My Animation Era

November 11, Jiangchuan.

Coinciding with Double Eleven, all major Internet e-commerce platforms are launching promotions, and offline physical stores have also joined in. I don’t know what they are crazy about.

But this has nothing to do with Gu Miao.

Because on Double Eleven, he took Nantong and Lao Zhang on the Jiangchuan flight to North America, inspected the Wanbao Animation (North America) branch, and at the same time inspected the North American comics market closely.

Said it before.

Due to the continued sluggishness of the domestic comics industry, many paper comic publications have ceased publication and operation. Wanbao Comics urgently needs to find a new way out.

As for the comics industry, Japan, South Korea, Europe and the United States are all pretty good. Among them, Gu Miao is more inclined to Europe and the United States.

Don't ask, the question is that he has watched too many superhero science fiction blockbusters, which left a deep impression on him. If possible, it is not impossible for Wanbao to play the role of Marvel and DC.

Of course, this needs to be considered in the long term.

Except for "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" and "Dragon Ball", Wanbao Comics does not have any comic works that are particularly appealing to North American readers. Generally speaking, there is still a lack of understanding of American comics.

to be honest……

Nantong and the others are not very proficient in the settings and gameplay of American comic "superheroes", so they must be familiar with the business.

This is also one of the purposes of Gu Miao's trip to North America!

Only through on-the-spot visits can Nantong better understand the setting system of American comics, as well as special gameplay such as superheroes and mutation evolution.

In addition, Gu Miao has another purpose in coming to North America, which is to meet in person the genius boy Dave calls Sanjay, who designed the 63-67 version of Tom Jerry when he was only 14 years old.

Sanjay's father was an original animator on the "Tom and Jerry" team.

Under the influence of his father, Sanjay became obsessed with painting at a very young age. And because he was relatively withdrawn and lacked friends, his works were generally of a darker and twisted style.

After the broadcast of "Tom and Jerry", Sanjay liked the animation very much and took advantage of the convenience of his father's work to have close contact with the creation process of animation storyboards.

Then, he came up with the idea of ​​drawing a Tom and Jerry himself.

This is the source of the 63-67 version of Tom and Jerry that Dave sent to Gu Miao. The image is weird and scary, and it is more Gothic.

Although Gu Miao rejected this version of the Tom and Jerry design draft because it "did not meet the requirements", it did not mean that he was not interested in Sanjay at all.

Are you kidding me?

A person who can do such a big job at the age of 14 is an absolute genius no matter what industry he is in. Since he is a genius, how could Gu Miao not be interested?

So, here he comes.

…

When the plane arrived, it was lunch break time.

At the airport, I met Dave who came to greet him. After some pleasantries, Gu Miao took the lead and asked, "When do you plan to finish the first season of Tom and Jerry?"

"Almost! It should be the end of the year."

Having done so many episodes of "Tom and Jerry" in one go, Dave would be lying if he said he wasn't tired. He definitely wanted to take a break to change his mind.

But rest cannot be taken randomly.

"Tom and Jerry" is the only successful work of Wanbao Animation (North America) Branch, so naturally it cannot be ended casually.

Before the first season of "Tom and Jerry" ends, Dave has to consider a very practical question, that is, without Tom and Jerry, what kind of animation can the North American branch do?

"To be honest, I'm a little confused now. I feel like my mind is filled with images of Tom and Jerry. If the animation stops updating, I don't know what to do..."

"Don't worry, I understand you."

Gu Miao smiled and comforted: "There was a time when I was just like you, unable to find direction or thinking about the future, and my mind went blank."

"This situation is normal, especially when you have personally produced a classic masterpiece, this feeling will be even stronger."

In fact, it’s not just the animation industry.

This situation occurs in many industries. Take the online literature industry as an example. When an author finishes writing a popular and classic god-level online novel, he will also fall into this moment of confusion.

Why?

Because your previous work was so good, you had no idea how to surpass it. You always felt that your peak period had passed, and you were not sure to repeat the same experience again.

That's how Dave is now.

The animation "Tom and Jerry" was so successful that he himself felt that no matter what he did, the next animation would not be as good as "Tom and Jerry".

This is also called confusion!

If you want to get out of this period of confusion and find your way forward and goals again, the best way is definitely self-regulation.

But in addition to self-regulation, there is a more special method that can also help people get rid of this sense of confusion.

That is, let him make another work that is not inferior to the previous one!

Take Dave as an example. Didn't he feel confused after finishing "Tom and Jerry"? Then give him another masterpiece on the same level as "Tom and Jerry". Do you think he will still be confused?

Lao Zhang, who was traveling with him, was surprised.

"Ah? Is it true? Are there so many animations of the same level as "Tom and Jerry"? I thought "Bugs Bunny" was already rare."

"Of course!"

Gu Miao rolled her eyes and said, "Although Tom and Jerry is awesome, don't brag too much, right? It's hard to find one of the same level, but there are a lot of ones that are slightly inferior."

This is no joke.

As far as Gu Miao knew, there were no fewer than ten anime characters that could be compared to Tom and Jerry.

Does Snoopy know?

Does Garfield know? Does the Smurf know? You should know this about Spongebob, Transformers and Popeye, right? What about Di Baobao’s princess series?

It is probably unrealistic to say that these animated characters can surpass Tom and Jerry in terms of classics.

But it’s okay to stand side by side.

What everyone praises most about "Tom and Jerry" is its artistry, but that doesn't mean that this animation is also impeccable in other areas.

In fact, in terms of IP popularity alone, "Tom and Jerry" may not be as good as Mickey Mouse, which has made countless money.

Taking into account the special features of Dave's team, coupled with the popular themes in the European and American markets. If "Tom and Jerry" is about to stop updating for a while, then Gu Miao thinks it is quite appropriate to replace it with "SpongeBob SquarePants".

This is also a big IP!

And in terms of classicness, it is no less than Bugs Bunny. It was also a popular animation that was popular all over the world, and its influence is absolutely top-notch.

Maybe the only problem is...

Compared with "Tom and Jerry", "SpongeBob SquarePants" has a larger change in style and is more outrageous.

Can Dave and others master the nonsensical, abstract and chaotic style of funny animation like SpongeBob SquarePants? Can you restore the charm of Patrick Star, Squidward, and Mr. Krabs?

I love SpongeBob SquarePants so much. When I was a kid, I didn’t understand many of the episodes. I just thought they were funny. But now that I watch them again, I feel completely different...