The Powder General

Tò-he (面塑, "toy figures") is a long-standing folk toy of Northern Vietnamese people. These are simply animals or sometimes characters created with rice flour mixed with water paint. Usually, the artist will attach a very small bamboo whistle to this toy so that kids can blow it for fun. However, in this story, because of a little mistake by the artist, the children almost lost a precious game.

The Secret in the Lakebed

A serious mine explosion occurred in the middle of the lake, what accidentally stimulating the terrible growth of pests that harm crops. Faced with that situation, the Pioneer Squad decided to dive in the lakebed for investigation. They discovered a fortified base run by a mad scientist, so the group determined to destroy it to return spring to the primeval forest.

This second episode was produced in 1993, which is based on a Khmer folktale about a battle between hares and other animals in the forest. In this part, Wolf's Wife appears for the first time, but the purpose is to highlight the patriarchal character in foolishness by Wolf.

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00:00:01,000 --> 00:00:04,500
Vietnam Animation JSC
produced in Hanoi 1993

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00:00:05,000 --> 00:00:07,500
<b>THE HEAD AND THE TAIL</b>
- Subtitles by DuyKien -

3
00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:46,500
♫ Yesterday I went to Perfume Pagoda

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♫ When flowers and grass were still foggy

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♫ Me and my parents got up early

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♫ I tied my hair gracefully

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♫ Then I wore a pink blouse

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♫ And new silk clothes

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♫ My hand had a hat with fringes

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♫ And my feet had the tall sabots

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♫ When my boat went through the wharf

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♫ I made everyone look at me

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♫ I was such shy that I said softly :

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♫ Now my age is only fifteen !

15
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♫ I'm so young, brothers !

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♫ But tasty too, little bro !

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♫ When my boat went through this river

18
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♫ There were a lot of guests like me

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♫ I was shy...

20
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Ouch, so hurt !

21
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It hurts so much !

22
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Oh darling, what happened to you ?

23
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WINE WITH FIVE SNAKES

24
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Go to the forest right now,

25
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to get enough wood
for rebuild our house !

26
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If not...

27
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PETITION FOR DIVORCE

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Go !

29
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Aah !

30
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Brat, this time you can't escape.

31
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Good day, Sir Wolf !

32
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You moving wood to home, aren't you ?

33
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Let me give you a hand,

34
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then it's not too late to eat me.

35
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You see, I'm really helpful for you.

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Done, it's okay if you eat me.

37
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Tell me :

38
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How are you going to help me ?

39
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Your tail is very strong,
so why don't you use it ?

40
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Oh yeah !

41
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Anyway, my tail once
taught you a life lesson.

42
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You should find a rope
to tie it to your strong tail, then pull.

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The log will roll very lightly as nothing.

44
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May be right !

45
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But brat !

46
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You trying to trick me
into getting the rope,

47
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so you can run away, aren't you ?

48
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Oh no, I will go with you, Sir,

49
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to help at your convenience, allright ?

50
00:06:08,500 --> 00:06:11,000
Aah, it hurts me so bad !

51
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Well, let me ride on your back
so I won't run away, don't you ?

52
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When we get to the ropes,
I'll lend you a hand for your quick.

53
00:06:23,000 --> 00:06:24,000
Alright !

54
00:06:30,500 --> 00:06:33,000
Ooh, it hurts so much !

55
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In pain ?

56
00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:36,500
What should I do now, huh ?

57
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Calm now, I will break the branch
to chase it away.

58
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Bees !

59
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Run !

60
00:06:51,500 --> 00:06:52,500
Hurry up, Sir !

61
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You must untie for me helping you.

62
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Quick !

63
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If home late, your wife will scold you.

64
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Come on, try pulling, Sir !

65
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♫ He is going through this way

66
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♫ Everyone take a look, please

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If I catch you,
I will chew you right away.

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♫ Now your age is "only" fifty,

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♫ But you is still stupid, Oldman !

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Brat, I have to tear you apart.

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You rascal, you hurt me,

72
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so I chew you now.

73
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Wait, don't rush, Sir !

74
00:08:30,500 --> 00:08:33,000
Allow me to lead you
to the blacksmith at the forest edge,

75
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for sewing your tail !

76
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Because he is famous for his dexterity,

77
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especially his talent for beauty fix.

78
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So your tail will be
more beautiful than before.

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When you come home,
your wife will compliment you.

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If you eat me now,

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your tail can't be healed either.

82
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Good day for you, Uncle Bear !

83
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Please help Sir Wolf rehealing his tail !

84
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Really ?

85
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In the case of the beauty of Mr. Wolf,

86
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so I will not refuse.

87
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Now Mr. Wolf, bring your butt closer !

88
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Hey Bro. Wolf !

89
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You want to fix your tail
but first should fix your head.

90
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Oh, the head !

91
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Old Wolf the blockhead !

92
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Hey Sir Wolf !

93
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Don't you take your tail back ?

94
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Why don't you take your tail ?

95
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The tail !

96
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Well, just you wait !

97
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I will fix the head,

98
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then talk to you about the tail.

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<b>THE END</b>
© Varhiv 2023

This first episode was produced in 1992, what is based on a famous folktale about a cunning boy. The main context is a very poor and backward village, so people in there have a limited vision. The filmmakers tried to explain that the reason Vietnamese society was slow to develop which was because people were still lazy and even delusional about themselves.

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1
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Vietnam Animation JSC produced according to
the order of the Ministry of Culture and Information

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<b>THE EARS AND THE EYES</b>
- Subtitles by DuyKien -

3
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♫ The sad lullaby echoed vastly,
♫ Behind the bamboo clumps of my village,

4
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♫ Which instilled me with uneasiness.

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♫ The day of her wedding,
♫ She walked past the river bank,

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♫ Whose path abounding with wild grass,

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♫ And a yellow butterfly fluttered along her side.

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♫ A yellow butterfly still landed on a tamanu fruit,

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♫ But why did she tie the knot so soon ?

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♫ Now it only saddens the lullaby.

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♫ I will sing you a lullaby, my elegant lady,

12
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♫ Where were our nights beneath the bright moon ?

13
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♫ We had fun carrying water
♫ Into paddy fields with buckets.

14
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It is me, your rib.

15
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You want to die, don't you ?

16
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Just testing your martial skill, darling.

17
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Your ears 'n eyes are not good
but wish to be a martial artist.

18
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All right !

19
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Behold my high kill martial now !

20
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If only I had not lost my tail.

21
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Just at the rabbit hurted me.

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Oops !

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Omg !

24
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Ouch !

25
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I allow you saying a last word.

26
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Do you have any regrets ?

27
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Come on !

28
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Sorry I could not help you
to reattach your tail, Sir.

29
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You scoundrel !

30
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Do you dare talking about the tail ?

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Take it !

32
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You must fight me.

33
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If you win then I forgive, otherwise...

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No, I dare not compete with you.

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I am willing to die.

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It can not be !

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You should die for my martial talent.

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This time I am hard to escape.

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Well, just fake dead then plan out.

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High kill martial !

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See there, little bro ?

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Just one light back kick
that your life is over.

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SALOON

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I must come there for a cup
to celebrate the victory.

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Tavernier !

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Yes, I am here.

47
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Welcome to Big Brother
condescending to my place !

48
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I need wine. (Right now)

49
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Or do you want to share
the same fate with him ?

50
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That is only one tenth
of my back kick, buddy.

51
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Good wine, please Big Bro !

52
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Again !

53
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You are really excellent !

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The only way to live in this world.

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But like myself...

56
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Just because of a back kick
that I was thrown from the ring to here,

57
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so hug this damn pub.

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That is how I know
the magic power of your back kick.

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Yet only one tenth, huh ?

60
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Allow me treating you to a fine wine !

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If drink it, your ears will keen
and your eyes will be crystal.

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♫ Why did you tie the knot so soon ?

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♫ Now it only saddens your lullaby !

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♫ I love you, my elegant lady !

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Alas if anyone in this world is like my lady,

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so how much I love them very much.

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But that rabbit...

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Do not run, bunny !

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Stop !

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Stop now !

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Oh great heavens !

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You try proving your martial talent,

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but can not tame that sly rabbit.

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Only because of you !

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I brought him here for you catching,

76
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but still not done, even...

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That is enough !

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Tomorrow I will go catching with you
so flay the rabbit for being satisfied.

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♫ O sweetie, the earth still spinning,

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♫ The two of us now...

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My God ! (There !)

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Follow now !

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00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:02,500
Eat it, duckies !

84
00:07:04,000 --> 00:07:06,500
Hurry up lest he run away !

85
00:07:08,000 --> 00:07:09,500
Eat full !

86
00:07:10,000 --> 00:07:12,500
I won't be able to live
with you from now on.

87
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Ouch !

88
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Though about to die
but you still plan ?

89
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This is my last word to my ducks.

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I do not dare to do anything else.

91
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Do you also have ducks ?

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Ma'am, they have fed me many years,

93
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so I love them much.

94
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Enough !

95
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If I trade your life for ducks,

96
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do you accept ?

97
00:07:46,000 --> 00:07:48,000
Do not listen to him
lest you be snared !

98
00:07:48,500 --> 00:07:49,500
You are so nuts, Sir.

99
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Your ears have heard
'n your eyes have seen.

100
00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:55,000
So my ducks are clear,
why can I deceive both of you ?

101
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Before you only heard him
with your ears,

102
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but left your eyes 'n head at home,
so he passed you.

103
00:08:01,000 --> 00:08:02,500
Things are different now.

104
00:08:19,500 --> 00:08:21,000
How : Ducks or death ?

105
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Oh yeah, I...

106
00:08:25,500 --> 00:08:27,000
Get out of my sight now !

107
00:08:38,500 --> 00:08:40,500
This head is slow to understand.

108
00:08:41,000 --> 00:08:44,000
So can not blame kids saying
old wolf is always blockhead.

109
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Come on, let's drive them back !

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My kids !

111
00:08:48,500 --> 00:08:50,500
Duckies, come back to your owners !

112
00:08:55,500 --> 00:08:57,500
Up, darling !

113
00:08:59,000 --> 00:09:01,000
Come, duckies !

114
00:09:02,500 --> 00:09:05,500
Come back to me !

115
00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:12,000
Come back to me, duckies !

116
00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:18,500
Oh my honey !

117
00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:20,500
Turned out to be mallards.

118
00:09:27,000 --> 00:09:29,000
My honey !

119
00:09:30,500 --> 00:09:33,000
Honey, mallards !

120
00:09:37,500 --> 00:09:39,500
Oh my god, my honey !

121
00:09:44,500 --> 00:09:45,500
The head !

122
00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:48,500
The head is more important
than the eyes and the ears.

123
00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:51,000
The eyes see 'n the ears hear
but the head is put on the block,

124
00:09:51,500 --> 00:09:53,000
so stupid is as stupid does.

125
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Did you Old Wolf understand ?

126
00:10:04,000 --> 00:10:07,997
<b>THE END</b>
© Varhiv 2023

To this day, Well, Just You Wait! (Ну, погоди!) remains the only Russian animated film recalled by generations of Vietnamese people. Folks even use the original Russian sentence as a catchphrase when they need to humorously warn about something. That's probably why a not-so-famous director named Đặng Nhân Lập decided to create a Vietnam version of this series.

Since the early 1980s, the two series Tom & Jerry and Well, Just You Wait! has followed many different paths to dominate the film market in Vietnam. Of course, in Vietnam's economic situation at that time, which was both conservative and extremely poor, the managers quietly allowed them to exist to ensure a certain amount of "GDP" to maintain the entire administration. When the free market economy was officially recognized in 1986, the entire Vietnamese cinema also... fell into free fall. This may explain why as time goes on, Vietnamese animation becomes less developed, with too few hand-drawn films, at the same time the drawings are no longer as spacious and the stories are very rigid.

About ten years ago, I had the opportunity to talk with an animation director from Vietnam Television (central television channel). His company was hired by VTV to make a 2,000-episode historical television series to celebrate the 1,000th anniversary of the founding of Hanoi city. However, the entire crew only has about a dozen persons and must continuously complete it so that every night there will be a film to show. Since then, that series is still being produced, but is completely unknown. The filmmakers' lack of historical understanding is not to blame, because they are just artists, not researchers ; furthermore, because the budget was too low and the time was too tight, they cannot make them diverse. However, the main problem causing those films to die in the dark is the overuse of digital technology. The drawings and movements don't even compare to cutout films. See : Thousand Years of Pride.

Now we will return to the early 1990s, when the Vietnamese government began implementing cultural revival programs. The Hare and Wolf series can be considered a typical example. In fact, they are not part of a unified series and do not have an official title. Each film is an independent story, although the three characters Hare - Wolf - Wolf's Wife are constantly present. Why so ? The filmmaker's main purpose in creating these films was to form a stable source of funding for Vietnam Animation Studio. Until today, even though it is called a company, there are very few employees and the headquarters is just a few small rooms, let alone a few decades ago. This series of films was made according to purchase orders from the Ministry of Culture and Information of Vietnam. Because if they appear on television or in cinemas, they would definitely lose revenue. At that time, animated films in Vietnamese theaters were mostly from Walt Disney and some Japanese studios ; Vietnamese films, of course, could not compete with them.

I think it's very possible that Vietnamese filmmakers have imitated Soyuzmultfilm filmmakers, not Ekran. However, it is true that the original Well, Just You Wait! nor is it purely entertainment like Tom & Jerry. All episodes are intended to educate civic awareness, of course from a humorous and even satirical perspective. Five volumes of Hare and Wolf were produced sporadically from 1992 to 2003. After that period, perhaps because of the Berne Convention, which Vietnam signed in 2006 ; furthermore, at the beginning of the 21st century, Vietnam Animation Studio was in the process of transferring generations and starting to experiment with computer graphics films, therefore, films with content close to children's age will be given priority.

It can truly be said that, this series has coincidentally shown the innovation process of Vietnamese society through economic measures. The Wolf couple covers almost all the identities of rural people (người nhà quê) in Vietnam, specifically the Northern Delta region, where is the political center of the country. Although Hare is just as cunning as in the original Soviet film, he only appears as an object of bullying. I also note one more thing that, as mentioned before, in Southeast Asia there are no wolves, even hares and rabbits are very rare, so the images of hares and wolves in the minds of Vietnamese people are very faint. I say this jokingly, perhaps Vietnamese filmmakers in the past only imagined wolves through dogs. In addition, in the series there are often scenes of Wolf smoking : It is called as the farmer's pipe (điếu cày) ; this tool is a bamboo tube that applies the same mechanism as a cannon, but to use it, you have to pour some water inside like a Maksim machine gun ; that's why when you smoke, its sound will be almost like the sound of a stream, so many people still call it "cigarette shooting" (bắn thuốc lào).

the hardsubs were made by Dina herself and was taken from her vimeo channel.I had nothing to do with them.

I'm not sure whether the animation is entirely digital or not. It probably is, but who knows...

I'm not quite sure who the audience for this one is meant to be (probably others the director's age, despite the child-like framing narrative), but I found it to be very well-done.

It's an odd system which prevails these days. Used to be, you'd start as a lowly in-betweener as part of an animation team, move up to animator/lead animator, then perhaps second director, then finally solo director on your own short film projects, and perhaps do a big "masterpiece" (e.g. a feature film) before you retire... or even several. That used to be the career path in Soviet animation.

But now, they start out directing their own films as students (first ~2.5 minutes, then 5+ minutes), perhaps make one or two more longer ones, and then if they're lucky they get hired to work as in-betweeners on some big producer-driven series or feature (as often as not directed by some random first-time director). So - the higher you rise, the LESS creative control you get. Aside from a very few exceptions.

As a career arc, it seems a lot less inspiring...

Also, it means that perhaps most animated shorts are actually being made by students.

It's strange ! I still clearly remember the short newsreel that was broadcast on the Central Channel (VTV) when I was very young. In it, it described the behind-the-scenes work of the crew whom produced Dăm Jông the Braveheart. This is probably the first Vietnamese film to apply the classic techniques of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

As we all know, because of the war situation, Vietnamese animation mostly developed in the puppet and cutout genres. This factor has even influenced the digital age, when the latest films in 2024 still have very rigid movements. However, recently I received news that Vietnam Animation Studio has established an animation academy. But I still think it's unlikely, because our Vietnamese mindset is very passive, especially in the context of being "colonized" by Japanese anime for so long.

It can truly be said that the group of pioneering artists of Vietnamese animation (Lê Minh Hiền, Trương Qua, Ngô Mạnh Lân) are the rare heirs of Ivan Ivanov-Vano in Asia. However, because they couldn't follow the correct roadmap of the international animation, their talent dwindles very quickly. Hand-drawn animation is really the weakness of Vietnamese cinema : Initially, because of the problem of lack of raw materials (paper, ink, workplace and especially human resources were too few) ; then, the lack of interaction with the world ; finally, the laziness (a serious disease of all communist countries).

In film Dăm Jông, we can see an elephant spraying water, or the first raindrops of the rice season. The artists put the scene's table behind a large glass panel, then they used a pen to draw white ink on the glass to create water drops. Later, in other film projects, they continued to create rivers or streams with cellophane. This is cellophane with wrinkles to create the illusion of waves ; they are very inexpensive ingredients in markets and are often used to store dried tea or sugar.

In general, something what makes animated films attractive comes from the economy of materials and how to utilize those materials. Since the early 2000s, Vietnamese animation has really died in the sinking ("chết chìm", the words from Vietnamese newspapers) because of too much waste of personnel and techniques. Nowaday, we have facilities similar to what made the blockbuster Avatar, but in reality, digital graphics companies can only outsource to foreign partners and are of course despised. As far as I know, two films that represent this problem are Kirikou 3 (Kirikou et la Sorcière) and First Squad (Первый отряд). Recently, Vietnam has only had two products that have begun to have some resonance overseas, which are Say Hi Pencil and Wolfoo. However, these films do not receive the attention of Vietnamese people, because they are all wordless animated-films and their stories do not even have any Vietnamese identity.