This spring, Makoto Shinkai's film "The Journey of Suzuya" landed in mainland China, with a box office of more than 807 million yuan, surpassing "Your Name". ", becoming the box office champion of Japanese films in Chinese film history. Thousands of viewers followed Suzuya and Souta in the movie and experienced a fantasy journey full of thrills and warmth.

As spring turns to winter, Makoto Shinkai returns to China with "Journey to Suzuya" and the exhibition of the same name, sharing the behind-the-scenes creative process and stories of the movie "Journey to Suzuya" with audiences and fans.

Makoto Shinkai takes photos with fans

The impact of the disaster lasts for a long time. As an animation director, I hope to do something

On December 20, Makoto Shinkai appeared in the special screening event of "Makoto Shinkai's "Suzuya's Journey" Appointment Face to Face" held by China Film Group Corporation in Shanghai. Hundreds of viewers collectively watched the healing classic animated film "Suzuya" "Journey" and then had an in-depth exchange with the director. Someone told Shinkai Makoto that he burst into tears after being poked by the little white cat Minister. I liked "Journey to Suzuya" and met my current girlfriend.

Xin Haicheng

Makoto Shinkai lamented that it was spring when he last came to China. Over the past six months or so, "Journey to Suzuya" has been liked by many friends. "Everyone has told me your love in various forms. So I feel very relieved this time. When I come to China again, it will feel like I am going to a friend’s house.”

In Shinkai Makoto's films, bright, vibrant, and richly layered colors have become his signature visual style features. Some fans asked Shinkai Makoto about his use of color in his works. Shinkai Makoto revealed that he indeed pays great attention to the use of color. For example, when imagining the image of Suzuya, I first used colors to imagine the character. "At that time, I was thinking that we could use the color red, which symbolizes life, to represent Suzuya. When imagining Souta, because he works as a 'closer' and shoulders a very heavy burden, he should be relatively calm. blue."

Stills of "Journey to Suzuya"

When a fan asked that he seems to have a special liking for blue, Makoto Shinkai said that in his painting process, he would first use Photoshop to select transition colors for blending. In this process, he would choose carefully and try to transition several colors. , and then choose the one you like the most, generally the one you like the most is the transition from blue to purple. "Because I like this color, I will use it more. As I use it more and more, people will say that Xinhai City's favorite color is blue! After I heard everyone say this, I I used more blue. So instead, I heard about my own preferences and the character of my work from everyone, and I am willing to further highlight my character."

Stills of "Journey to Suzuya"

From "Your Name." "From "Weathering With You" to "Suzuya's Journey", Makoto Shinkai's films revolve around disaster and redemption, using adventure and pain full of love and courage to reconcile. When explaining his original intention of creating this story, Makoto Shinkai said, "A very large earthquake occurred in Japan 12 years ago. Although more than ten years have passed since the earthquake, many people are still affected by it. As an animation director, when we encounter a big natural disaster, I wonder what can I do for everyone?” Because he felt the lasting impact of this kind of impact, Makoto Shinkai set the disaster as an animation The background of the film. "I hope to integrate major natural disasters into my works to describe to everyone a story that although it is a very huge natural disaster, its ending is very bright, so that everyone can feel this power."

It is worth mentioning that when talking about the earthquake disaster, Xin Haicheng, who had just landed in Shanghai, said, "I really want to express my condolences to the friends in Gansu who were affected by the earthquake. I hope everyone can get to a safe place as soon as possible." Place to go.”

"Minister" meets "Luo Xiaohei" and they meet to release a new work together three years later

When "Suzuya's Journey" was released in the first half of the year, Makoto Shinkai talked about his great liking for the Chinese animated film "Luo Xiaohei Zhan Ji" during the Peking University roadshow promotion, and mentioned that the image of the cat minister in the film was inspired by the Chinese cartoon Inspired by Luo Xiaohei. This time Xin Haicheng came to China, Mu Mu, the director of "Luo Xiaohei Zhan Ji", also made a special trip to Shanghai to have a dialogue with Xin Haicheng.

"Luo Xiaohei Zhan Ji" director Mu Mu (middle) and Shinkai Makoto pose for a photo. The Paper reporter Chen Chentu

The two animators have been close friends for a long time. After meeting, they exchanged peripherals of Minister and Luo Xiaohei as a meeting gift, and enthusiastically expressed their love for each other's works. During the conversation, the two animators asked each other in detail about their creative methods and ideas, even down to the software and personnel used in each link.

Makoto Shinkai further talked about Luo Xiaohei's influence on his creation of "Journey to Suzuya", "I saw Luo Xiaohei when I was creating the image of the minister in "Journey to Suzuya". I thought it was so amazing. At that time, I I can't decide whether my cat's behavior should be a bit like an anime or a bit like a real cat. Luo Xiaohei gave me a lot of inspiration. It looks like a cat sometimes and a human being sometimes. It's really charming. ." Xin Haicheng even praised, "I think so far, no cat image can surpass Luo Xiaohei."

Stills of "Journey to Suzuya"

Stills from "Luo Xiaohei's War"

Mu Mu said that when he heard that Shin Haicheng liked Luo Xiaohei, he felt "flattered". "I have been following director Shin Haicheng since 2000 and have always been concerned about the mentality of a young fan of his works. I never expected to hear such words one day. "At the scene, he also revealed that when he drew Luo Xiaohei, he had already referred to the representation of cat forms in Makoto Shinkai's early animations "Her and Her Cats" and "A Gathering of Cats". Xin Haicheng lamented that it was a work he painted very early, and he didn't expect to see the wood before.

Although the painting styles of the two are very different, they also found many similarities during the communication. For example, their favorite directors are both Hayao Miyazaki, and they both prefer the hand-drawn feel of two-dimensional animation over three-dimensional animation. Makoto Shinkai said that he still insists on hand-drawing, "Nowadays, photos can be directly turned into animation through 3D and CG special effects, but we are unwilling to do this. The charm of animation lies in simplicity and abstraction, like "Luo Xiaohei" The characters in it are simple, but very interesting." Mumu said that at the beginning, because the company had no money, the simple style was cheaper. "There was really no way to spend more energy, but unexpectedly found that this style suited us very well, so we have continued to use it. to date."

Makoto Shinkai also talked about the fighting scenes in "Luo Xiaohei Zhan Ji", which are clean and neat, especially the climax sequence. The director's processing will "clear the scene", allowing the protagonist to amplify his moves in a very clean background, which is very creative. Mumu honestly said that it was because "clearing the field is easier and the cost is lower." Regarding Luo Xiaohei's various "little tips to save money," Xin Haicheng commented, "Simple but not cheap, it achieves a very good sense of balance."

Makoto Shinkai also likes the sense of comics that appears from time to time in "Luo Xiaohei Zhanji". "The movie "Luo Xiaohei Zhanji" also retains comic elements, such as jumping out of the dialog box and the beads of sweat are particularly big. Japanese animated films I have to try my best to avoid comic elements. When I made "Journey of Suzuya", I needed to break away from comics. But from your works, I saw that the way cartoons are expressed can break through such limitations and create a wider space. This will also Interesting."

In response to this, Mu Mu said that maybe Xin Haicheng's movies pursue a more realistic narrative, and Japanese animation also has different requirements for movies and dramas. But in his opinion, "Any animation expression can be put in as long as it is suitable. There is no difference in techniques between movies and TV dramas."

During the conversation, the two directors asked each other about the progress of each other's new works. Coincidentally, the next works are planned to be completed around 2025-2026. The second movie of "Luo Xiaohei Zhan Ji" is expected to be released in 2025, and the series is expected to be updated in 2026. Makoto Shinkai cannot reveal specific information about the new work yet, but said that he will incorporate what he saw and heard during his recent trip to China into the creation of the new work. The two directors, who are sympathetic to each other, also want to make an appointment so that they can bring the movie to the audience together.

The exhibition shows the complex creation behind the scenes, and "appointment screening" meets the big screen again

It is reported that the "Journey of Suzuya" exhibition will be held in Shanghai Xintiandi from December 22, 2023 to February 16, 2024. At the exhibition site, you can see that the layout is based on the film production process. The original painting manuscripts, painting storyboards, art backgrounds and other precious behind-the-scenes creative materials of the movie "Journey to Suzuya" are displayed to the public, allowing visitors to have a more intuitive understanding Understand the creative process of director Makoto Shinkai and his team.

On the basis of recreating the theme exhibition of Japan's "Journey to Suzuya", this time it also adds China-limited exhibition content, allowing domestic visitors to break the framework of time and space and gain insight into the world of the film from the perspective of the creator. , I also immersed myself in the story, took on the roles, and personally experienced a "Journey to Suzuya" that coexisted with warmth and healing. At the same time, the exhibition will also set up a check-in photo point, a coffee area and an original derivatives area, allowing the audience to enjoy a rich entertainment experience in addition to watching the exhibition.

exhibition site. The Paper reporter Chen Chentu

Talking about this exhibition, Makoto Shinkai said, "I want to show you how this work was produced behind the scenes. The script, including all the storyboards, were made by me alone. From the minutes From behind the scenes to the completion of this movie, there were hundreds of employees, and it took everyone two years to make it. I want everyone to see how much work we put in behind the scenes." Director Mu Mu also expressed emotion after visiting the exhibition, "It's so exciting for creators to see such an exhibition."

In conjunction with the exhibition, the film will return to the big screen through China Film's "appointment screening" platform. As an experimental move for branch distribution, this winter, viewers can continue to embark on this wonderful journey through the "China Film Appointment Screening". From December 20, 2023 to February 29, 2024, viewers who like "Journey to Suzuya" can make reservations and purchase tickets through China Movie Pass, Maoyan, Wanda Movie and other platforms, and choose to make reservations at theaters near their residence, reaching After screening for the standard number of people, you can watch the movie on time, let the beautiful light and shadow accompany the New Year, and warm the cold winter with the warmth of love.

As one of the exploratory forms of off-line distribution, China Film's appointment screening has launched six high-quality Chinese and foreign animated films in the first round of screenings after the platform was launched. , actively create personalized and exclusive movie-watching services to create a better movie-watching experience for movie fans. Now that the second round of New Year's Eve screenings is underway, more high-quality films with a sense of New Year's Eve ritual and warmth and healing will be released after "Journey to Suzuya", providing a hot New Year's Eve feast of light and shadow to audiences across the country. .