Chinese animated film "Niu Lai" wins heart for being entertainingly bad

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Chinese animated film "Niu Lai" wins heart for being entertainingly bad

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Writer: Heidi Hsia

"Niu Lai" unexpectedly became a phenomenon

19 Aug - You may have laughed at the supposedly ugly 3D animation or the negative reviews mocking the movie, but it has been revealed that the homegrown animated film, "Niu Lai" ("Here Comes the Ox"), has now made over RMB 20 million at the box office in China.

Released on 5 August, the film originally earned only RMB 7,711 in cumulative nationwide box office receipts during its first 10 days. Fewer than 300 people had watched it, while the number of screenings had almost dropped to zero.

However, due to its extremely rough and amateurish production, and after clips from the film were widely parodied and circulated online, the movie has suddenly received much love, with audiences embracing it precisely because of how "bad" it was.

"You'll regret watching it for 80 minutes, but you'll regret not watching it for the rest of your life!" read one review.

It's so bad that it's unbelievably good

The film, which reportedly took over five years to make by director Xin Yumeng and his mother, Sun Lifang, tells the story of a young calf named Niu Lai who encounters a lark in a meadow and brings it into his dreams. There, the lark witnesses the calf bravely confronting danger and eventually becoming a warrior.

Director Xin Yumeng has since addressed the film's overnight popularity on its official Weibo account, acknowledging that the production has its rough edges by mature theatrical animation standards, and said he has taken both the praise and criticism from audiences seriously.