Can refusing to follow the trend of IP help the rise of Chinese animation?

As intellectual property becomes more and more influential in commercial competition and is bound to form a long-term upward trend, it is no surprise that intellectual property will become the lifeblood of the economy and enterprises.

From the three-dimensional world to the two-dimensional world, intellectual property rights can influence more and more things. At the end of the year, looking back at the domestic two-dimensional IPs this year, with "Journey to the West: Hero is Back" as the leader, they have become popular one after another, which makes people want to talk about the old topic again: Can the popularity of IP lead to the rise of domestic comics?

The first year of Chinese comics: an extraordinary 2015

"The Monkey King: Hero is Back" is based on the well-known "Journey to the West". After it was released in China in the summer of 2015, it was warmly welcomed by the audience. Its box office of 956 million yuan is also the highest peak of Chinese animated films in history. In the past, domestic animated films were childish and rough, which kept out the group of people who had the most spending power and were most willing to spend. There was a constant voice of badmouthing domestic animation. This year, "The Monkey King: Hero is Back" tells the story in a Hollywood-style road movie way, combining exquisite pictures with traditional oriental aesthetics, telling those who were originally prejudiced against domestic animation: domestic animation can also be done this way.

In addition, "The Monkey King: Hero is Back" successfully carried out soft-text marketing, which quickly cultivated a large number of high-quality "tap water". The People's Daily believed that the film was a rare phenomenon-level work in Chinese animated films in the past decade.

Coincidentally, the Chinese animation "Painting Jianghu: The Bad Guys" is based on the legendary story of the "Jinyi Guards" of the Tang Dynasty, describing the war and darkness of the late Tang Dynasty in a way that has never been seen in Chinese animation. And most importantly, it is the first Chinese animation that is clearly positioned as not suitable for minors to watch.

The Bad Guys is completely distributed online, with mature plot content, and stands out in the current environment where immature domestic animations are rampant. At the same time, it also has a complete IP development and monetization industry chain. After the success of the animation of The Bad Guys, the same IP continued to be developed, including the animation The Spirit Master, the animated film The Bad Guys, the mobile game The Bad Guys, and a series of peripheral products. The perfect marketing strategy and follow-up plans are full of confidence. It turns out that domestic animations are mature enough to compete with the development of Japanese two-dimensional IPs.

Redemption or deception?

Through a simple analysis of the two representative Chinese comic hits above, we can see one of the reasons for their popularity: successful IP operation.

In the traditional domestic business culture and business rules, IP has little direct influence on business activities and its corresponding commercial value is low. However, in foreign countries, the opposite is true. IP can directly affect the overall pattern of the industry's major markets and has absolute say in business culture and business rules.

In the past, domestic animations fell into a vicious circle due to wrong positioning. It is not to say that there are no successful IPs. "Xiyangyang" and "Boonie Bears" are also successful cases, but they have not really opened the door to the market of the most spending power. Similarly, even if the positioning of the IP is not for young children, it can be very effective if it is well operated within the authorized scope of the IP, but it will become a hot potato if it is not used well. "Kuiba" should be said to be such a disappointing example.

Qing Qing Shu cancelled the popular "Dragon Knight" comics when it was in urgent need of increasing fans, which led to complaints from fans; the quality of the "Kui Ba" peripherals was shockingly poor; the promotion was not in place, no advertisements were placed in the ACG community, and most of the advertisements on the official blog were vulgar and crude; after the box office failure of "Kui Ba", they also cursed that Chinese animation fans were blind and could not see such a good animation. A good IP was ruined like this.

In contrast, the success of "The Return of the Great Sage" and "The Bad Kids" has given investors and producers a good demonstration: it turns out that as long as domestic animation is made with care, it can also be a critically acclaimed and commercially successful work, and it can sell well at the box office without any promotion. If such a virtuous cycle can be achieved, the rise of domestic animation may begin from this point.

Of course, if investors see that animated films are so popular, we will make 10 "Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf", 20 "Pig Man" and 30 "Autobots" next year, then the box office of "The Return of the Great Sage" and "The Bad Kids" is nothing more than a self-congratulatory act, a self-deceptive entertainment to support the rise of Chinese animation.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.