When I was in high school, I often went to the bookstore in the Cultural Plaza to read books. I said that I was reading a collection of classics and history, but I was actually reading children's cartoons. The most impressive ones are "Grandpa Must Have a Way", "The Tree Overgrown with Fish Stems" and "The Missing Corner", as well as many comics whose names have been forgotten: Mother Kangaroo and Baby Kangaroo love who more, and come to the conclusion " My love for you, from the earth to the moon, and back from the moon"; two chicks and a black cat befriend a black cat; an old man is at the helm, a group of children are wandering in their dreams... The rest of the children's cartoons , Most of them warn children not to eat candy before going to bed, not to bite their fingers, not to touch their genitals, which is neither fun nor imaginative.
Among the many comics, the one I read the most and like the most is "The Smurfs". After the series was introduced into China, it attracted many Chinese painters to create comics of the same name. This makes at least three styles of paper comics currently circulating in the market: comparison version, American version and mainland version. Except for the knowledgeable and wise father Blue, the other Smurfs are naive, and even Gargamel is too stupid to be hated. As the name suggests, the Smurfs have obvious and simple personality characteristics. Sister Blue is one of the resident female characters. She was originally a doll made of clay by Gargamel. Fortunately, she was rescued by Father Blue and became a real Smurf. It should be pointed out that "The Smurfs" is not only created for children. Several cartoons express the author's distrust of newspapers and media, ridicule of cultural conflicts and negative attitude towards commodity economy.
In 2011, Sony Pictures decided to make The Smurfs a live-action film. Not only did the well-known talk show host Neil Patrick Harris serve as the male protagonist, but also the fairy tale was set into a parallel world. Innovation is controversial, but also eye-catching. However, the box office and word of mouth of the second film have declined, the storyline is abrupt, and the credibility of the Smurfs' return to the human world is greatly reduced. After consideration, the third film no longer introduces live actors, and instead is full of CG animations.
Just when everyone expected the new work to bring a new visual experience, "The Smurfs 3" once again disappointed the audience. Personally, I think that the entire film is mostly innovative for the sake of innovation. However, the magical creatures in the forbidden forest, the tree-dwelling blue population, and the dragon-riding archery in the air are all reminiscent of "Avatar", especially when everyone prayed at the last minute to rescue Sister Lan without warning. In the same plot, "Kung Fu Panda 3" knows how to lay the groundwork and handles it better than this.
The character setting falls into a rut. From the first part, the protagonists of the story are Sister Lan, Jianjian, Cong Cong and Benben. Moreover, the core of the three stories is the blue sister, and the cause of the incident is the blue sister's desire for self-knowledge and extreme lack of self-confidence. The point is that after arguing for a long time, no convincing conclusion has been reached. This kind of non-new, lack of conflict character setting makes people feel tired after watching. Perhaps unsatisfied with its portrayal of Smurf villages, the film not only introduces several new Smurfs into the original village, but also creates a hunting village of girls out of thin air. Introducing many characters at one time is often a taboo in filming, and it is easy to reverse it if it is not handled well. It's a pity that the film's skills are not as good as others, and both new and old audiences are not pleasing, leaving them empty-handed.
The storyline is also weak. Sister Blue's status in the entire story is equivalent to Thor in "Thor" or Lightning McQueen in "Cars", both falling to the top and then regaining themselves, which is simply a re-practice of Hollywood's usual tricks. If the first two stories teach you a little about family and love, the third is just about the adventure itself. In view of the familiar adventure plot, it did not bring the audience a trace of fun. Moreover, the third film completely ditched the wonderful Song of the Smurfs from the first two films in favor of song and dance, following the example of Rio. It's a pity that the timing and quality of the music are very mediocre, neither catchy nor empathetic.
Anime is just a means, the key is always the meaning and value conveyed through the means. Therefore, in foreign countries, animation is aimed at audiences of all ages. Children are just one of them. But even children can't be satisfied, so it's impossible to justify it. The child behind him has already shouted for the sixth time to go home.
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