image design myself. With a little more supervision and control of the overall direction of the work, there shouldn't be any problems.

Don’t be afraid of big problems, the biggest problem with hand-drawn animation is employee salaries.

The Lion King took 600 people three years to make and cost $45 million.

It wouldn't have taken that many people, or that long, to make Lilo & Stitch, and the salary I paid my employees wasn't even half of what Disney paid.

It is estimated that the cost of this film may not exceed 20 million US dollars, and it may be completed with 10 million US dollars.

The loss isn't much money, so I can afford the risk.

"Okay, let's do it."

Huang Ze slammed the table and took out his stuff. With a swish, a blue animated character with big eyes and pink ears, which looked like a koala and a puppy, appeared on the paper.

(End of this chapter)