CATDOLL: "The Monkey King: Hero is Back" goes abroad and sets a record for overseas sales of domestic 3D animation

After becoming the dark horse of this year's domestic films with a box office of nearly 1 billion, "The Monkey King: Hero is Back" (hereinafter referred to as "The Monkey King") is about to set off a global "Journey to the West" overseas. The film has been sold to more than 60 countries around the world, and overseas pre-sales have reached 4 million US dollars, setting a record for overseas sales of domestic 3D animations.

At the American Film Market (AFM) in early November 2015, "The Monkey King: Hero is Back" appeared on the cover of the conference journal SREEN, as well as the cover of the authoritative magazine in the animation industry, Animation Magazine. The international version of the art poster released at the same time was eye-catching with its majestic Chinese style, making it the most watched animated film in the American film market.

This story inspired by traditional Chinese classics has also been enthusiastically received in the Western film industry. Flame Node Entertainment, which is responsible for the overseas distribution of "The Return of the Great Sage", arranged a packed market screening for the film. The novel story, beautiful pictures and exciting action scenes amazed distributors from all over the world.

The international version of the art poster for "The Monkey King: Hero is Back" was produced by Zhuye Culture, supervised by China's well-known poster designer Ah Hai, and painted by popular painter Zao Dao. It is based on the scene in the film where Jiang Liuer unblocks the Monkey King. With magnificent oriental hand-painted paintings, it gives the Monkey King the heroic spirit of breaking out of his cocoon and returning.

Feng Yi, general manager of Fu En Entertainment, said that it takes some special efforts for domestic films to go global, so that "The Monkey King: Hero is Back" can enter the international market more smoothly. In addition to the specially created art posters, Fu En Entertainment also carefully created the English version of the film. Ned Lott, who has worked with Hayao Miyazaki for many years, was invited as the dubbing director to prepare the English version of the dialogue for the film. The dubbing team of "Kung Fu Panda" dubbed the characters, and the entire English version was completed in the United States. Ned Lott has served as the dubbing director for the English versions of Pixar animations "Cars" and "Finding Nemo" and Hayao Miyazaki's animations "My Neighbor Totoro" and "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind". In addition, Fu En Entertainment invited the famous animation screenwriter Corey Edwards ("Escape from Earth", "Little Red Riding Hood", etc.) to rewrite the lines so that Western audiences can better understand the cultural background and humorous plots of the film. For example, there was a joke in the film where a female monster appeared in a sexy tube top dress and supported her breasts with both hands. Westerners could not understand it, so the English version cut out this detail.

Today, when Hollywood animation dominates the world, "The Monkey King: Hero is Back" represents a new voice. Feng Yi, general manager of Fuen Entertainment, said that "The Monkey King: Hero is Back" has enough strength to enter the international mainstream film market. "In this movie, Journey to the West is just a shell, but it tells the topic of real society. Children may see the wonderful pictures and characters of Journey to the West, while adults may see their past or present selves." Feng Yi said, "Both European and American buyers and Asian buyers have expressed their appreciation for this story. Their original words were 'This is not just an animation, it is a sincere movie.'"

Xing Haishun, marketing director of Fun Entertainment, said that overseas distribution is very experience-intensive. Distributors need to know which countries' audiences like which types of movies, or which plots they are taboo about. For example, Asian countries are very enthusiastic about "The Return of the Great Sage" because of the same cultural background; the Middle Eastern market is taboo about movies with pigs; and Western countries have very strict censorship and rating systems for movies.

Fuen Entertainment has been involved in the production of "The Monkey King: Hero is Back" since the project was launched, and has also started overseas pre-sales. At the end of 2013, producer Feng Yi took "The Monkey King: Hero is Back" to the American Film Market (AFM) for pre-sales. The three-minute trailer was sold to more than 20 countries. At the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, "The Monkey King: Hero is Back" had two screenings, and many people watched it from beginning to end. After the screenings, pre-sales reached 60 countries and regions, and the film's cost was recovered by one-third. Pre-sales can provide more market feedback for production work and provide reference for budget planning. The production and distribution of most Hollywood films are in this model, which can greatly reduce the investment risk of the film and increase the rate of return. Feng Yi believes that pre-sales are a major trend in the future production process: "Before the film is fully launched, you will know which regions, when, and how much it can sell, and there will be a guide for cost estimation."