CATDOLL: Domestic animation overseas tour "Pleasant Goat" broadcast in 52 countries and regions

Speaking of mainland cartoons, Guangdong Province is a major province in the creation and production of cartoons, among which the two most dazzling series are "Pleasant Goat" and "Boonie Bears". The "Pleasant Goat" animation series, created in 2005, has passed its 11th birthday, and "Boonie Bears" was created a little later, but it is very popular. Now both series are the favorite works of children. Not only are they popular on TV, but they have also been adapted into the big screen and sold high box office.

In addition to their great success in the mainland, Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf and Boonie Bears have also started to expand overseas markets very early. At the 19th Hong Kong International Film & TV Show held recently, the companies of the two animations jointly participated in the activities of the Guangdong Film and Television Pavilion, attracting many overseas buyers to negotiate.

As for how to make a name for themselves overseas, Meng Dan, director of the international marketing center of Fantawild, the producer of Boonie Bears, believes that their weapons are "humor and comedy", while Wu Chun, publicity director of Original Power, the producer of Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf, says that overseas audiences like the "cuteness and cuteness" of sheep and wolves the most.

Which regions are you selling to?

Popular in Asia, and also entering Europe and the United States

In 2009, Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf began to be broadcast on Nickelodeon Asia, a subsidiary of MTV, and was broadcast in English in 13 countries and regions in Asia. In 2010, Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf: A Happy Year of Goat was broadcast in 52 countries and regions in the Asia-Pacific region of Disney Channel, in English and more than 10 local languages, and even in dialects of different states in India. By 2014, Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf was broadcast in Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam and other Asia-Pacific regions, and in the United States and Canada, it also began to be broadcast on Chinese community TV stations in Mandarin.

The "Boonie Bears" animation series, which debuted relatively late, also paid attention to overseas markets. It currently covers dozens of countries and regions including the United States, Italy, Russia, Southeast Asia, etc., and has also been broadcast on mainstream platforms such as Nickelodeon and Disney Channel.

The "Pleasant Goat" and "Bear" movies are not only aimed at the mainland. In the past seven years, all seven Pleasant Goat movies have been released in Hong Kong, and the recent ones have also been released in Taiwan. The Hong Kong government has also successively launched two Pleasant Goat family images, "Lawy Goat" and "Lawy Goat", to promote the Basic Law. "Boonie Bears: The Treasure Hunters" was recommended by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television to participate in the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, and was shortlisted for the "Annecy Crystal Best Animated Feature Film Award" at the 2014 Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France. It has been released in theaters in Russia, South Korea, and the Philippines.

In addition to cartoons, Pleasant Goat has also launched books and stage plays in Hong Kong, and its licensed toys have even been sold in Disney World. The Boonie Bears company has built theme parks, and Fantawild Happy World has opened in Iran, with one under construction in Ukraine, and is in talks with South Korea and Thailand.

Why can it be sold?

Funny temperament, easy to understand story

As to why the films can be sold overseas, Meng Dan said that buyers like the "humor and funny qualities" of the Boonie Bears series. He said that when making the films, he wanted to make a work that is more suitable for audiences of all ages, and he put a lot of effort into the image design and plot. The production and technological level of the film version are also world-leading. In particular, in order to achieve "localization", they specially formed their own dubbing team, covering more than a dozen languages ​​including Arabic, Russian, Korean, and Spanish.

The audience of "Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf" is younger. Wu Chun said that comedy effects are common in cartoons, and the designs of the images of the sheep and wolf tribes are very cute, which is also what overseas buyers are looking at. "The legend of the sheep and wolf can be found everywhere, and the images are also classic. Everyone can understand them. Our style of painting is also very simple. Although the content is very traditional Chinese concept, it is very natural for overseas audiences to accept it."

Which images are the most popular?

Big Bear, Little Bear, and Little Gray are more popular than Baldy.

The "Sheep" and "Bear" series have been broadcast overseas for a while and have also cultivated a group of fans. Who are their favorite characters? Meng Dan said that unlike domestic audiences who like Xiong Da, Xiong Er and Bald Qiang equally, overseas audiences like Xiong Da and Xiong Er the most, while Bald Qiang is less popular.

Wu Chun introduced that "Lazy Sheep" and "Little Gray Gray" are the two most popular characters in the "Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf" series among overseas audiences. He analyzed that these two are not characters with perfect personalities, but the overly positive Pleasant Goat is not that popular, which may be related to the natural nature revealed by these two characters, "overseas audiences prefer this kind of character."

What is the difficulty in overseas distribution?

Dubbing, graphics, and marketing need to be improved

Both Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf and Boonie Bears encountered some controversy when they were broadcast in China, and some changes were made. However, neither animation encountered any trouble in the overseas market due to the content. Both animations have achieved certain results in the overseas market, but it is not easy to come by, and there are still many obstacles to be solved.

Wu Chun said that in the film and television industry, animation is the easiest content to cross borders and cultures. The core values ​​of Pleasant Goat, such as bravery and wisdom, can be accepted and loved by different national cultures around the world. However, in terms of expression, it is still necessary to consider the differences in different cultural backgrounds, languages ​​and national cultures. "If we want audiences from all over the world to understand and accept our works in their native language, there are many obstacles in dubbing alone, not to mention accurately conveying dramatic conflicts and achieving the best results."

Secondly, when releasing overseas, domestic animation faces a lot of pressure when facing animation from the United States, Japan and other countries. "Both in terms of production level and marketing level, domestic original animation is still weak and has no group advantage. The animation power of Southeast Asian countries is also rising rapidly, which has created strong competitive pressure on the development of domestic animation."

During the overseas distribution process, Wu Chun said that as an animation and film and television production organization, they directly felt the lack of high-quality screenwriters, translators, marketing and other talents. "Talent gap is a common topic in today's domestic cultural industry, and it is urgent for the country and the industry to work together to solve it."