19/04/2020
There is an essay about discussing an unknown influence of a letter from Wan brothers on Japanese Animation during the World War 2. I was surprised when I found it in the academic book East Art in Japanese Animation because I recognise Wan brothers as the first and significant Chinese animators from the last century and they made many first animation works during war time like the first Chinese-made short animation, the first eastern long animation film Princess Iron Fan(1941) and the first Chinese experimental animation. From then on, Wan brothers were renowned as the first ones who pioneered a unique eastern art road in world animation history. While what surprised me was that they left a letter talking about eastern animation art after making Princess Iron Fan, having an unrecorded impact on many famous Japanese animation pioneers at a time most Japanese propagandas were worked for militarism and anti-Chinese culture and people. Yet I was the first time to known this letter.
It is widely known that the first Chinese-made animated feature film Princess Iron Fan has had a long-term influence on Japanese animators since Disney had made several long feature films in last century. For many eastern animators, the film Princess Iron Fan succeed in separating from Disney-dominating style to a new eastern animation style, even though from today’s perspectives it still has some mimetic signs from Disney early style such as the characters’ big round eyes and some exaggerating movements. But the main make-up like the long eyelids and small month, mellow bodies, the typical Chinese clothes and the Chinese-like actions which you can normally see from many Chinese traditional dramas were all a new creative expression to animation art, obviously revealing that Wan brothers had fully absorbed the traditional elements from the eastern art(we can see below).
These things were all mentioned in the letter from Wan brothers. From some parts quoted, Wan brothers realised Eastern colours and taste including the fashion, action and line-drawing should be embodied in the film-making process of Eastern art in animation. And based on the roots of east culture including not only China, but the surrounding countries like Japan, the animated films would obtain a wide attraction to both children and adults(Takakiba Tsutomu, 1942). What is more, the letter also says the key areas that many eastern animators could research and get inspirations from. From my opinion, these areas could be recognised as the most Chinese or Eastern art areas consisting of the drama, ink paintings, traditional patterns and clothes, and even classic architectures. And all behind these areas is the main eastern philosophy and imaginations from the people. For example, in the film Princess Iron Fan, Mr Wan drew several transition scenes like the Sun Wukong flying through the clouds and escaping from the fire, morphing into an insect and chasing the enemy without any perspective rules and lens. They look like the characters could move from any angles, making the drawing more free to the imagination. This could be considered as an infinite stretching way that most ancient Chinese people could think and observe the world, as well as the Japanese people. Therefore, from many Japanese animators mentioned in this essay, they thought they got an effective encouragement and inspirations from the content of the Wan brothers’ letter and their animated film Princess Iron Fan, driven remain the traditional Japanese spirit when facing modernisation of the Western technology and industrialisation of the Western world.
Personally, I think the ideas from this letter can also be a help to most Chinese animators nowadays. Due to the rapid developing economy and the money-oriented society, there are many crucial cultural elements and philosophies fading away and losing their spirits. We may need to delve for these eastern elements that Wan brothers already paved the way for in Chinese animations, which can actually flourish our animation like the Japanese did before.