The world's second-largest economy has never produced its own version of Pokémon or Buzz Lightyear. Could the solution be a bean-curd-based riff on Pinocchio?
Cue 'Tofu Boy,' a $5 million film slated for fall 2014 release, whose makers hope the character whets the world's appetite for Chinese animation.
'We're creating Chinese-themed content with international resonance,' says Kevin Geiger, a Walt Disney Animation veteran who now heads a Beijing-based start-up studio, Magic Dumpling Entertainment. 'Tofu Boy' is 'inspired by but not based on' the Pinocchio story, he says. 'A good little boy who's a bit mischievous is something every parent in the world can relate to.'
He and his partners, director Sun Lijun, scriptwriter Yan Yi and chief creative officer Feng Wen, began work on 'Tofu Boy' in 2009 and now share digital sketches on their iPads with coffee-shop patrons, solicit plot feedback from neighborhood kids, and grill distributors who claim to know local moviegoers best.
'We're trying to give Chinese audiences a sense of ownership,' Mr. Geiger says. 'They're so tired of period pieces, but people are reluctant to do something modern because it sometimes bumps up against the censors. It's safer to do something set in the past. But Pixar tells movies about now. 'Toy Story' is set today.'Wall-E' is set in the future. Why can't Chinese animation be the same? If we can create content that Chinese feel they own, but that also has an international-quality story and design, then it can do well overseas.'
First it must resonate with Chinese audiences. Mr. Sun, the head of the animation department at the Beijing Film Academy and director of the animated movie 'Legend of a Rabbit,' helped play up Tofu Boy's culturally Chinese aspects. 'His notes always incorporate something traditional,' Mr. Yan says.
Tofu Boy comes to life in modern-day Shanghai, in a once-famous but now bedraggled shop where tofu maker Old Wang wonders aloud if having a son would change his life. As for his powers, the animators take advantage of his soy-based nature by giving him the ability to change shape and texture─Mr. Sun told the animators to make him 'all consistencies,' Mr. Geiger says. He hardens to pound a nail and transforms into stinky tofu when upset.
There are also occasional nods to more Western sensibilities. One character, regarding Old Wang, says 'There are born winners and born losers, and that's an example of a born loser,' but is countered by another who says, 'There's not only fate and destiny, there's hope.'
'Kung Fu Panda' was a hit in China because, Ms. Feng says, 'in the end, it was about needing to find your own way─not a part of Chinese culture, but a philosophy young Chinese fantasize about.'
This mix of local and potentially global appeal is crucial to the success of 'Tofu Boy' and other animation projects in development in China. The country is eager to promote its culture abroad. According to the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, China's 2011 box-office revenue was up 29% from a year earlier, to 13.1 billion yuan ($2.1 billion) though U.S. Hollywood productions still draw the most moviegoers. Other animated series, such as 'Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf,' are popular within China and other Asian markets but haven't yet crossed over.
Magic Dumpling is hopeful but realistic. 'Can we really draw more than 10 versions of a character and choose the best one?' Ms. Feng says. 'Chinese artists are not used to even this simple process. We're trying to build a good Chinese film step by step. We're trying to take Chinese culture overseas. In reality, it will be a very slow process.'
Magic Dumpling Entertainment《豆腐男孩》预定于2014年秋上映。
作为全球第二大经济体，中国从未创作出自己的“宠物小精灵”（Pokemon）或者“巴斯光年”（Buzz Lightyear）。一个以“匹诺曹”（Pinocchio）为原型的豆腐人动画电影能够实现突破吗？
我说的正是《豆腐男孩》（Tofu Boy），一部耗资500万美元、预定于2014年秋上演的动画电影，其创作人员希望这个动画形象能够激起世人对中国动画的兴趣。
“我们正在创作具有国际影响的以中国为主题的内容，”凯文•盖格（Kevin Geiger）称。盖格原为迪斯尼动画（Walt Disney Animation）资深动画总监，如今管理着总部设在北京的初创动画公司──魔力饺子（北京）国际文化传媒有限公司（Magic Dumpling Entertainment）。他说，《豆腐男孩》的灵感来源于《匹诺曹》的故事，但并非以后者为蓝本，每个家长都能联想得到这样一个略微有些调皮但也乖巧的小男孩（形象）。
盖格和他的合作伙伴们──导演孙立军、编剧闫毅以及创意总监冯文──于2009年开始创作《豆腐男孩》，现在他们经常用iPad向咖啡馆的顾客展示数字草图，就故事情节向社区的儿童以及声称最了解当地观影人群的烤串商贩征求反馈。
盖格说，“我们正努力带给中国观众一种主人感，他们已经非常厌倦了历史剧，但是大家都不愿意去创作当代作品，因为有时候它会在审查阶段遇到障碍。因此，创作时代背景设定在以往的作品更为安全。但是，皮克斯动画（Pixar）会讲述当代的故事，例如《玩具总动员》（Toy Story）的背景就设在当代，《机器人总动员》（Wall-E）的背景则设在未来。中国的动画为什么就不能这么做呢？如果我们能创作出中国人觉得属于自己的作品，而且它的故事和设计又具有国际水准，那么它就能在海外获得不俗反响。”
首先，它必须能让中国观众产生共鸣。影片的导演、北京电影学院（Beijing Film Academy）动画学院院长及动画电影《兔侠传奇》（Legend of a Rabbit）的导演孙立军帮助提升了《豆腐男孩》的中国文化元素。盖格说，“他的评论总是体现出一些传统的东西。”
《豆腐男孩》的故事发生在当代上海一个曾经名声很响、如今却破败没落的豆腐店，该店老板老王暗自思量着如果有个儿子是否会改变他的命运（并用豆腐雕刻了一个男孩）。利用其化身于大豆的本源，动画创作人员赋予了豆腐男孩变形和改变质地的能力。盖格说，孙导演嘱咐动画师要将其设计成具备各种硬度。他能身体变硬去锤钉子，在难过的时候则会变成臭豆腐。
该影片也体现了一些对更具西方特色的观点的认同。例如，有个角色在谈到老王时说道，“有些人天生是赢家，有些人则天生是失败者，那就是一个天生失败者的例子，”但另一个角色提出反对意见说，“生活中不仅有命运和天意，还有希望。”
电影《功夫熊猫》（Kung Fu Panda）在中国一炮打响，如冯文所言，到最后，它所讲述的就是你需要找到自己要走的路，这并不是中国文化的一部分，却是中国年轻人所幻想的一种人生思想。
其次，《豆腐男孩》以及中国正在创作的其他动画作品要获得成功的话，国内号召力与潜在的国际号召力的融合至关重要。当前中国正迫切希望在海外推广其文化。据中国国家广播电影电视总局（State Administration of Radio, Film and Television）的数据显示，中国在2011年的票房收入年比上升了29%，达到131亿元人民币，其中美国好莱坞电影依然吸引了最多观影者。中国的其他动画作品，例如《喜洋洋和灰太狼》（Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf）在中国国内和其他几个亚洲市场广受欢迎，但一直只是局限于此。
魔力饺子公司在心怀希望的同时也持有务实态度。冯文说，“我们真的能做到为一个角色画10个版本，然后挑选其中最好的吗？中国的艺术创作者甚至连这个简单的过程都不习惯。我们并不是要尝试一步步创作出一部优秀的中国电影，我们是要试着把中国文化传播到海外。实际上，这会是一个非常漫长的过程。”
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