Cannes hit 'Next Gen' set for China release

By Zhang Rui
0 Comment(s)Print E-mail China.org.cn, July 17, 2019
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A Chinese poster of "Next Gen" [Image courtesy of Alibaba Pictures]

The Chinese animated production "Next Gen" is set to wow domestic audiences from this Friday, judging by the enthusiastic reactions at Tuesday's premiere.

This is an action-packed and touching sci-fi animated feature of two unlikely friends in a futuristic world filled with robots, a rare story in Chinese animated history somewhat similar to the "Iron Giant" or the Hiro-Baymax duo in Disney's "Big Hero 6." Actually, it's based on the original Chinese comic "7723" by Wang Nima.

The film producers hired a great many foreign animators as well as the directors Kevin R. Adams and Joe Ksander. Netflix completed a worldwide distribution rights deal worth around $30 million for "Next Gen" on the fringes of the Cannes Film Festival in May 2018, which excluded China. 

It was released by Netflix on Sept. 7, 2018 with a voice cast including Charlyne Yi, Jason Sudeikis, David Cross, Michael Pena and Constance Wu. 

Famous dubbing expert Shi Renmao and voice dubbing director Wang Huijun pose with some audience members at the China premiere of "Next Gen" in Beijing on July 16, 2019. [Photo/ China.org.cn]

The Chinese distribution will involve wide-release to theaters rather than online streaming from July 19 by Alibaba Pictures and Wanda Pictures, two domestic film giants. They hired actor Feng Yuanzheng, a famous voice dubbing specialist Shi Renmao, as well as Han Yingdi, Zheng Haiyin and Tu Songyan to provide the voices for the key characters.

Screenwriter Hao Yu shared insights at the China premiere held in Beijing on Tuesday night, recalling it took six years to make, and the original intention for undertaking the project being just to do something different: namely, achieving a breakthrough in the status quo of the domestic animation industry to create a high-quality film targeting both children and adults, rather than focusing on the usual traditional Chinese-style animation or targeting a low-age market. 

"This film is like our own child. No matter how many setbacks and failures we encountered in the process, we will make it better to finally meet you. This was a very valuable experience," Hao said.

Shi Renmao, a Taiwan dubbing expert whose nickname is Shi Banyu, provided the voice for many of comedian Stephen Chow's films. This time, he dubbed six characters for "Next Gen" and every character's voice was carefully designed by him. The whole process took 32 days.

Hao also revealed every detail of "Next Gen" reflects the creators' hearts and minds. For example, he said that their team had actually saved a child from suicide due to a depressive disorder. This incident had influence on the film crew, and they wanted to use the movie to help children and parents and give troubled youngsters some warm comforts.

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