Giving trust to Vietnamese animation

After nearly 3 weeks in theaters, "Wolfoo and the Race of the Three Realms", the third Vietnamese animated film to be released in the summer of 2025, has only a few screenings left with a modest revenue of less than 3 billion VND; while "Trang Quynh nhi: The Legend of the Taurus" has left theaters with only over 3.2 billion VND. Meanwhile, "De Men: The Adventure to the Swamp" surprisingly earned over 21 billion VND.

Compared to recent foreign animated films, domestic films are far behind, when Conan Movie 25: Afterimage of the One-Eyed Man surpassed the revenue mark of more than 100 billion VND after 5 days of showing, or Doraemon left the theater after earning nearly 170 billion VND. We know that all comparisons are lame, but the fact that the balance is tilted towards foreign films has left many worries for those who are passionate about the domestic animation industry.

Vietnamese animated films with limited resources, short production time, and a young production team... make it difficult for the products to compete with foreign works with huge budgets and reputations built over time. As a result, the audience's trust has not been firmly established, and many people still hesitate to buy tickets to watch Vietnamese animated films, even with familiar brands like Wolfoo, which used to "make waves" on YouTube. This situation also happened to Vietnamese films more than a decade ago, when the domestic market was still immature, forcing filmmakers to avoid competing with foreign blockbusters when released in theaters.

However, it is not really fair to rely solely on box office revenue to evaluate the quality of Vietnamese animation. Objectively, De Men, Trang Quynh Nhi or Wolfoo all show remarkable efforts in exploiting folk cultural materials, creating unique characters, improving techniques and conveying positive messages. The gap in quality between domestic and foreign animation is gradually narrowing. These advances are the necessary foundation for Vietnamese animation to create its own identity and gradually gain a foothold in the hearts of audiences, although that path certainly requires perseverance and long-term investment.

The Vietnamese animation team has bravely stepped out of its comfort zone, exploring new opportunities and potentials. However, individual efforts are not enough without the support of both the state and the private sector, through a systematic strategy on mechanism, budget, human resources, scripts, technology and distribution. Only when both directions move together, will the balance between domestic and foreign animation have a chance to shift, as Vietnamese cinema has persistently persuaded audiences to gradually regain the initiative on its home turf.

VAN TUAN

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/trao-niem-tin-cho-hoat-hinh-viet-post806754.html