A Comparative Study Of Chinese And American Animation Movie Narrative

This paper focuses on the difference in animation film’s narrative aspect between China, Japan and American. It was universally acknowledged that narrative belongs to the category of art while the market belongs to the category of economy. However, in the consumer market of animation film, we can find that the narrative has the close relationship with the market. In specific discourse, this paper mainly discusses the following questions:In its introduction, the status of development of Chinese animation film, the status of research in relation to Chinese and any other foreign countries’ animation film and the essential part of relating theory were briefly introduced as well as its aims at pointing out the practical and the theoretical significance of this research, combined with the primary problem which those researches tries to solve and the principle research methods to be used.The first chapter mainly discussed animation film language, distinguishing the essential distinction between animation and live-action movies, which believed that the animation film completely shake off the limitations of time and space even the extrinsic image of the live-action movies which turns the former out to be an imagination kingdom for the artist to express his will and to create the work with a leisure and unstrained state. The animation film became a kind of visual art expression language of the greatest freedom and the highest levels of science and technology. By means of basic language elements of animation film, such as materials, time and space, color, rhythm to make anthropomorphic and exaggerated performance. The formation of each country’s animation film has its distinctive characteristics.The second chapter mainly analyzes the differences on source of material and motif of China, Japan and American’s animation, tries to figure out a Meta question that is "why China was rich in cultural resources, but its animation industry was relatively backward". This chapter maintains that although our country has rich and splendid cultural resources, the use of cultural resources by China’s animation film has great limitations. In the international animation film market, there still exists such a rule that a senior production factors determine low-level production factors. The differences mentioned above showed that on the on hand, notwithstanding the plentiful Chinese traditional cultural resources, in choosing the subject and motif, it is extremely monotonous and conservative, in some extent, good material, on the other hand, also need to be creative, with contemporary aesthetic interest.The third chapter mainly analyzes the differences of the animation film’s roles between China, Japan and American, as well as the causes of that differences. It hold that American’s animation role was of exaggerated modeling, concise, interesting and funny; Japanese animation role owned with distinctive, strong national characteristics and style. It’s beautiful and delicate animation character was permeated with the beauty of the Oriental humanity’s spirit. Chinese animation character has a very strong decorative aesthetic feeling, because much of them came from traditional Chinese art, such as the ancient murals, paintings, Beijing Opera, folk art, etc. From the perspective of the disposition of the animation film role, the hero in the American and Japanese animation film is always a round figure, while in China is more flat.In the fourth chapter, it is mainly analyzes the differences in narrative structure of animation film between China, Japan and American, explaining the "change" and "constant" of those three countries’animation film’narrative structure and inquiring into its implications. It insisted that narrative structure of the United States’animation film exist such mode of "balance-rebalance"; Japan had successfully completed multiple narrative structure innovation; Chinese animation film was the continuation of the dual structure which in vertical traditional drama. By comparison, the Japanese animation film is a forerunner of narrative structure innovation, and the United States animation film is the pioneer of innovation of mode of stylized narrative structure performance, while Chinese animation film in the innovation of narrative structure and ways of performance was insufficient.Chapter V mainly focus on the relationship between narrative technique and technology of the animated film. In fact, technology with its nature to fulfill the human needs, even create such kind of demand. However, modern technology already changed the animated films’aesthetic style and narrative pattern. Furthermore, the revolution of narrative pattern is typically been reflected in the creation of roles and theme as well as abundant visual languages, while the innovation of aesthetic style is that animated film created "post-modern visual spectacle".The conclusion part mainly summarizes the reason why Chinese animation films were always in the low side of Chinese international animation film market from the viewpoint of material, motif, role, structure and cultural convergence.