The “Yao-Chinese Folktales” Animation Shorts

The “Yao-Chinese Folktales” are a collection of animated shorts themed around Chinese fantasy stories produced by Shanghai Animation Film Studio.

The collection of shorts consists of eight independent stories rooted in traditional Chinese culture, laying out before the audience a collection of “monster” stories with strong Chinese imagination and aesthetic charm. The stories range from ancient stories to imaginative science fiction , from homeland nostalgia to beautiful love, from themes of life to reflections of humanity, expressing Chinese imagination, carrying Chinese national culture and philosophy, and showing the powerful, surging potential of Chinese animation. The film covers a variety of art styles and production techniques: traditional 2D, papercutting, stop-motion animation, CG, modern techniques of triple rendering, as well as innovative attempts to combine sketching with the Chinese ink painting style, which conveys a multi-perspective interpretation of Chinese aesthetics by the creators.

In order to create “Yao-Chinese Folktales”, the film invited a total of ten directors to carefully polish the eight stories, to create stories most in line with traditional Chinese culture. The behind-the-scenes footage shown with the film also demonstrates the dedication of the production team in the processes of drafting and finalizing the film. Each topic is also very relevant to the current context, perfectly expressing Chinese culture, brilliantly conveying the warm cultural sentiment.

Story 1: Nobody

“Nobody” tells the story of an insignificant demon in the world of Journey to the West, surprising the audience with a “familiar strangeness”.

Story 2: Goose Mountain

“Goose Mountain” inherits the hazy emotion of “to pull the bow without shooting” from the classical novel “Continued records on universal harmony”, giving the audience the aesthetic imaginative visualization of “words have an end, but the meaning they contain is inexhaustible”.

Story 3: She Wolf

In the snowing woods of “She Wolf”, the hunters with their swords drawn have the wolf forced to the edge of the cliff. A battle is about to break out, and the battle between a young girl and herself is also looming close.

Story 4: Fool And God

“Fool And God” paints a picture of rural transformation in China’s countryside.

Story 5: Ship Down The Well

“Ship Down The Well” is made with traditional papercutting animation techniques. From the conception, art, camera details to the music, everything reflects the derivation of traditional Chinese culture from the modern era.

Story 6: Fly Me To The Earth

Born from ancient mythology, “Fly Me To The Earth”takes place in the future, staging a desperate escape on the moon.

Story 7: Old Man Yang

The hutong uncle of “Old Man Yang” enters a mysterious world through a mysterious award ticket. When traditional Chinese folk culture and foreign cyberpunk clash, what sparks will fly?

Story 8: Null Island

With the poetic romance of the East, “Null Island” explores the eternal human proposition of love and life.