Over the past few months, my girlfriend and I watched a lot of animated movies on Netflix. It was a few projects co-produced by the Chinese ("Over the Moon", "Abominable"), the American nice and pleasant animation "The Mitchells vs. The Machines". The title I am writing about in this text was also partially created by Asians, but it is primarily a film by Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation. Each of the above-mentioned productions is clearly from a lower league than Disney paintings and similar, but they are of a high enough level to enjoy the screening.
Review in polish language, but in short form - https://peakd.com/hive-134382/@herosik/vivo-mini-recenzja-i-moje-spostrzezenia-dotyczace-lepszych-i-gorszych-kreskowek
Before I go to the review, I will elaborate on the question I put in the title of the text. If you've lived in the world long enough, you've probably heard from your childhood that the Japanese (although this can also be extended to at least a few other Asian nations - e.g. Chinese or South Koreans) have great skills in developing technologies from the Western world and better use natural resources. You probably remember the times when you didn't buy equipment from China, because in most cases it was rubbish (which Doc said in some part of "Back to the Future"). Today, in the context of 5G technology and the rivalry between the US and China and the equipment offered by Chinese contractors, it sounds funny, but well ... It was 15, 20 years ago. I don't remember where I heard it, but as a child, in one of the interviews I watched on TV, a professor said - "You will see, in a dozen or so years, if the trend does not change, the Chinese will copy the equipment even better and then create their own brands," which will be cheaper than their western counterparts, and in terms of technology, we won't see much of a difference. " I do not know how it is now, because I am weak when it comes to knowledge of technical innovations, but you do not need to be an expert to see that both powers compete with each other in at least some fields.
The fact is, if we take into account all the technology - from small things like smartphones to high-tech, America is probably definitely better, but no one knows what will be in a dozen or so years. Especially since Joe Biden rules the US. Not that I am a fan of Donald Trump, but the undeniable fact is that he improved the economic situation of all the people working in the US (white, Latin, black and the rest) and restored some factories in Europe and Asia - I know this, among others from a friend who has been working in Germany for many years designing cars. The Democrats themselves were reluctant to say this, but thanked Trump because some of his decisions made the US invest more effectively in technology.
However, this is not a text about the USA, but about China. Before I return to it, however, a few more words about Japan. When I studied political science, one of my subjects was lectures on International Relations. We had few classes with Dr. Zbigniew Emperor, but this man is so fantastically charismatic and educated that everyone attended his lectures - even those who were reluctant to study and only wanted to prolong their childhood by studying. During one lecture, he told us about China and Japan, I don't remember most of the content, but I remember one thing, which perfectly illustrates their approach. They used every bit of the raw material, even the gunpowder that was left over from the use of carbon, cobalt, silicon, and more. Americans and Europeans, in turn, used only ore or larger pieces of them, throwing the smaller ones into the garbage. About a decade ago, when I became seriously interested in politics, geopolitics and related topics, I saw a documentary showing Japanese specialists who came to China to educate them. Nothing new, the same was the case with Poland, when we regained Khem khem "independence" in 1989 - our politicians got an invitation from the Japanese to see how factories work and are built and how workers are managed.
A few years ago, Japan signed another agreement of this type with China, which mainly concerned trade and economic issues, but also included, inter alia, exchange of experiences, specialists, generally strengthening cooperation. Now I am not able to find this link and no, I do not mean the November 15, 2020 agreement, the one I am talking about was only for China and Japan. Despite numerous territorial and historical disputes (the Japanese treated the Chinese as shit - they carried out a cruel slaughter on them during the Second World War, probably even worse than the Germans did on Poles, Jews, Roma), they beautifully show that such things are much less important when it's about money and the pursuit of common interests.
Developing earlier threads - yes, the Japanese and some Asians initially produced garbage, but quickly learned from their mistakes and invested capital in improving technology and people (to make them better specialists). By carefully observing the Americans and avoiding (at least some) the mistakes they have made. While the Japanese are reasonably ethical to their work and do not support (or at least not directly) patent theft, the Chinese ignore it and copy everything that goes on. The same applies to culture. As I mentioned during the review of "Scissors Seven", they love the cultural and sports achievements of the Western world. It manifests itself in watching basketball games, organizing weddings in places stylized as romantic scenes from "Titanic" and other films loved by women. Cartoons and games are also important - both from the USA and Japan. Watching Chinese animated films, I notice that they copy cliches known from Disney, Pixar, etc. but in better shape. The plot is less infantile, they try to throw more educational elements for young children into them.
Although I am critical of the Communist Party and their propaganda, which works more or less the same as that of the times when Eastern Europe was under the influence of Russia, I must admit that they are doing a good job on this particular point. Yes, the child should have a normal childhood, i.e. play, work or stress the lives of adults, because the time will come for that, but this does not mean that they cannot be passed on important values that will pay off in the future. I'm talking about supporting parents, doing simple jobs to earn your expenses (which, by the way, is a normal approach in the US or England), greater responsibility for yourself and your decisions. Sure, a lot of these things have appeared in Disney cartoons, but Americans are less emphasis on it. It also seems to me that the Chinese show it with practical examples that we see every day, and less in the form of a vague moral. Probably so that the message is not too overloaded. I see copying also in terms of animation, lines, etc. True, they are far from Disney, and it will be many years before they live up to them, but now you can watch their animated films without feeling embarrassed or wasting time. The characters are simpler, less detailed, there are fewer moving parts (figures in the background and third planes, cars and other vehicles etc.), the scenes are less glamorous, the backgrounds are less detailed, but they are better than some European countries, including Polish. It is true that the experience of our animators is not very impressive, but nevertheless Poles started to create fairy tales for children when the Chinese did not dream about it.
To sum up, I do not know what it will be like in the future, but to paraphrase the professor I have already mentioned - if this trend continues, in a dozen or so years we may be playing Chinese cartoons for our children or grandchildren. The more likely it is that Disney, after a golden period for itself, is making more and more mistakes, and it does not seem to change. Which, of course, I do not exclude, because it may only be a temporary decline in their form. And now I invite you to the review.
The plot of "Vivo" tells the story of a retired street musician who, together with his monkey named Vivo, amuse the local people of Havana. Andrés used to sing in a duet with the famous singer Marta Sandoval, with whom he was in love, but never said how he felt about her. After receiving an invitation from her to a farewell concert, he decided to travel to America to accompany her in her final performance. It was unfortunate that he did not make it, because he died before flying to the USA. Vivo the monkey, together with Andrés' niece, decide to fulfill the musician's last will and try to deliver a letter expressing his feelings towards Marta. Before they achieve this goal, an adventure awaits them full of various funny and dramatic moments.
I mentioned in the introduction that the technical side of this movie is weaker than in Disney productions. In the past, I would have viewed it as a disadvantage, and today I see it as an advantage. Why? Because the budget is lower, and hence the expectations of the producers are much lower and allow for more experiments that would not pass in the case of a corporation with Mickey Mouse. I do not want to sound like a bitter complain who simplifies reality and thinks that in the past everything was better (in some cases yes, but mostly it is an attempt to rationalize why we don't like something anymore), but the most universal and flattened message from Disney movies it is less noticeable when the fairy tale has been better directed and planned. Like "Alladin", "The Lion King", "The Hunchback of Notre Dam" and some others. Some of their films are infantile, talk about truisms or make the topic too shallow. Pixar, on the other hand, has always created less infantile productions that are more food for thought (or at least this view stuck to me several years ago, when I was a child - thanks to my father who often took me to the cinema or to reviewers whom I started reading at a young age. Perhaps I am wrong, if you know each other better about Disney and Pixar films, I am asking for correction) and they treat little children a bit more seriously than Disney employees.
Going back to the beginning of the previous paragraph - studies from the second league must try to gain the attention of the audience in a slightly different way. They do not have the same level of opinion as Disney's works (i.e. the level of their production may vary, but you can always easily take a child to the cinema, who will get a dose of colorful and eye-catching action. , they want the cleanest opinion possible), so their animations are not chosen as the default destination by parents. They are usually treated as 2nd or 3rd choice. For this reason, they must, for example, use non-standard animation, come up with a plot and setting that deviates from the usual patterns, generally something that the competition offers less often, to catch the attention of customers. I appreciate it very much, because there are fewer cliché solutions, which makes me less bored and more visual, but I have to be honest. During the screening, you can see that they are less detailed, the quality of CGI, animation and lines is weaker, and the final touch is missing. If I don't complain about Disney, I can't deny them that their animated films are more polished - both in terms of script and technical implementation. Me and Asia agreed that something "Vivo" was missing. However, as I said, it didn't bother me that much, because I value originality more.
When it comes to music, while I don't like animations with more emphasis on songs, I liked Vivo a lot more than most Disney productions. I am talking about both the Polish and the original version. In fact, it's not an outstanding production of this type (in the sense we don't have great songs or top league musicians or singers), but the songs didn't bother me. Usually at such moments I reach for the phone or when I was young and did not have a cell phone, I got tired of waiting for these "normal" fragments. Here I did not feel such a need, I even enjoyed watching every such fragment. And there are quite a few of these, after all, it's a film about music. The beats and lyrics were pleasing to the ear, as was the rhythm of the songs - be it for music typical of this region of the world or for more universal genres.
All in all, neither me nor my girlfriend complained. I had a lot of fun, Asia a little less, but she didn't complain too much. I think you can safely watch it both alone and with your children, or turn it on to the children you care for. "Vivo" doesn't last long, so you shouldn't waste your time, I think you will be satisfied with the solidly written and realized animation. I rate it as strong +7/10.
