.gif)
Princess Iron Fan (1941 film)
Encyclopedia
Princess Iron Fan is the first Chinese animated
feature film
. It was directed in Shanghai
under difficult conditions in the thick of World War II
by Wan Guchan
and Wan Laiming
(the Wan brothers
) and was released on January 1, 1941.
. Princess Iron Fan
is a main character.
Specifically, the film focused on the duel between the Monkey King and a vengeful princess, whose fan is desperately needed to quench the flames that surround a peasant village.
The Wan family twins Wan Laiming
and Wan Guchan
with their brothers Wan Chaochen
and Wan Dihuan
were the first animators in China. After the release of their first "real" cartoon, Uproar in the Studio
(1926), they continued to dominate China's animation industry for the next several decades. In the late 1930s, with Shanghai under Japanese occupation
, they began work on China's first feature-length
animated film. In 1939 the Wan brothers
saw Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
and set the standard in attempting to create a film of equal quality for the nation's honor.
The film took three years, 237 artists and 350,000 yuan
to make. Although the Disney influence is apparent in much of the animation, there is also a distinct Chinese flavour in the film - a flavour that would grow much stronger with the Wan brothers' subsequent films in the following decades. Rotoscoping was used extensively to save money, and the eyes of the live actors are often visible in the faces of the animated characters.
By 1940 the film would render past 20,000 frames, using up more than 200 thousand pieces of paper (400ream＝500×400). They shot over 18000 ft (5,486.4 m) of footage. And the final piece would contain 7600 ft (2,316.5 m) of footage which can be shown in 80 minutes. The Wan brothers
also invited the following actors and actresses for sound dubbing (白虹),(严月玲),(姜明),(韩兰根),(殷秀岑). At the time they were at the Xinhua Film Company
animation department since it was the only remaining production company left during the Japanese occupancy period. The manager of the company who help financed the film was Zhang Shankun.
Princess Iron Fan became the first animated feature film to be made in Asia
and the 12th worldwide (although it is only the 9th that still survives, as the films of Argentina
's animation pioneer Quirino Cristiani
are thought to be lost). Upon completion the film was screened by the Chinese union film company.
to commission Japan's own first feature-length animated film, 1945's Momotaro's Divine Sea Warriors
(the earlier film Momotaro's Sea Eagles
is three minutes shy of being feature-length).
Chinese animation
Chinese animation or Manhua Anime, in narrow sense, refers to animations that are made in China. In broad sense, it may refers to animations that are made in any Chinese speaking countries such as People's Republic of China , Republic of China , Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, etc.- History :The...
feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
. It was directed in Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
under difficult conditions in the thick of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
by Wan Guchan
Wan Guchan
Wan Guchan was a Chinese filmmaker. Born in Nanjing, China, he was one of the Wan brothers who pioneered the Chinese animations industry.-Early history:Wan Guchan joined his twin brother Wan Laiming in most of the animation projects and experimentations....
and Wan Laiming
Wan Laiming
Wan Lai-Ming was born in Nanjing, China. He was one of the Wan brothers who pioneered the Chinese animation industry, and became China's first animator. As the director of the Shanghai Animation Film Studio, he would raise the standard to International level before other historical events...
(the Wan brothers
Wan brothers
The Wan Brothers were born in the early 20th century in Nanjing, China. They became the founders and pioneers of the Chinese animation industry and made the first Asian animation feature-length film, Princess Iron Fan in 1941.-Background:...
) and was released on January 1, 1941.
Plot
The story was liberally adapted from a short sequence in the popular Chinese folk tale Journey to the WestJourney to the West
Journey to the West is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. It was written by Wu Cheng'en in the 16th century. In English-speaking countries, the tale is also often known simply as Monkey. This was one title used for a popular, abridged translation by Arthur Waley...
. Princess Iron Fan
Princess Iron Fan
Princess Iron Fan is a fictional character from the Chinese classic novel Journey to the West. She is the wife of the Bull King and mother of Red Boy. She is a beautiful goddess living in an underground cave awaiting her husband's return, but also angry at him for his affair with a foxy vixen...
is a main character.
Specifically, the film focused on the duel between the Monkey King and a vengeful princess, whose fan is desperately needed to quench the flames that surround a peasant village.
Background
Wan Laiming
Wan Lai-Ming was born in Nanjing, China. He was one of the Wan brothers who pioneered the Chinese animation industry, and became China's first animator. As the director of the Shanghai Animation Film Studio, he would raise the standard to International level before other historical events...
and Wan Guchan
Wan Guchan
Wan Guchan was a Chinese filmmaker. Born in Nanjing, China, he was one of the Wan brothers who pioneered the Chinese animations industry.-Early history:Wan Guchan joined his twin brother Wan Laiming in most of the animation projects and experimentations....
with their brothers Wan Chaochen
Wan Chaochen
Wan Chao-Chan was born in Nanjing, China. He was one of the Wan brothers who pioneered the Chinese animations industry.-History:...
and Wan Dihuan
Wan Dihuan
Wan Dihuan was a Chinese filmmaker. Born in Nanjing, China, he was one of the Wan brothers who pioneered the Chinese animation industry...
were the first animators in China. After the release of their first "real" cartoon, Uproar in the Studio
Uproar in the Studio
Uproar in the Studio is a black and white Chinese animation short made in 1926 by Wan Laiming and Wan Guchan. The short film helped the Wan brothers become recognized as the official pioneer of the animation industry in China. The film is now lost....
(1926), they continued to dominate China's animation industry for the next several decades. In the late 1930s, with Shanghai under Japanese occupation
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...
, they began work on China's first feature-length
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
animated film. In 1939 the Wan brothers
Wan brothers
The Wan Brothers were born in the early 20th century in Nanjing, China. They became the founders and pioneers of the Chinese animation industry and made the first Asian animation feature-length film, Princess Iron Fan in 1941.-Background:...
saw Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937 film)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a 1937 American animated film based on Snow White, a German fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. It was the first full-length cel-animated feature in motion picture history, as well as the first animated feature film produced in America, the first produced in full...
and set the standard in attempting to create a film of equal quality for the nation's honor.
The film took three years, 237 artists and 350,000 yuan
Chinese yuan
The yuan is the base unit of a number of modern Chinese currencies. The yuan is the primary unit of account of the Renminbi.A yuán is also known colloquially as a kuài . One yuán is divided into 10 jiǎo or colloquially máo...
to make. Although the Disney influence is apparent in much of the animation, there is also a distinct Chinese flavour in the film - a flavour that would grow much stronger with the Wan brothers' subsequent films in the following decades. Rotoscoping was used extensively to save money, and the eyes of the live actors are often visible in the faces of the animated characters.
By 1940 the film would render past 20,000 frames, using up more than 200 thousand pieces of paper (400ream＝500×400). They shot over 18000 ft (5,486.4 m) of footage. And the final piece would contain 7600 ft (2,316.5 m) of footage which can be shown in 80 minutes. The Wan brothers
Wan brothers
The Wan Brothers were born in the early 20th century in Nanjing, China. They became the founders and pioneers of the Chinese animation industry and made the first Asian animation feature-length film, Princess Iron Fan in 1941.-Background:...
also invited the following actors and actresses for sound dubbing (白虹),(严月玲),(姜明),(韩兰根),(殷秀岑). At the time they were at the Xinhua Film Company
Xinhua Film Company
The Xinhua Film Company , was one of the film companies to capitalize on the popularity of the leftist film movement in 1930s Shanghai, that had begun with the Mingxing and Lianhua Film Companies. It should not be mistaken for the modern-day Xinhua News Agency...
animation department since it was the only remaining production company left during the Japanese occupancy period. The manager of the company who help financed the film was Zhang Shankun.
Princess Iron Fan became the first animated feature film to be made in Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and the 12th worldwide (although it is only the 9th that still survives, as the films of Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
's animation pioneer Quirino Cristiani
Quirino Cristiani
Quirino Cristiani was an Argentine animation director and cartoonist, responsible for the world's first two animated feature films as well as the first animated feature film with sound, even though the only copies of these two films were lost in a fire...
are thought to be lost). Upon completion the film was screened by the Chinese union film company.
Influence
Its influences were far-reaching; it was swiftly exported to wartime Japan (in 1942), inspiring the 16-year-old Tezuka Osamu to become a comics artist and prompting the Japanese NavyImperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...
to commission Japan's own first feature-length animated film, 1945's Momotaro's Divine Sea Warriors
Momotaro's Divine Sea Warriors
is the first Japanese feature-length animated film. It was directed by Mitsuyo Seo, who was ordered to make a propaganda film for the war by the Japanese Naval Ministry. Shochiku Moving Picture Laboratory shot the 74-minute film in 1944 and screened it on April 12, 1945. It is a sequel to Momotarō...
(the earlier film Momotaro's Sea Eagles
Momotaro's Sea Eagles
is an animated Japanese propaganda film produced in 1942 by Geijutsu Eigasha and released March 25, 1943. Running at 37 minutes, it was close to being feature-length, but it was not the first animated feature film in Asia; that honor goes to China's 1941 Princess Iron Fan, which was 65 minutes long...
is three minutes shy of being feature-length).
See also
- History of AnimationHistory of animationAnimation is a graphic representation of drawings to show movement within those drawings. A series of drawings are linked together and usually photographed by a camera, or scanned into, or generated by a computer...
- History of Chinese AnimationHistory of Chinese animationThe history of Chinese Animation began in the 20th century in the Republic of China when the people became fascinated with the idea of animation. A lengthy history interlocks between the art, politics and the ever-changing economy.-Early history:...
- Chinese AnimationChinese animationChinese animation or Manhua Anime, in narrow sense, refers to animations that are made in China. In broad sense, it may refers to animations that are made in any Chinese speaking countries such as People's Republic of China , Republic of China , Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, etc.- History :The...
- List of animated feature films
- List of films in the public domain