But among them, the Ice Age series is undoubtedly an extremely personal one. Although it can't help falling into the "rut" of the above-mentioned universal values, it inherits a special spirit in the way of expression - the transfer of the signifier. The power behind this spirit is: using another See the world with one eye and think about it with another set of minds.
"Shrek" is over, and one "Madagascar" series is better than another. DreamWorks Animation Studios is already Paramount's most box-office appealing animation team. Therefore, it is normal for 20th Century Fox's Blue Sky Animation Studio to use the enduring signature effect of the "Ice Age" series to check and balance its old rivals. A few months ago, the new adventure of Lion, Hippo, Zebra and Giraffe took the mix-and-match effect of its hit products to new heights. It seems that the "Ice Age 4" painted in the hottest time period of the summer season is clearly selected to be the king and hegemony. Facts have also proved that with the mass foundation and excellent audience relationship laid by the first three films, the box office and reputation of this film are also logically at the level they should be.
In the first Ice Age, we witnessed the team spirit of different species and their careful contact with the civilization represented by humans; the sequel glaciers melted, and the great migration of animals took one of the teams to bid farewell to being single; in the third part, the age of dinosaurs is the play Meat, at this point, the adventurous spirit and environmental awareness of this series have begun to be integrated into all kinds of jokes in the film and hidden by noise. "Ice Age 4" further upgrades the advanced method of this series, any ideas? Of course, all continents have drifted, and it is estimated that they will encounter primitive humans further down. It is reasonable that the background evolves over time, but the core of the story becomes smaller and smaller under the playful interpretation of the weird trio. This is not a bad thing. After all, for cartoons for all ages, the prerequisite for success lies in the easy-to-understand theme of the theme, so educating children, friendship dramas, and supporting the elderly, these elements related to growth are presented in "Ice Age 4". . The high-level animation we first saw with the theme of adventure and exploration has evolved into the fourth family film that exudes harmony and friendship. I think the root of this evolution is not only the box office appeal and the writer's mentality of seeking perfection, but also The big factor lies in the production standards of industrialized films in the mature global entertainment industry chain. Personally, I am willing to accept such a green film with no heart and mind, regardless of the quality of the story.
Of course, the sloth grandmother brought out a whale to achieve a big reversal, the white saber-toothed tiger Sheila knew the result as soon as she appeared on the stage, and the daughter Taozi's friendship was ups and downs. The plot lines of these stories for the sake of the story are hard to be rationalized, but since it is necessary to put on a family film The spectrum should be expected, and these settings should be as reasonable as possible. The new characters in each episode are also not lacking in the outline of the character school. The tricks are unambiguous, and the tossing will never be missed. All the main characters are still playing tricks in their own best ways. The emotional explosion point at the beginning of the first part has evolved into a carnival-like series of climax scenes in the fourth part. Fortunately, the clean laughs and the near-missing trip to find relatives were combined with various jokes, covering up the rigidity and thinness of the two-line narrative. The innocuous pirate element makes the freshness a bit strange, and the children should not care about it. Not to mention the squirrel, who is madly infatuated with pine cones, and has always been in love with the things he loves for so many years. Also expect them to show you every day after school?
The core point of American alienation animation is how to build its credibility, and this comes from brainstorming what the usual or classic things in the real world will look like when alienated.
Ice Age uses this method of constructing credibility. First of all, in terms of the details of alienating habitual things, the knives and spears held by the pirates became fish bones and conch shells, which not only conformed to the characteristics of the times, but also showed the usual impression of knives and spears in people's minds in form; In terms of alienating classic things, the utopian world of Squirrel is full of the reappearance of ancient Greek classic art, but it is just what the director imagined classics to look like in Squirrel World.
When you see a huge block of ice falling into the water and floating sideways, it becomes the aircraft carrier of the protagonists; when you see a black and white weasel climbing to the top of the pole to stretch its body, it becomes an aircraft carrier for the protagonists It became a flag with a skull pattern; when a squirrel was pinned to the ice by a fish's tail, it turned into a mermaid; you know that "Ice Age" imagined the world far more than the usual American animation. It's as simple as using credibility to alienate the world, but to show different sides of the same thing - a corner of a glacier when viewed vertically, an aircraft carrier when viewed horizontally; a skunk when wrapped, a flag when laid out ; separately a squirrel and a fish, together a mermaid, etc.
The transfer of the signifier allows us to see the director's splendid imagination. This kind of imagination is not metastatic thinking, but creative thinking; it does not stop at the level of presentation of representation - although it is already difficult to do well at this level, but rises to a new level - - Make a comprehensive and in-depth interpretation of a thing or a group of things through imagination, especially to dig out the other side of things that people don't usually observe.
Of course, the transfer of signifiers is only a feature of Ice Age's performance, not the soul of the film. The soul of the film is its unique plot jump structure and the brilliance of humanity embodied by the plot.
When it comes to the structure of the plot jump, we have to mention the invincible and cute little squirrel again. Letting this image, which has nothing to do with the main line of the film's storyline, become a series of the development of the film's plot, and a way of plot jumping. This is the greatest creativity and the most laudable innovation of the "Ice Age" series. The little squirrel chasing the pine cones is a self-contained line, and the main line of the plot performed by the protagonist assembles an extremely anticipated movement.
The theme of Ice Age 4 is more focused on the "family" side. Emphasizing the concept of family, this Ice Age also added a lot of new family members at the end. Does it feel like Toy Story? Yes, this is also a drawback of Hollywood animation. The theme of each animation is nothing more than three axes of family, friendship, and love, and then one or two characters are cute and cute to attract the audience's attention. Such as the three princes in Brave, the yellow villain in Despicable Me. It's okay to watch it once or twice, but it's a bit unbearable if you TM all the movies are shot in this mode. Every cartoon seems to have a different world view and background. Then put on the same story content and play again. It's like a hamburger on an assembly line. After changing the filling, it's still a hamburger. Only a wonderful story skeleton can string up all kinds of flesh and blood, and the requirements of cartoons for the plot are particularly important. Cartoons should meet with points, spread out the overall situation with faces, and then cover the entire main line with infinite imagination. If you always follow the structure of the assembly line, the audience will get tired of it sooner or later. The film also has remarkable points in the performance of ethics and morality. "Don't change yourself for others", what is a real family-is it a kind of family where sloths covet others, or a heterogeneous combination of mammoths, sloths, saber-toothed tigers who really love each other, and so on are all impressive. The elderly, a socially disadvantaged group, show their significance in the film. The little gopher also showed its most powerful place - not how much power, but having a brave heart and cherishing friendship.
In addition, I would like to say that since "The Lion King" and "Toy Story" were introduced to the mainland in the mid-1990s, audiences have gradually accepted the habit of watching cartoons in theaters. In fact, in the early years of China, there were also world-class classic animated films such as "Havoc in Heaven" and "Nezha in the Sea". The level of the factory has continued to decline, resulting in almost a vacuum in Chinese animation films. In recent years, although almost every year of Chinese animation films is published, its influence is far from that of Hollywood animations.
Where is the strength of Hollywood animation movies? Why is this foreign monk able to make the market so hot? A Hollywood animation film can often earn over 100 million in the mainland market, and some films can even earn over 600 million at the box office. This time, "Ice Age 4" is also on a tear. It has more than 20,000 films in the mainland market every day, and it earns tens of millions of dollars at the box office every day. Such a strong market appeal is definitely beyond the reach of domestic animated films. At present, Chinese animated films are guaranteed to have more than 100 million appeals in the market. Only the "Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf" series of films is the version, but this is a thriving film, and it is difficult to compete with the Hollywood legion-style attack.
The strength of Hollywood animation films lies in the leadership of technology, the 3D effect is super strong, the pictures are exquisite and delicate, and the big scenes are magnificent. Taking "Ice Age 4" as an example, the sea drifting in the film is thrilling, especially the scene of encountering a tornado storm. The picture shows the magnificent side of the sea, and a rainbow appears at the position of the storm eye, both in the plot and on the screen. Let the audience experience ups and downs. From the picture to the story, this movie has achieved its own extreme, the entertainment effect is excellent, and the imagination of the story is also extremely rich, which is in line with the current youth's viewing taste, and many favorable factors are assembled. It is difficult for such a work not to sell well. of. And the film also added modern values. Mammoth Manny taught his daughter the same way as modern parents, which will somewhat increase the intimacy between the audience and the film, which may also be called entertaining.
In contrast, Chinese animation films are currently lagging far behind in terms of storytelling. They cannot find a balance between entertainment and education. When they become serious, they become preaching, which will disgust the audience. Technically, it can’t be compared with Hollywood. Strictly speaking, at present, there is no domestic animation that can compete with Hollywood directly at the technical level. Of course, there are cost reasons, but it is hard to see even a story in the market that can be remembered. Live and praised domestic animation movies, is this justified?
The strength of Hollywood animation films lies in the pursuit of excellence. An animation film is produced in a cycle of 3 to 4 years. Technology and story are parallel. Both aspects are placed in the most important position, so an outstanding script may be the current Chinese A problem that needs to be solved urgently in animated films. Family-friendly movies like "Ice Age 4", while entertaining and funny, do not forget to impress the audience with warmth. Such movies are worth learning and learning from.
View more about Ice Age: Continental Drift reviews
