'Content is king'

Cliched as it may sound, the aphorism "content is king" has been proven by the past animation festivals and is also true of this year's event as more original Chinese animated cartoons have won the hearts of overseas buyers.

Meanwhile, The Annual Report on Development of China's Animation Industry (2017) released in April 2018, shows that Chinese media professionals are alert to the bottlenecks in the industry among which weak storytelling is urgently needing to be eliminated.

The report points out most of the animated films produced in 2016 showed inadequacies in story content, world building and characterization. Apart from these problems, animation creators' abilities to adapt literature classics and showcase traditional cultural subjects were far from satisfactory.

As the backbone and even the soul of commercial animated films, storytelling can never be overemphasized for only by clear and engaging storytelling can the messages of a film be effectively communicated and readily accepted.

"Haste should never be pursued in creating animation and what should be truly valued by Chinese animators are their love, patience, childlike curiosity and strong sense of responsibility," Gao emphasized at the summit.

It's not hard to recognize that brilliant content is a sure formula for all Disney Pixar hits as "content is king" has long been the consensus in the Pixar Animation Studios. From Toy Story and Up to Monsters University, in addition to constantly pushing the envelope of graphic technologies, Pixar has always kept outstanding storytelling and vivid characterization at the heart of every animation they have ever created.

Director Unkrich shared at the festival that "For every animated film, it usually takes several hundred artists five or six years' efforts."

Nora Twomey, director of The Breadwinner, a nominee for Best Animated Feature at the 90th Academy Awards, also revealed at the event that like Up, The Breadwinner also took as long as six years to complete.

In Gao's keynote speech, he said the biggest problem facing China's animation industry now is eagerness for quick success and instant benefits.

"Instead of dreaming about catching up with the animation industries in US and Japan, Chinese animators should get down to earth, honing skills in storytelling and improving animation techniques and technologies. Hence, someday we can also create animations with both huge economic and social benefits, which can rival the ones produced by the world's animation giants."

Yang Xiaoyu contributed to the story.