the one with all the odd names
I spent most of Saturday asleep. I don't know why I've been so tired lately; perhaps it's because I'm still recovering from Hong Kong (heh).
We've finally located and bought the DVD of McDull, Prince de la Bun which is a silly-sounding English title for a film but sounds more convincing in Cantonese. It proudly declares itself 100% HongKong-made on the DVD cover and I think that anyone who has ever been to the city would definitely appreciate how well director Toe Yuen (I know - what's with these names?!) has brought the city to life in the film, through a combination of well-executed CGI effects and gorgeous animation. The soundtrack to the film is also excellent, ranging from well-chosen pieces from Mozart, Elgar and Bach to old-skool Chinese ditties and children's songs.
McDull is the little pig on the left, but my favourite character in the film has to be Harry Pizza, the little turtle on the right. It's hard to summarise what the film is about (check out the link above if you want to know more) but essentially it traces the story of McDull, a not-too-intelligent little pig/boy who is trying to understand his place in contemporary HK society and his mother's constant urgings for him to do better in school. But beneath this is really the story of McBing, McDull's father, who leaves his ideals behind as he grows up, and then eventually abandons his wife and son in order to retrace his past. On a whole other level it's also the story of everyday life in HongKong and the struggles between the past and the future that people have to balance in order to appreciate the present, but just because it's an animation feature doesn't mean that the story ends all hunky-dory. Instead, the film leaves more loops open than it closes, and the nature of its narrative thread means that there are multiple ways for a viewer to read the story.
Very creative, and gorgeously rendered - it totally deserved the Golden Horse award for Best Animated Film. It almost makes me miss HongKong (but not enough to return anytime soon, heh).
We've finally located and bought the DVD of McDull, Prince de la Bun which is a silly-sounding English title for a film but sounds more convincing in Cantonese. It proudly declares itself 100% HongKong-made on the DVD cover and I think that anyone who has ever been to the city would definitely appreciate how well director Toe Yuen (I know - what's with these names?!) has brought the city to life in the film, through a combination of well-executed CGI effects and gorgeous animation. The soundtrack to the film is also excellent, ranging from well-chosen pieces from Mozart, Elgar and Bach to old-skool Chinese ditties and children's songs.
McDull is the little pig on the left, but my favourite character in the film has to be Harry Pizza, the little turtle on the right. It's hard to summarise what the film is about (check out the link above if you want to know more) but essentially it traces the story of McDull, a not-too-intelligent little pig/boy who is trying to understand his place in contemporary HK society and his mother's constant urgings for him to do better in school. But beneath this is really the story of McBing, McDull's father, who leaves his ideals behind as he grows up, and then eventually abandons his wife and son in order to retrace his past. On a whole other level it's also the story of everyday life in HongKong and the struggles between the past and the future that people have to balance in order to appreciate the present, but just because it's an animation feature doesn't mean that the story ends all hunky-dory. Instead, the film leaves more loops open than it closes, and the nature of its narrative thread means that there are multiple ways for a viewer to read the story.
Very creative, and gorgeously rendered - it totally deserved the Golden Horse award for Best Animated Film. It almost makes me miss HongKong (but not enough to return anytime soon, heh).