A low-budget, low-tech and ‘handmade’ Chinese animated film has become a viral hit despite being widely mocked for its crude visuals, with people packing cinemas to see just how bad the graphics, animation and plot are.
Niu Lai, which translates to “Here Comes the Cow”, earned around 7,000 Chinese yuan (about HK$8,167) in its opening week from August 5, before surging to 33.06 million yuan at the Chinese box office, according to ticketing platform Maoyan.
The film, made by a mother and son, follows the journey of a calf named Niu Lai and was crafted frame by frame over five years, local media reported, with the duo also composing original scores for the end credits.
Caelan Moriarty, an American musician working in China, told reporters the film is “so bad that it’s so good”. The 25-year-old added, “I appreciate how bad it is, but there’s some heart (put) into it, so you can’t hate that.”
Moriarty pointed to the humans behind the film, saying that artificial intelligence (AI) could generate something similar in 10 seconds or less, but the mother-son duo did not use the technology and took their time. He said that part was “impressive”.
“It’s not perfect. But because it’s not perfect, it’s good; it shows how human it is … and I think that’s why this is trending.”
With stiff 3D characters and awkward dialogue, the film traces Niu Lai’s relationship with his mother. Its unpolished style quickly went viral on social media, with fans embracing its imperfections as part of its charm.
Student Stella Xing, who watched the film in Beijing after seeing memes online, told reporters: “Even though it’s pretty rough around the edges, there are so many funny details – like the way [Niu Lai] walks, for instance. It’s hilarious and really makes people want to come see it.”
At cinemas in Beijing, hand-drawn banners of humanlike cows with eyebrows stood in stark contrast to the glossy posters promoting Christopher Nolan’s latest film The Odyssey. Barely any conventional marketing had been done to promote the film.
As Niu Lai took China’s internet by storm, online retailers on platforms such as Taobao rushed to produce merchandise featuring the yellow cow, including T-shirts, figurines and even boxer shorts. One online merchant said he started selling Niu Lai keychains the moment the film became a hit.
Pan Wang, an associate professor of Chinese and Asian studies at the University of New South Wales in Australia, said the film offers “something different from the polished, sophisticated productions we are used to”.
“It is a bit like eating refined grains every day and then suddenly having some coarse grains for a change – the contrast itself feels refreshing,” Wang said. “Its roughness, absurdity and imperfection become part of its appeal.”
Animated films have proven highly popular in the world’s second-largest economy. The more polished Chinese blockbuster Ne Zha 2 ousted Disney’s Inside Out 2 last year to become the highest-grossing animated film of all time.
