On July 30, the movie "White Snake: Floating Life" held the "A Thousand Years of Waiting" global premiere ceremony at the Impression West Lake in Hangzhou. The thousand-year-old legend of the White Snake returned to the origin of the story and continued to write a new chapter of the legend. In the second half of the ceremony, the main creators of the film gathered together, and the singers of the ending song "A Thousand Years of Waiting" Zhao Yazhi and Ye Tong, who dominated the childhood memories of several generations, and the singers of the movie theme song "Floating Life White" Chen Haoyu and Chen Lijun also made a surprise appearance. The four of them talked about the love of the White Snake in the same frame. The film will be officially released on August 10, and the audience will meet on the romantic Chinese Valentine's Day.

Before the film was released, directors Chen Jianxi and Li Jiakai were interviewed and talked with the media about the inheritance and innovation of the classic legend.

Maggie Cheung, Angie Chiu, Chen Haoyu and Chen Lijun made a heart shape with their hands at the premiere.

Adhere to the original intention and return to the starting point of creation

Compared to White Snake: Origin and White Snake 2: Rise of the Green Snake, one is a "prequel" and the other is a "side story", White Snake: Floating Life focuses on the "true story of White Snake". The film uses a new way to bring the once popular classic plot back to the big screen in the form of animation. In the end, Xiaobai and Xu Xian meet again on the Broken Bridge, go boating on the West Lake, open a pharmacy to save the people, and enjoy the prosperity and joy of the world.

Stills from White Snake: Floating Life

Zhao Yazhi, who played "White Snake", said after the premiere that she sometimes laughed heartily and sometimes shed tears during the process. "The story of the White Snake can be said to be a classic love story that belongs to every Chinese. The new interpretation can allow young audiences to have a deeper understanding." Cecilia Yip, who played "Xu Xian", also praised the film for its "exquisite painting, novel creativity, and it is very touching."

Zhao Yazhi and Ye Tong attended the Hangzhou premiere

Talking about the inspirations gained from classic TV series, Li Jiakai, the director of White Snake: Floating Life, believes that sticking to familiar plots is more challenging. "In fact, the advantage of animation is its wild imagination, but this time we have to be very restrained. Since the plot is familiar to everyone, we need to carefully examine whether each plot can make the audience immerse themselves and whether it is exciting enough."

The TV series "Legend of the White Snake" has been broadcast for 30 years. This time, the film with the theme of "Legend of the White Snake" is about how to make the classic capture the audience of the new era, and also let the creators feel a sense of mission. "We hope that generations of young people can see the White Snake story that is more in line with current values." Li Jiakai said.

Director Chen Jianxi has been involved in the production of White Snake as the animation team leader since the production. Over the past few years, he has witnessed the popularity of this series among the audience. When talking about his understanding of the theme, he said, "The story of Xiaobai and Xuxian begins on the Broken Bridge and ends with Xiaobai and Xiaoqing on the Broken Bridge. Many things happened in between. These things are very important to her and are a part of her life, as well as to Xuxian and Xiaoqing. Perhaps everyone will have similar feelings and experiences as "a year in the floating life", and what they have experienced may be the most precious and real." Chen Jianxi believes that as a classical legend, White Snake contains "the simplest emotional values of the Chinese people" and is the first lesson about "love" for children. The movie is not only about love, but also about family and friendship.

As the third film in the "White Snake Series" under the "New Legend" series of Light Chaser Animation, Li Jiakai revealed in an interview that this will also be the last film in the "White Snake Story". The team hopes to use this film as the end to fully present the core story of the White Snake Legend. "We feel that we have finished telling the stories of Xiaobai, Xiaoqing, and Xu Xian, so we will not make this series again."

Xu Xian and White Snake

Adhering to the desire to return to the original intention, "White Snake: Floating Life" chose the current way of narration. "At the end of the series, we hope that the end is also the starting point of our creation. We hope that at the end of the story, we can tell everyone the purest and most traditional folk stories, so that the next generation of audiences can see the charm of traditional stories, which have great tension and possibilities. Protecting traditional stories and allowing audiences to see the original appearance of the stories and their innovations is the greatest respect for traditional stories." However, Li Jiakai revealed that although some original characters have been extended in this series, such as the powerful Baoqingfang Fangzhu, her story in the future is still "worth looking forward to."

Hosei-bouzu

Researching the Song Dynasty's urban culture and showing the atmosphere of comedy life

Compared to traditional animations that always present myths and legends, which always involve imaginations of boundless magic power and spectacles of magical tricks, it has proven through many works that it is good at chasing lights in dazzling scenes. This time, it presents the daily scenes of "White Snake: Floating Life" in a delicate and rich manner.

Director Li Jiakai said, "Traditional mythological animations often rely on spectacular magic and fierce battle scenes to attract audiences, but we hope to touch people's hearts by presenting the bits and pieces of the White Snake and Xu Xian's life in the market." This creative concept not only refreshes the audience's established impression of animation, but also opens up a new path for animation narrative. "Fighting can stimulate the audience, but we feel that after 10 years of animation, we want to try some new ways of expression in animation. We want to insert some small and wonderful feelings and compress the big special effects."

In order to let the audience feel the true emotions of the characters, the film has done a lot of work on the details. From the bustling market to the quiet alleys, to the medicine shop run by Xiaobai and Xu Xian, to the beautiful scenery of West Lake through ancient and modern times, the director team referred to a lot of historical materials and ancient books, especially "Along the River During the Qingming Festival", which truly reproduced the style of the Song Dynasty market. From the dynamics of the characters to the work, stall layout, labor tools and other detailed elements are integrated into the animation, which not only adds a strong historical atmosphere to the film, but also makes the audience feel immersive during the viewing process.

Broken Bridge

Street Market

Interior

Compared with the previous work in the series, White Snake: Origin, White Snake: Floating Life has established its own aesthetic system. The two stories are 500 years apart, and the time background is from the late Tang Dynasty to the Southern Song Dynasty. Li Jiakai told reporters that the color selection of White Snake: Origin is more in line with the rich and overflowing feeling of the Tang Dynasty. "When it comes to White Snake: Floating Life, we are also looking for a more elegant feeling of the Song Dynasty, for example, the entire color tone will be lowered a little, which is an important choice in art."

Xiaobai's style

From the clothing patterns of Xiaobai and Xu Xian to the houses, streets and shops in the film, the style of the Song Dynasty is referenced, striving to restore the reality. At the same time, the film further enhances the cultural depth by showing the traditional festivals and folk activities of the Song Dynasty. The story of "White Snake: Floating Life" unfolds with the solar terms and festivals. The traditional cultural elements not only play a decorative role, but also promote the development of the story. Traditional festivals such as the Cold Food Festival and the Dragon Boat Festival appear in the film, and folk activities such as dragon boat racing and tea making show the rich and colorful life of the people in the Song Dynasty.

Street food

At the premiere, Yu Gengzhe, a speaker at the Lecture Room and a professor at the School of History and Culture of Shaanxi Normal University, highly praised the craftsmanship of Light Chaser Animation in production. He said that the film's Song Dynasty scenery is extremely detailed, which makes it very comfortable for a history researcher like him to watch. "The film's storyline is both inherited and innovative, and it has established a unique aesthetic style. Last year's "Chang'an 30,000 Miles" showed the intensity and unrestrainedness of the Tang Dynasty, and this year's "White Snake: Floating Life" presents the elegance of the Song Dynasty. Countless details in the streets and alleys are put together to create a vivid Song Dynasty style."

In addition, in "White Snake: Floating Life", more comedy elements are incorporated, which is also a new attempt that is different from the previous two films. Whether it is the humorous dialogue between the characters or the small episodes that happen in life, they all add a lot of joy to the film. Director Li Jiakai said, "Life still needs some seasoning. We don't want Xiaobai's journey to be boring or full of depressed emotions. We still hope that there will be many beautiful memories."

The movie "White Snake: Floating Life" will start nationwide limited-time screenings this weekend (August 3rd and 4th) and will be officially released on August 10th.