Leica Studio has finally released a new film.
Since the release of "Kubo and the Two Strings" in 2016, the Lycra studio has disappeared. Until this "The Missing Link", there has not been a feature film in the middle. It is estimated that everyone will almost forget this studio, after all. If it weren't for the addition of Nike son Travis Knight, it might be difficult for us to remember that there is such a small studio whose main output style is stop motion animation.
The emergence of stop-motion animation is comparable to the existence of national treasures, especially now that there are very few small companies that insist on the output of stop-motion animation. I wrote an article about Travis Knight and Leica Studio before and mentioned that this company is actually The studio originally belonged to Will Vinton, but later I couldn’t do it anymore. I took the initiative to transfer it to Travis Knight. I don’t need to say more about the details in the middle. In fact, it’s already very clear-if it is not expensive. With the investment of funds and time, bankruptcy is a matter of time.
Clay animation is also a kind of stop motion animation. "Sean the Sheep" produced by Adelman Animation Studio is an example. It has brought good income to the former. "Sean the Sheep 2" was also released some time ago. , I hope it can also have a good box office, to save this endangered animation art a little bit.
The future of stop motion animation is catastrophic. Therefore, when watching this type of movie, you can’t help but associate the difficulties encountered in making the movie with the movie story itself, but once this connection is established, you are right. Movie reviews are difficult to be objective. It’s like giving sympathy points to pity someone or something, inadvertently increasing the influence of the film, even getting some honors, and achieving some results, but we know that sometimes, some works do not achieve this. This high degree of honor, only because we have given them the appropriate tolerance, created such a result.
But is this fair?
Is this fair to other competing films?
Everyone is competing for an award following the same criteria, but you or him alone, relying on some sensitive elements or special themes in the film, or various production dilemmas behind the scenes, to win official sympathy and extra points, and finally won this award. . So, I want to say, what is the significance of this competition? If every movie can start from a particular point of view and make some styles or details that meet sympathy standards and themes, then eventually the movie will usher in an era of inevitable homogeneity. Because the standard cannot be observed, more and more people will take advantage of the loopholes. Once the award standard loses its authority, then the award loses its original value-this is something that everyone does not want to see of.
When "Kubo and Two Strings" first came out, I was full of expectations for it, so I have always liked Lycra's works. Those stories with dark black color and thriller style have always been fascinated by me, such as the early " "Ghost Mother" and "Box Monster" are known for their unique story settings. The button eyes of Ghost Mother and the insect hobby of the Box Monster are both nightmares of my childhood, but they are also the most attractive place for me, some strange settings. Adding a full story is the most interesting gift that Lycra brings to the audience. In addition to the thrilling darkness, it can also convey deep and rich warmth.
This is often seen in Tim Burton’s animated films. Behind the gothic style of "Frankenstein" and "Zombie Bride", friendship and love are hidden. These emotions are placed in the corner of the movie, perhaps even A layer of ash is attached, but there will always be viewers who will find them. Brush off the ash to add notes to the character's emotions.
Tim Burton is a creator with a cold appearance and a gentle inside, as is Leica Studio. In my heart, he is like a child who can't express affection, telling those stories clumsily in a weird way, he won't tell you What is in the story will only remind you that you will read those stories, and you will understand what he wants to tell you by watching those characters whose souls are endowed by stop-motion animation.
But then, probably starting from "Kubo and Two Strings", I realized that Lycra's story has changed.
Become mediocre, long-winded and blunt.
I used to watch Lycra and liked the sense of immersion in the story. For example, in "Mama Ghost", the little girl climbed into the cave and came to another world. The experience is all-round, which cannot be given by animations like Pixar and Disney. Diablo and horror are the characteristics of "Ghost Mother" and Lycra, which differentiates him directly from other animation studios (companies). Perhaps it is not as novel and fun as Pixar's animation, but he has his own style, created by him. The story is naturally unique.
But when it comes to "Kubo and the Two Strings", I think he has become "Pixarized". This movie tells the story of a boy looking for his mother after all kinds of obstacles. The setting of the story is very common and there is not much trouble In order to make the movie more interesting, the details of the story have been processed a lot. Some funny little bridges were placed in the movie, further breaking the overall sense of the movie.
At the same time, in order to highlight these funny little bridges, the space is also limited. Often the funny details you see in the movie are very small in the scenes. It is to highlight the details of the characters' actions and intend to strengthen these jokes-this is Pixar The usual routines allow the movie clips to show a stage style. The funny clips are stage plays, clever and humorous, but very effective, just to enliven the atmosphere.
But this kind of work needs to be compatible with the style of the film. I think that a sad adventure story like "Kubo and the Two Strings" is really not suitable for inserting such fragments.
Rather than inserting a funny section, it is better to perfect the story, make the confrontation stronger and the conflict more obvious. In this way, at least in the story, we tried our best, but unfortunately, in the story, the film can only be regarded as unsatisfactory.
The same goes for the problems encountered in "The Missing Link".
As soon as the list of Golden Globe Awards came out at the beginning of the year, "The Missing Link" won the best animated feature film award, which made me very interested. Even though the previous "Kubo and Erxian" did not perform well, I still think that Lycra can be included in the new film. With outstanding performance, the art form of stop-motion animation has its unique charm in it. As long as the creator can treat it with care, the quality of the work will not be bad.
However, after watching "The Missing Link", I feel that my expectations are still too high. This film gives me a good feeling, but if you look at it according to the standards of an award-winning feature film, I think it is far Far from being so good, on the contrary, its award, I think it is a kind of misfortune.
Like the previous work, Lycra tells an adventure story in "The Missing Link". In the story, Sir Lionel Frost wanted to explore the secrets of the great apes, but by accident they became Help the great apes find friends with distant relatives, so the adventure begins... The structure of the whole film is very simple, and the whole story is covered with this sentence, and the film also adds a love line that seems to exist. , But this spur line failed to achieve a positive result in the end, which is inexplicable.
Friends who like Lycra can still watch the film. After all, no matter how bad the film is, the quality of the film still maintains the level of Lycra studios, but this time, the story has been stumbled, and some plot logic has also been dealt with. Not very good, the whole is low and juvenile, without the adult texture of the dark element, it is a pity, I know what kind of story he wants to tell, but the emotional expression is not in place, I always feel that this story is missing something .
Just like grilling, you have to put some cumin on it. If you don’t have cumin, you still have to grill, but it doesn’t taste good.
"The Missing Link" finally won the prize. I don't think it deserves it. At least in my opinion, it has not reached that height. Even compared with previous works, it has a great decline, and it has a long way to go. It’s a long way to go. If this honor is given to it now, it is likely to have a negative impact and make its development trajectory deformed-real growth is from the inside out. We should not try to encourage it. Valuable awards are awarded to good works, which are the basis for the healthy development of the market. One or two special works should not destroy this value.
The awards belong to everyone, you shouldn't own them all.
It should have been this way all the time.
In the future, it should be even more so.
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