Oscar's best short animation "Baby Bao", a Chinese family philosophy animation based on food.
The film was directed by Chinese-American director Shi Zhiyu, produced by Pixar Animation Studios in the United States, and distributed by Disney Studios.
At the beginning, the music gradually started, and it was a very strong Chinese style. In the next 30s, the Chinese woman's hand movements on the steamed buns showed the woman's skill in cooking: kneading noodles, Rolling, cutting, rolling, stuffing, and cooking are all very smooth. It is mistaken for the cartoon version of "A Bite of China".
Enter the feature film.
After steaming the buns, the wife brings it to the table for her husband to eat. First of all, the medium shot is used here. The husband did not pay much attention after the wife served the food. Instead, he was watching TV all the time, just turned his head and smiled and nodded to his wife, turned around to eat, and did not comment too much on the taste of the steamed buns. The two had almost zero communication at the dining table. Compared with the wife's slow and leisurely meal mode, the husband was obviously perfunctory. He shoved a few quick bites into his mouth, picked up his briefcase while eating, and left, only waving his hand to his wife.
From the perspective of home decoration, although the cartoon is set in Canada, the decoration is still full of Chinese style, such as rice cookers, china, wooden floors, tables and chairs, lucky cats and lucky characters. The family photo posted on the wall also shows that the two have a son, but the child grows up, and it is estimated that he does not live with the two. From the relationship between husband and wife and the decoration of the family, it can be clearly felt that although they are in Canada, this family is actually a very traditional Chinese family. The husband cares little about his wife and is busy with work. Only the hostess is left at home on a daily basis, and is still in a foreign country.
After the husband left, the wife continued to eat the rest of the buns, (here is the middle shot) When the wife took the last bun in one bite, the baby's cry and the wife's frightened sound suddenly appeared, (here close-up of the baby's facial features look). The woman was clearly startled. The surprise of the woman is in obvious contrast to Bao Baobao's cuteness. The close-up of Bao Baobao's evolution and the close-up of the woman when she is unbelievable are constantly fighting back and forth.
The woman who was frightened by Bao Bao was still returning to the basket, and the woman also climbed up on the table to observe carefully. In addition to Bao Bao’s baby-like crying, sneezing, and the sound of stretching her arms and legs, the music gradually started, soft and soft. Slow, still Chinese style. (The flute and Xiao sounds are the main sound, with the special effect sound of Bao Bao Bao stretching his arms.) The woman is also very happy and surprised, holding Bao Bao with both hands. Here is a close-up (close-up?) Bao Bao starts to giggle.
The woman was very pleasantly surprised, and took Bao Bao Bao into her arms, the music became cheerful, and the guzheng gradually came into the atmosphere. The woman and this little bun are full of affection.
With the appearance of the little bun, the empty-nest old woman's life began to be colorful. Bao Baobao's laughter made the whole family happy. (background sound continued) Bao Baobao also became this woman's life. The center of gravity is to record the height for Bao Bao, go out with Bao Bao to buy food, taste Chinese cakes, and do Tai Chi together. All the time, the baby is accompanying the woman's life, and the woman is no longer lonely.
In the process of Bao Bao Bao's growth, bumps and bumps are always inevitable. Because of naughty falls, or being carried away by a dog, women are constantly frightened. Here, because the child "he" is personified and turned into a steamed bun , So every little bump in his life is particularly serious, and recalling our childhood life, because of playful injury is actually a common thing, but in the eyes of parents, this is too serious!
Bao Baobao grows day by day, and the woman records his height without falling, watching this little Baozi grow from a greedy little boy to a big baby with glasses.
When Bao Baobao grows up a little bit, of course he has his own independent thoughts. He begins to be full of curiosity about the outside world. Endless obstruction, perhaps to put it another way, women's endless protection of Bao Baobao. Note that when Bao Bao Bao was attracted by the boys playing football for the first time, the rushing pipa suddenly appeared, and when the woman picked up Bao Bao, it was replaced by a soothing erhu, and the woman held Bao Bao in her arms. As a sign of intimacy, here in the middle shot, you can see the expressions of the woman and Bao Bao Bao. Then the scene changed, it was still the same grass playing Tai Chi, Bao Bao Bao was once again attracted by football, at this time the background sound was replaced by a brisk flute, and the tone rose. As an animation with almost no dialogue in the whole process, the brisk flute sound here , perhaps expressing Bao Baobao's inner joy when playing with his peers. After the woman found out, of course she stopped it in time, and hurriedly took Bao Bao Bao and went home.
On the bus, when the woman wanted to help Bao Bao to wipe the mud off her face, Bao Bao pushed away the woman's hand with dissatisfaction. Here is a close-up of Bao Bao's face and a close-up of the woman's hand. The woman's actions are affectionate and loving, but Bao Baobao is dissatisfied and angry. At this time, the woman thought that Bao Baobao was a small bun that could be easily coaxed with delicious food. When she took out the cake and handed it to Bao Baobao, Bao Baobao turned her head and ignored the woman. The woman was puzzled and lost and had to be herself. eat. And this is just the beginning of the conflict between the mother and son. Afterwards, the woman cooks, Bao Baobao took the carbonated drink and turned his head away in a provocative manner. There are also warning signs on the door and the locked door, all representing a kind of old and new. Confrontation of forces. Isn't it familiar to watch this scene? This is not just the rebellious us and the excessive interference of our parents in adolescence, and even the action of eavesdropping at the door of the house, which is surprisingly coincident with my youth. The shot here should always be a medium shot, so as to better see the different expressions of the two people, and the music has not been interrupted, which means that these frictions are not a big deal at all, but the only way for every parent-child relationship. (I feel that this woman has such a good temper. When I did this when I was a child, my mother must have already done it☹️)
This is in contrast to the two people who shared food together on the bus when they were children.
What happened next seemed to empathize with us even more. I was chatting with friends in the room, and my parents always opened the door curiously. Bao Bao stopped chatting angrily and jumped out of bed and closed the door. There was no sound of closing the door. A brief pause in the music worked even better. The music didn't stop for a while and then he looked up. In the middle shot, you can see that the woman also raised a smile, as if she had thought of a solution.
The close-up here, just like the opening, the animated version of "A Bite of China" shows the woman's exquisite cooking skills, a table of sumptuous dishes to cook, and the woman seems to be satisfied with wiping her sweat and waiting for Bao Baobao, the youngest son. The big driver also made a welcome gesture. Bao Baobao walked out of the room at this time and stayed for a while, but he had no interest in the meal. He turned his head coolly. The background sound here changed to a slightly melodious and slow flute and erhu. Bao Baobao walked towards the door. Putting on his sunglasses, he jumped into his friend's car and drove away, without looking back at the loneliness in the eyes of the old woman who raised him since childhood.
A table of sumptuous dishes prepared by the woman with all her heart was supposed to be a happy family with laughter and laughter, but at this time, this woman was the only one left to overeat, as if she was venting her dissatisfaction. The lights in the house were dim and there was no light at all. The woman suddenly stopped to open the door. The woman's facial expressions and movements were obviously full of anger just after opening the door. Maybe she finally decided to give the boy a hard lesson, but this time Bao Bao did come back to pack up and leave with his girlfriend. home's. When the girlfriend appeared, the music gradually weakened, only the sound of the pipa (or erhu).
The most lovely thing is that the special effect sound when the girlfriend shows off the diamond ring and the plucking sound when the woman is surprised actually complement each other, adding a touch of naughty to this climax moment. It's all close-ups here, both in terms of shots and music.
Bao Baobao's blond girlfriend's hugs are in contrast to the woman's stunned expression. The guzheng's solitary twist is perfectly matched here, which is a sudden change, an embarrassing discomfort.
A small panorama here clearly contrasts the states of the two.
After Bao Bao packed up his luggage and came out, the music paused, and there was a short silence. The girlfriend went to help Bao Bao with the luggage. The two were very close. The piano slowly rose, Bao Baobao walked towards the "mother" who was still sitting on the sofa, hugged her leg, and waved her hand lightly to leave. Of course, the mother quickly stepped forward to block it. An old mother felt reluctant and even humble for her son, and begged him not to leave. For this woman, Bao Baobao's appearance made her forget her loneliness, but is she finally leaving again this time? An empty-nest woman whose husband was busy and her son was not at home poured all her love into Bao Baobao, but it brought back her partner, and went home only for the future trip. It can't be abandoned again, it can't be lost again, so what should I do, even if I eat it, I have to keep it. In this section, it can almost be regarded as the biggest contradiction in the short film, which is different from the previous small fights and anger. The background music also expresses this contradiction incisively and vividly. The first is the melodious sadness of the piano, the farewell before leaving, and then the retention of the mother. The flute gradually rises and pushes the mood to a higher level. Have you ever thought of "Titanic" here? The Irish whistle prelude to the classic "My Heart Will Live". Next came the mother blocking the door and fighting with the "little son" in the house. At this time, the music started, and it was extraordinarily solemn. During the pushing and pulling process, there was another flute show. The mother finally burst into tears and cried aloud. "Little Son" took a bite into his mouth and the music stopped.
Here the shot is a panorama, through the gap between the dark doors, the mother is standing in the middle, the beam is down, and the mother's movements are full of determination. But after that, he opened his eyes almost immediately, took a breath, and couldn't believe it. He began to inhale frequently and finally squatted down and cried. There is no music here, it's all the mother's voice. The picture darkened a little bit, and there was an echo of the crying, revealing despair, and finally the picture was completely black.
Sound transitions by crying, falling asleep crying and waking up crying, so is it all just a dream? After the woman woke up, her husband opened the door, and through the shadow of the room, he saw "Little Bun" again? Isn't it a dream? The woman's teary eyes couldn't recognize who it was for the first time, whether she really didn't recognize it or didn't dare to recognize it.
Medium shot, the first time it was blurry, the woman wiped her eyes before realizing that it was her son who had returned.
The music was very soft at this time. When the mother finally recognized that it was her son, her initial surprise turned into a kind of anger, and she lay down with her back to her son. At this time, the music stopped and it was quiet. Perhaps still immersed in the dream, the mother regarded her son as the "baby" in the dream for a while, hating him for leaving herself alone. The son didn't know how to face the angry mother, but the father pushed him, and the mother and son finally got together in the same room.
In the composition here, there is a big gap between the son and the mother, but there are pictures of a happy family of three hanging on the wall. The two turned their backs to each other and said nothing. The room was dark and only one bedside lamp was on.
When the son took out the pastry that his mother coaxed him into when he was a child, the music started and the piano slowed down. The son finally didn't know how to communicate with his mother. When he sighed and was about to leave, the mother grabbed the son. Here, in the middle shot, the son's shoulder slaps the mother's expression, or the mother's shoulder slaps the son's expression, both positive and negative. The music is rich and soft. There are also the sound of chewing and sobbing of mother and son eating cakes together in the background. The mother's dream of having a baby is actually all about her son. The mother and son did not understand and did not communicate, one was arbitrary and the other was rebellious, and eventually drifted away. This time the two ate pastries together, which was also a silent reconciliation. Outside the window, the two got closer and closer, and the heart wall finally opened. The yellow light in the room made the whole atmosphere softer and warmer.
The music is upbeat and rich. The colors also changed from dark to light. The family gathers around to make steamed buns (Ha ha ha, maybe a special meeting between the eldest son and the "little son"?) The son is clumsy, but the mother is more loving. The mother and son interact as closely as they did when they were children. The son's foreign girlfriend also became friendly, and the buns surprised the whole family. It's just that the husband still doesn't seem to be involved too much and is still focused on TV, but because of the company of his son and girlfriend, the atmosphere at home is very good, and everyone's faces are happy. The camera is full, showing the happy family with a panoramic view!
Finally, what I want to say is that this is the first time I have written a film review in a real sense, and there may be mistakes in terms of scenes. I mainly started with music and tried to analyze the emotional state of the characters in each stage of the cartoon. Director Shi Zhiyu uses rich colors, ups and downs of music and delicate and touching camera language to show the running-in between two generations, and also the emotional twists and turns of parents and children in the Chinese immigrant group. The emotions here are more or less touched by us. At the end of the cartoon, the loneliness and loneliness brought about by empty-nest become happy with the company of my son, and it also makes us understand that facing the problem and communicating diligently is the way to solve the problem. Last but not least, go home often to see!
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