4 big screen animated blockbuster projects in 2025

(To Quoc) - For the first time, four animated film projects have been announced, marking a new era in the Vietnamese animation market. The year 2025 will mark the end of a long period when the big screen was only a playground for imported animated films.

Within the framework of the series of events of the 1st Animation Film Festival, Stream of Desire, Sconnect Studio, Alpha Studio, Colory Animation Studio simultaneously announced four animated film projects that are being produced, expected to be commercially exploited in 2025. This is good news for the Vietnamese film industry, marking an unprecedented step forward for the Vietnamese animation industry.

The launch event of 4 animated films with the participation of many famous actors and major units in the film industry on November 28, 2024 in Ho Chi Minh City.

Vietnamese animation has witnessed many proud developments as more and more studios produce unique, highly creative products that are well received by the public. However, producing large-scale animation projects is still a risky move that not many producers choose. The challenge for animation studios today lies in the investment resources in both human resources and finance, while at the same time, they must invest in attractive content (script, images, acting) to compete with imported masterpieces and gain the trust of audiences who are used to enjoying foreign animation.

Committed to both "quality" and "quantity" to convince "home" audiences

In October 2023, the animated film "Wolfoo and the Mysterious Island" produced by Sconnect Studio, premiered in theaters nationwide, opening a new turning point for Vietnamese animation. When the first commercial animated film achieved very positive results, it entered the Top 3 box office revenue in the first week of release.

The love of Vietnamese audiences is the motivation for producers to boldly research the next projects. In 2024, Sconnect Studio continues to announce two new projects: "Wolfoo and the Three Realms Race" and "Ceramic Warrior - Blank Blank".

Wolfoo - a close friend of many children returns in a new, mischievous version, produced using familiar 2D technology, but this appearance of Wolfoo has been visually refined by the filmmaking team to create a more lively and animated character.

The return of Wolfoo promises to bring a thrilling yet humane story about the journey of family bonding.

"Wolfoo and the Three Realms Race" tells the story of Wolfoo and his father's journey through three lands: the Food World, the Festival World, and the Outer World. On that journey, there are continuous challenges, will that cause a rift in their father-son relationship?

Meanwhile, "Ceramic Warrior - Blank Blank" is the first animated film made entirely with Stopmotion technology (still-life film technology). A filmmaking technology that challenges all studios in the world because of its complexity and investment level. On average, a short film of about 2 minutes requires 2,700 photos to be combined, with this characteristic, a film of about 90 - 120 minutes, the producer will have to show up to 16,200 photos. Because of such a great challenge, there are currently thousands of Stopmotion film studios in the world, but only 1 - 2% of them are capable of producing films. The release of the first Stopmotion film is expected to be a step to bring Sconnect Studio to the same level as major international studios.

The main character of the movie Ceramic Warrior, the boy Blank in the setting of the Joyful Forest

Sharing about producing 2 theatrical films in 1 year, Mr. Nguyen Anh Tung - representative of Sconnect Studio said: "Not only in 2025, but we have a long-term strategy of regularly producing 3-4 theatrical animated films each year, ensuring the ability to optimize the production process and provide high-quality content."

People's Artist Pham Ngoc Tuan (far left) presents flowers to the film crew representative, who optimized the production time from 3 years to only 18 months.

Alpha Studio brings national culture into Vietnam's first 3D movie

After launching the 3D animated series "Trang Quynh Thoi Nhi Nho" in 2023, Alpha Studio has now released more than 300 content on the YouTube platform, many of which have reached millions of views. With flawless 3D images, the series "Trang Quynh Thoi Nhi Nho" revolves around customs and habits, elements of life imbued with Vietnamese culture such as banyan trees, ferry docks, communal houses, rice culture, and important holidays such as Tet Ong Tao, Tet Nguyen Dan or Mid-Autumn Festival.

It is expected that in 2025, the first big screen version of the boy Quynh Nhi named "The Legend of Kim Nguu" will be released, the film will record the first 3D animated film in Vietnam. Still based on the material of folk tales combined with advanced production technology, The Legend of Kim Nguu is the journey of the boy Quynh and his friends entering a dramatic and mysterious adventure.

The fusion of folk cultural elements in the most advanced 3D technology product today

"One of the biggest challenges of 3D animation projects is optimizing the production process. Instead of taking 36 months as usual, Alpha Studio has tried to shorten the completion time to only 18 months," shared Meritorious Artist, Director Trinh Lam Tung, Director of Alpha Studio.

The film "The Legend of Taurus" is not only an entertaining story with a humane message, but also brings the audience a journey to discover traditional cultural values, arousing self-esteem and national pride.

Associate Professor, Dr. Bui Hoai Son (far left) presents flowers to the film crew of "The Legend of the Taurus"

"We can eat spaghetti, Thai hot pot, eat many dishes, but with Trang Quynh Thoi Nhi Nho and "Truyen Thuong Kim Nguu" it is a meal with fish sauce, salt and pickles, purely Vietnamese.

"The Legend of the Taurus" is the first Vietnamese 3D animated film to be released in theaters. I have heard the word "first" for more than ten years, I have waited and when I could not wait any longer, I made it myself. Many brothers and sisters have helped me, given me wings to fulfill my dream" - Meritorious Artist Trinh Lam Tung, director of the film The Legend of the Taurus, shared about his "brainchild".

The first "debut" of "Squint-eyed Zombie" and promising signs

Colory Animation Studio is an experienced animation studio with 15 years of experience. Standing out with its ability to produce 3D animation, "Zombie with crossed eyes" is the company's foray into the film genre after a long period of achieving many achievements with short films and feature films.

Although mixed with horror elements, the main message that "Zombie with Cross Eyes" aims to convey is the relief from the pressure that society is putting on young people, the liberation from the urge to "be positive".

"We may think negative, confused or weak, we may not be strong or outstanding but we never give up." - Message in the film's introduction from Colory Animation Studio.

Admitting that he is "not good at talking", Mr. Doan Tran Anh Tuan - Director of Colory Animation Studio did not share too much but instead screened a 14-minute film and received positive feedback from the audience. This 14-minute film is the clearest proof of the production capacity of the team and the promise of the film's quality when released in theaters.

14-minute preview of "Zombie with Cross Eyes" proves its appeal and 90 minutes worth it when going to theaters

From an investor's perspective, Ms. Vu Phuong, Investment Director of Red Ruby Entertainment film project, said: "We, investors who are too familiar with movies, now have a new choice from the animation market, which is very diverse in genres such as 2D, 3D or Stopmotion. I think the investment potential of animation can be greater than live-action films because we not only exploit them in theaters but also on other platforms such as merchandise, F&B activities and promotional activities."

Ms. Vu Phuong assessed that animation is a potential market for investors because of its diverse and flexible exploitation capabilities.

The release of four animated films in 2025 is an "unprecedented" event for the Vietnamese animation industry. This event marks a major change in the strategy of film producers and promises a strong transformation of "made in Vietnam" animation in the future.

"I could not imagine that our Vietnamese animation has developed so strongly. And we have truly been able to stand shoulder to shoulder with the world's great powers. Not only me, but I believe that all the artists present here such as Associate Professor Dr. Do Lenh Hung Tu, People's Artist Nguyen Ha Bac,... all see the talent and aspiration of the young generation here. It promises to create strong development steps for Vietnamese animation in the future. I sincerely thank the young people for helping us have more confidence and pride in a field that is especially important to the film industry in particular and the cultural field of the country in general." - Associate Professor Dr. Bui Hoai Son - Standing Member of the National Assembly's Committee for Culture and Education spoke after witnessing the introduction of 4 film projects.

Source: https://toquoc.vn/4-du-an-bom-tan-hoat-hinh-man-anh-rong-trong-nam-2025-20241129171005181.htm