White Snake (film)

White Snake (simplified Chinese: 白蛇：缘起; traditional Chinese: 白蛇：緣起; pinyin: Báishé: Yuánqǐ; Wade–Giles: Pai2shê2: Yüan2ch'ih3 lit. "The white snake: The origin") is a 2019 Chinese-American[2] computer animation fantasy film directed by Amp Wong and Zhao Ji, with animation production by Light Chaser Animation. The film was inspired by the Chinese folktale Legend of the White Snake and was released in China on January 11, 2019.[10]

White Snake
Chinese theatrical release poster
Traditional白蛇：緣起
Simplified白蛇：缘起
MandarinBáishé: Yuánqǐ
CantoneseBaak6se4: Jyun4hei2
Directed by
  • Amp Wong
  • Zhao Ji
Produced byChewbear & Toby
Written byDamao
Starring
  • Zhang Zhe
  • Yang Tianxiang
Narrated byCheng Yin
Music byGuo Haowei
Production
company
Distributed byJoy Pictures
Release date
  • January 11, 2019 (2019-01-11)
Running time
99 minutes[2]
CountryChina[2]
United States[3][1]
LanguageMandarin[4]
BudgetCN¥80 million[5] US$11.2 million[6]
Box officeCN¥447 million[7] US$61,631,778[8][9]

The film has been featured in festivals including Annecy International Animation Film Festival,[2] Fantasia International Film Festival,[11] BFI London Film Festival,[12] Sitges Film Festival,[13] Warsaw International Film Festival,[14] and Animation Is Film.[15]

Synopsis

The story follows the Chinese fable the Legend of the White Snake. The focus is on a white snake-demon Blanca who loses her memory while being disguised as a human woman and falls in love with a snake hunter. This strongly displeases her young sister, Verta, the green snake-demon.[16]

The story begins two sisters in a traditional Chinese bath, where they both speak of immortality. It then shows that same mysterious woman (named Blanca) who is on a mission to assassinate the general. However, she is caught and is involved in a battle which results in her submerging into water and losing her memories. She is rescued by a man, Xuan, who takes her to his home, Snake Catcher village, where the villagers catch snakes for the general, as snakes were thought to aid in immortality. Reluctant at first, Blanca is skeptical about Xuan. However, after spending some time with him (and with the reveal that she has magic powers) she starts to fall for him.

They find a jade hair pin which brings back some memories when it is then revealed, that the hairpin too is magical. Xuan reads the inscription, which indicates it was made at "special jade workshop". He and Blanca go journey there together.

Meanwhile, there is a cavern of snake-demon people, who are oppressed by the general. It is revealed that Blanca's sister is alive, a soldier for the Snake master. A snake had previously seen the two together, deeming Blanca a traitor as she is with a snake-catcher. Her sister, Verta, argues otherwise and says that she will find and return her, whilst also engaging in an insurance policy- if she is not back with Blanca in three days, then the Death Scales embedded in her will explode and kill her. Back with Xuan and Blanca, after a struggle on sea with another snake-demon- Blanca is forced to reveal her demon form, revealing to Xuan that she is in fact a demon. However he disregards this fact and the two bond.

Later they eventually get to Special Jade Workshop, owned by a fox-demon who makes all types of magical weaponry. The fox-demon explains that Blanca brought her the wand to let her use it instead of the original owner. The fox-demon explains that Blanca was warned that using the jade wand could have consequences, such as the memory loss.

After leaving the workshop, Xuan and Blanca return to the Snake Catcher Villager. Verta confronts Blanca and Xuan and tries to get Blanca to return with her. Verta identifies Xuan as a snake catcher and tries to attack him. Blanca defends him and the two sisters fight. During the fight, Xuan and Blanca fall into a hidden underground temple.

While looking at a Daoist altar in the temple, Blanca's memories are triggered. She is shaken by the events and Xuan comforts her -- this leads to a moment of intimacy between them. Afterward Xuan and Blanca leave the temple to find Verta waiting. Blanca reveals that her memories have been returned and says she will return to the snake demon fold. She says to Xuan that their differences (human and demon) are too great. He asks her to wait for him and leaves to find a way for them to be together.

Later at the fox-demon workshop, Xuan agrees to become a low-level demon in order to be with Blanca.

Cast
  • Zhang Zhe (Mandarin), Stephanie Sheh (English) as Blanca (Chinese: 小白; pinyin: Xiǎo Bái lit. "Little White")
  • Yang Tianxiang (Mandarin), Paul Yen (English) as Ah Xuan (Chinese: 阿宣; pinyin: Ā Xuān)
  • Tang Xiaoxi (Mandarin), Vivian Lu (English) as Verta (Chinese: 小青; pinyin: Xiǎo Qīng lit. "Little Green")
  • He Zhang (Mandarin), Matthew Moy (English) as Dudou/Brother-in-law
  • Xiaopu Zheng (Mandarin), Faye Mata (English) as Precious Jade Workshop Foxy Boss
  • Wei Liu (Mandarin), Karen Huie (English) as Snake Master
  • Yaohan Zhang (Mandarin), James Sie (English) as Dark General and Village Chief
  • Boheng Zhang (Mandarin), Vincent Rodriguez III (English) as Little General
  • David Chen (English) as Narrator and Boatman
  • Kaiji Tang (English) as Chang Pan
  • Ewan Chung (English) as Snake Scout

Production

Warner Bros. Far East has rights in China and is credited as a co-producer. The studio is in negotiations for distribution rights in other major territories.[3]

Release

The film was released throughout China on 11 January 2019 and remained in theatres for the 2019 Chinese New Year season.[17]

International

In France, the film premiered at Annecy International Animation Film Festival.[16]

In the United States and Canada, GKIDS has licensed the film for a fall release, in both Mandarin with English subtitles and an English-language dub.[18]

In Los Angeles, the film won the Golden Angel for "Best Chinese & American Co-Production Animation Film" at the Chinese American Film Festival.[19]

Reception

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 68% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 22 reviews, with an average rating of 6.6/10.[20]

On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 60 out of 100 based on 6 critic reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[21]

In its review, Variety states "First-time feature writer Da Mao and debuting feature co-directors Zhao Ji and Amp Wong strike a pleasing balance between thunderous action scenes and appealing romance."[22]

One of Us praised the movie for its visual style however noting that "story doesn't live up to the spectacular animation".[16]

References
  1. "《白蛇：缘起》发行通知". 2018-12-27. 出品：华纳兄弟（远东）公司
  2. "Annecy > Programme > Index". Annecy International Animated Film Festival.
  3. Frater, Patrick (2018-11-04). "AFM: Light Chaser Animation's Cats, White Snake Sell For All Rights". Variety. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  4. http://movie.mtime.com/260666
  5. "面向年轻人的追光 专访《白蛇：缘起》导演黄家康、赵霁". 风闻社区 (in Chinese). 2019-01-11. Retrieved 2019-02-08.
  6. name="animag">"Romancing the 'White Snake'". Animation Magazine. Retrieved 2020-03-31.
  7. 白蛇：缘起（2019）. cbooo.cn (in Chinese). Retrieved 2019-02-08.
  8. "White Snake (2019)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
  9. "White Snake (2019)". The Numbers. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
  10. "《白蛇：缘起》改档1.11曝新海报". Mtime. 2018-12-24. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
  11. "White Snake". Fantasia International Film Festival.
  12. "Buy tickets for White Snake | BFI London Film Festival 2019". British Film Institute. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  13. "WHITE SNAKE – Sitges Film Festival – Festival Internacional de Cinema Fantàstic de Catalunya". Sitges Film Festival.
  14. "WARSAW FILM FESTIWAL". Warsaw International Film Festival.
  15. "White Snake – Animation is Film". Animation Is Film Festival. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  16. Cox, Chris (July 22, 2019). "Infestation: Annecy Animation Festival 2019: White Snake". One of Us.
  17. "Chinese Authorities to Further Restrict Foreign Content Programming". China Film Insider. 2018-09-21. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  18. Zahed, Ramin (2019-06-10). "GKIDS Charms China's White Snake for N. America". Animation Magazine. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  19. Gui, Ming. "2019 GOLDEN ANGEL AWARD". Chinese American Film Festival. Retrieved 2020-03-08.
  20. "White Snake (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  21. "White Snake Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  22. Kuipers, Richard (July 9, 2019). "BiFan Film Review: 'White Snake'".
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.