>>2
Yes, I did say that you transcribed them. But I wasn't sure who did the initial translation, as it wasn't credited. I thought maybe it was Dina herself, or else someone she knew.
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.
The cutout genre is very popular in Vietnam Animation Studio's products, perhaps because it is suitable for the circumstances of a chronically poor society from the 1960s to 1990s. Even in the early 2000s, they still hadn't given up this habit and also reaped a number of art awards. An example : When I was a kid, I watched a behind-the-scenes video of film Bicycles and Cars, in which, director Phương Hoa only used a black table, then held a pair of tweezers to manipulate very small pieces of cardboard to create the story. Therefore, I also think that it is very possible that Vietnamese filmmakers must have seen The Wise Gudgeon, so the poetics have many similarities.
The basis of film Catfishes and Toads is an epic from the 19th century, when Vietnamese society was still relatively closed and backward. However, at the time of creating the project, director Ngô Mạnh Lân used the content of the comic book he composed, in which some details were added to make the story more modern.
This can be considered a rather strange film in 1993, when the Vietnamese government was aggressively enforcing the birth control law. It means that each family is only allowed to have a maximum of two children, unless one or both of them die, then they can have more children. This law was of course repealed in the early 2000s, when Vietnamese society was more prosperous, but in the 1990s it was quite harsh. In addition to encouraging parents to use contraceptives, the government will suspend the work of violators who are on the payroll of state agencies, and in rural areas, they will be fined with rice. However, this was a hardship for men who cannot give birth to sons, because the traditional concept of Vietnamese people was that they need someone to carry on the family line. Therefore, many persons have accepted all forms of punishment, and of course, in many places it was easy to bribe to have "unplanned" children. Therefore, the story of the Catfish family and even the Toad family really does not have a satisfactory ending.
In this film, only Cat - the character with the highest authority - is a mammal, the rest are all fish, amphibians and reptiles. Right like catfish and toad, which are animals that are very close to Vietnamese culture. Although, as I know, because of their habit of living in mud, catfish are slimy and very dirty, while toad skin also has toxins similar to snake venom, however, these are two delicious dishes and are also very valuable for persons who are sick or have rickets.
According to a Japanese folk legend, Japan lies on the back of a catfish, so earthquakes often occur. I think, it might be related to the image of the Buyan Island's whale in The Humpbacked Horse. About toad, it is virtually the protector of agriculture in Southeast Asia. The toad catches insects that are harmful to crops, and it also signals when a thunderstorm is coming (even though I'm quite scared of this animal, just imagining it makes me shudder). In business circles in South China and Southeast Asia, people sometimes display in the living room a statue of a toad holding a coin, this image is believed to be a wish for prosperity for the homeowner. Even when the French government established a protectorate in Indochina, French engineers invented statues of toads spraying rain in fountains.
I also added that in the past, rich Vietnamese people had the habit of adopting children. Although these adopted children are treated like biological children, but they are used for many purposes : Serving, worshiping, and even when they grow up, they will marry the homeowner's children or the homeowner themselves. In the 1990s, child smuggling across the Vietnam-China border was also a very painful problem. Therefore, Toad asked this question : "Hay là có đứa mẹ mìn nào bắt ?" (What if they were kidnapped by goblins ?). "Mẹ mìn" is a word that probably originated in Hong Kong, almost as a combination of English and local Chinese languages. It could be all of the following : Mama, mommy, mummy... This was the informal way prostitutes call their bosses, later, its meaning changed to refer to all women who specialize in selling children and young women. When I was a schoolboy, both my parents and teachers told us to be careful to avoid being kidnapped by "mẹ mìn" (in the Russian subtitles, I translated it as "kikimora"). :D This reflects an extremely difficult situation in the 1990s. In addition, Catfish also said an aphorism : "Xin quan lớn đèn giời soi xét cho !" (I take the liberty of request Your Excellency to enlighten us). If this sentence is translated word-by-word, it really is : "I request Your Excellency to hold the heavenly lantern to illuminate us". "The heavenly lantern" is an image representing the justice of the law. This sentence was usually said by commoners or low-ranking officials to high-ranking officials, but when Vietnamese society transitioned to democracy, it only existed in books or films.
Film Catfishes and Toads is based on an Annamese epic written by the anonymous author around the 19th century, but it has some innovations to suit the social situation of the 1990s by artist Ngô-mạnh-Lân. This film also belongs to the very few Vietnamese animated films that are remembered for a long time among generations of audiences.
The story tells about a strange quarrel between Mr Catfish and his relatives with the residents of the hedgerow hamlet. Public opinion is skeptical that Mr Catfish and his wife kidnapped Mr Toad's children to raise them. However, Catfish tried to bribe officials to win this case.
Through this film, children will learn the biological behavior of some animals which accustomed to living in humid environments. For adults, it provides a perspective on the fragility of both morality and law.
❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀
1
00:00:01,000 --> 00:00:05,500
Vietnam Animation Studio
produced in Hanoї 1993
2
00:00:06,500 --> 00:00:08,500
According to an order of the
Ministry of Culture and Information
3
00:00:09,000 --> 00:00:10,000
The Cutout Film
4
00:00:24,500 --> 00:00:26,000
<b>CATFISHES AND TOADS</b>
.
5
00:00:26,500 --> 00:00:28,000
<b>CATFISHES AND TOADS</b>
Based on a Vietnamese fable
6
00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:33,000
Scenartist : Hữu Đức
Shaping artists : Nguyễn Bích, Hữu Đức
Literary editor : Vũ Kim Dũng (Merited Artist)
Film Mountain Spirit and Water Spirit (Sơn Tinh - Thủy Tinh) was made at a time when the Vietnam civil war was extremely fierce. The shapes used in this film are originally patterns on the surface of ancient bronze drums, which are considered Vietnamese national treasures.
It based on a famous Vietnamese myth to mention about water management, but is also a warning about dangers from the outside that can destroy the country.
❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀
1
00:00:07,000 --> 00:00:14,000
<b>MOUNTAIN SPIRIT AND WATER SPIRIT</b>
- Subtitles by Duy Kiền -
Film Answer (Đáp số) was produced at a time when Vietnam had just ended the war, but signs of a capitalist consumer lifestyle began to infiltrate urban society in many ways, causing many bad habits. Therefore, the film serves as a wake-up call for young people.
A male pupil is very playful and lazy to study. On his way from home to school, he constantly imitated passersby for fun. As a result, he was late for class and also could not solve the problem which the teacher had given.
❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀
1
00:00:03,000 --> 00:00:06,500
Vietnam Animation Studio
produced in Hanoї 1980