Both of these animation works are produced by the French company Futurikon. Its "Small Micro World" produced in 2006 has 78 episodes, each about 5 minutes, the story is concise and exquisite, showing the details of the insect kingdom in the natural environment. The movie "Insects" ushered in a larger narrative structure and a more abundant narrative space, but it is difficult to escape the limitations of the small world vision and pattern, and the sense of discord with this film is also derived from this.
Of course, even if you are not attracted by the story told by this big movie, no one can deny the visual enjoyment that the movie brings to the audience. The film uses a 3D camera to shoot natural scenes in real life, and then uses CG animation to make 3D insect movements. This method combines the aesthetics of the film and the fun of animation, giving the audience a sense of closeness and freshness.
All the locations of the film were shot in a national park in the south of France. The natural sceneries are beautiful, with rich vegetation, day and night, morning and evening, and the scenery is diverse. The camera is as close as possible to the grass, the water surface and the road surface to shoot, and the moving scenery conveys a fascinating sense of speed. At the same time, the film has more empty shots with a wide field of vision than the animated short film. It should be out of the consideration of the film creator's "epic feeling". Although the picture is beautiful, it is unfortunately not well integrated with the plot. In the film, the images of insects or animals such as ladybugs, ants, spiders, lizards, frogs are exquisitely designed and realistic in shape. Especially the big villain red ant, the whole body is brightly colored like a cooked crayfish, and each shape is different. It is said that the creator has given each red ant a different character, but in a scene where almost all group portraits appear, such uniqueness and differentiation are difficult to highlight, and some of them fail the creator's good intentions.
It should be said that the production techniques, animation images, and even the classic sections from "Small World" to "Insects" are all successful. The unique innovative spirit and fresh style of the French animation short film is fully reflected in the short film "Micro World". After "Insects" expands the story to 90 minutes in length, the original short film plot is dexterous, humorous and cunning, in a large format. The narrative has lost its vitality, the dramatic tension of the narrative has been repeatedly weakened by various details, and the plot appears to be fragmented.
The beginning of the film's story is like a growth story about Xiaomei’s adventure and fantasy experience, and the main body of the story is obviously a war between the two ant families over the ownership of a box of sugar cubes; twice in Xiaomei In the warm scene of Xiaomei's family dancing together in the dream scene, I was expecting a happy reunion at the end. The result is a scene where Xiaomei and Captain Black Ant enjoy the sunset together. Specific to the plot, just to cite the climax of the movie. In the Black and Red Ant Colony Battle, the black ants lacked matches and the artillery artifact was unable to exert its power. The black ant base camp was facing the desperate situation of falling apart under the heavy blow of the red ant army, Xiaomei thought of it. There is a left matchbox on the picnic mat, fly back to the place where the story of the whole film took place, bring back a box of matches, and help the Red Ant Army complete the victory of the entire battle. This is a typical "last-minute rescue" plot setting. The original tense rhythm and mood of the main line are leveled by two inexplicable secondary lines, that is, the "Cheng Yaojin" spider encountered by Xiaomei on the way to get the train box. Xiaomeng and the old friend Red-headed Little Fly. Finally, when Xiaomei flew back to the black ant base camp, the mood of the climax scene had already slipped, and the scene could only be supported by the flying fireworks lit by matches. On the whole, the plot of the whole film draws on many elements from westerns, adventure films, and classic movies. It is mixed and lacks new ideas, showing a sense of powerlessness in promoting the plot and portraying the characters.
Finally, based on personal experience, I will talk about the enlightenment that "Insects Mobilization" has given me. A lop-eared rabbit kept at home in the past always likes to rest its head on the ground, and quickly becomes aware of any movement and sound. Once I dragged the ground clean, learning how to lie on the ground, and found the world on the ground that I had never noticed: the fresh dust blown by a gust of wind outside the window, the squeaking noise from the cracks in the floor, the warmth of the little guy not far away body temperature. This movie reminds me of this scene many years ago. We need to close our mouths, slow down, calm the soul, and quietly observe and listen to a wonderful world that has never been overlooked, until your breathing and heartbeat have changed the frequency of the past.
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