Pity for Vietnamese animation

The limited revenue of Vietnamese animated films released in theaters this summer does not entirely reflect the quality of the films. Experts say that "Trang Quynh nhi: Truyen thuy Kim Nguu", "De Men: Cuoc thuy den xom Lay Loi" and "Wolfoo: Cuoc dua Tam Gioi" are just as attractive as foreign animated films, but the promotion and release are still weak.

Revenue does not reflect quality

In just 2 months, 3 Vietnamese animated films including Trang Quynh nhi: Legend of Kim Nguu , De Men: Adventure to Xom Lay Loi and Wolfoo: Race of the Three Realms were released in theaters. This was an unprecedented phenomenon, bringing high expectations for the rise of Vietnamese animation. However, all 3 films failed to make a breakthrough at the box office.

De Men was released the earliest (May 30), earning over 21 billion VND. This is an achievement that no other Vietnamese animated film has reached. The film was inspired by the classic children's work by writer To Hoai - De Men's Adventures . Director Mai Phuong said that it was not adapted but only took part of the idea because the original story was written by the author in chapters, with a long story.

Compared to the original work Adventures of Cricket by writer To Hoai, the movie script for Cricket has been expanded and renewed.

Cricket is well-received for its modern techniques, vivid characters and environmental protection message. The plus point of the film lies in the addition of many new supporting characters - close to the psychology of modern children. Images of Long Bien Bridge, Hanoi Flag Tower, and Lenin Park are subtly integrated, making viewers interested.

Trang Quynh Nhi , with a more modest showing, only earned 3.2 billion VND before leaving theaters. Wolfoo is the only Vietnamese animated film still in theaters, about to reach the 3 billion VND mark after more than 2 weeks of release. With the current box office situation, Wolfoo will find it difficult to break through in the final stretch because foreign films are dominating.

Observer and film investor Nguyen Anh Tuan (Vietnam Institute of Culture, Arts, Sports and Tourism) regrets the loss of three domestic animated films. Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan believes that the film's revenue does not reflect its quality. In fact, the works show the team's efforts in affirming the position of Vietnamese animation.

Mr. Dang Tran Cuong - Director of the Department of Cinema - gave many compliments to the 3 films. The leader of the Department of Cinema assessed that Wolfoo: The Race of the Three Realms has a touching script about father-son love, bringing laughter to children and quiet moments to adults.

Wolfoo: The Race of the Three Realms is the only Vietnamese animated film still in theaters.

“This is a typical work of pure Vietnamese animation, combining meticulous production quality with Vietnamese creativity, targeting domestic and international audiences. The product is of high quality, contributing to raising the level of Vietnamese animation,” commented Mr. Dang Tran Cuong. De Men by director Mai Phuong and Trang Quynh nhi by director Trinh Lam Tung also received similar reviews.

Making good movies is not enough

Observer and film investor Nguyen Anh Tuan believes that Vietnamese animation has entered a period of favorable conditions. The animation industry has received attention from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST), with many incentive policies. Vietnam also has potential animation studios and a skilled workforce that is not inferior to foreign countries.

While China has Panda, Japan has Conan, Doraemon, Vietnam also owns some potential IP (Intellectual Property). Experts evaluate Wolfoo as an IP that has conquered foreign audiences through YouTube. Wolfoo Family Youtube channel currently has 12.6 million subscribers, 212 videos with over 350 million views (according to Social Blade data).

However, during the process of releasing the film, the producer made some inappropriate moves.

The movie Trang Quynh nhi: The Legend of Kim Nguu invested about 35% of the total budget in VFX, focusing on the movement and expressions of the characters.

In terms of process, theatrical films include 4 stages: script creation - production - distribution, dissemination - screening, film storage. In which, dissemination and distribution are important stages but have not been invested properly. Films are unlikely to be successful in terms of revenue if the marketing communication campaign lacks the basic steps: creating audience awareness of the product, making them love the product and converting it into ticket purchase.

“Compared to De Men, Trang Quynh Nhi and Wolfoo have limited media campaigns. The marketing budget for the two films is not high. In the film industry, there is a number that has been standardized into a formula: the distribution budget must be at least 3.7-4 billion VND to ensure that the film sells 3.5-4 million tickets. Many producers still believe that good films will attract butterflies and bees. This is a misconception. With a good quality product, we must know how to promote it to get as close to the audience as possible,” said Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan.

A typical example is the short film Dan Ca Go - which was the graduation project of the young director - released in theaters for a week but earned more than 4 billion VND despite controversy over its content. Experts explain that although the quality was not high, thanks to good promotion, Dan Ca Go was profitable and successful beyond expectations.

In addition to the promotional factor, Vietnamese animated films still need more time to build trust with the audience. When the public is not used to going to the cinema to watch animated films, the works will certainly struggle to stay in the cinema regardless of how good the quality is.

Source: https://baohatinh.vn/tiec-cho-phim-hoat-hinh-viet-post292738.html