White Snake

I'm not usually one for animated movies, let alone having to read them as well as way them. I literally could not take my eyes off the movie, the subtitles didn't even matter around 10 minutes into the movie. The graphics were great, the story was amazing, and actors although i couldn't understand them, still drove emotion into the characters that i ( a stern movie critic ) absolutely loved. I can't wait until there is a number 2 of this, and by heck i believe there should be. Thank you all for the movie, i thoroughly loved it.

Here's a flick I've been looking forward to seeing for a few months, the 2019 Chinese animated feature "White Snake". It's a collaborative production between Light Chaser Animation and Warner Bros and is a prequel to a classic Chinese legend that's been adapted many times before in different media. The trailer did well to hook me in with its great concept and visual style, so the day the Blu-ray came out I wasted no time getting it. Worth. Every. Cent.

Plot: This tale is about Blanca, an amnesiac woman found by Ah Xuan, a free-spirited young man from a snake catcher village. As the pair travel together and develop feelings for each other, Blanca soon discovers her true identity. She is a snake demon caught in an epic struggle between her clan and a power-hungry general dabbling in the dark arts. Can a human and demon truly be together in the face of such hatred and darkness?

Snakes are often negatively portrayed in Western media and while there's more of a push to have them outside antagonistic roles (like Master Viper from "Kung Fu Panda"), Eastern cultures always had more respect for them. The legend of the White Snake in particular had me intrigued and this movie made me love the character. The art style bears some resemblance to Disney's, cartoonishly expressive while having enough detail to go around, though it still feels like its own thing. The vibrant colors, no matter the setting and mood, always grab your attention, so you get your eye candy's worth from the vast mountains to a hidden demon marketplace. The landscapes, magic, and creatures are brilliantly brought to life with stunning designs, especially Blanca's majestic snake form. There are also a good number of fast-paced action scenes, complete with martial arts, cool-looking magic each character brings, and a bit of monster fighting with the fluid animation allowing for some really great angles and moves live-action couldn't achieve.

At the center is the romance between Blanca and Ah Xuan, which is executed wonderfully. They have a precious chemistry, their personalities and conflicts complementing each other and providing something missing in their lives, leading to a very heartfelt conclusion. It also plays into the film's themes of love and change as well as pointing out the contradictions and mutual hatred of their species; neither side is entirely good or bad. I also like the other characters like Blanca's fierce sister Verta, Ah Xuan's comedic dog, and especially this playfully seductive fox spirit who has a great design. The voice acting is pretty spot on with the English dub in particular featuring Stephanie Sheh (Hinata from "Naruto") as Blanca and James Sie (Jackie from "Jackie Chan Adventures") as the evil general.

I should note that, despite its appearance, this film is PG-13. Some people do die a bit brutally (albeit not much blood) and there's also a love scene (the most you see, though, is a topless back). This is a story told in a more mature manner, a demonstration that just because something is animated doesn't mean it's exclusively for kids. For me, this works to the benefit of "White Snake", letting it live up to its full potential in storytelling. It's a beautiful, alluring, and refreshing fantasy worth checking out.

I have read a lot reviews about this movie. And when it comes to Chinese movies, reviews more or less come with political bias. And I hope, my review can clear things up a bit. This is a well animated movie, for average movie goers the animation is more than acceptable. But does the animation reaches 2019 Pixar standards? No, the expression on the character is limited, specially on Ah Xuan. The skin and body lack elasticity and weight, and the cloth dynamic is weird. What stands out technical wise, is the background and sets. They are painstaking made to resemble traditional Chinese ink paintings. The animator took the full liberty of making the fight scene, they are a visual spectacle. Super-nature powers, light beams, mythical creatures fills up the screen at times, which may not be everybody's cup of tea. But sure is entertaining. There are complains about the storytelling element. For the Chinese, the story of white snake is one of the most well known fiery tells. It is like the story of Santa Claus or tooth fiery for the westerner. For that reason, the creators did skip the world building part, expecting the viewers can fill in the rest. It is also true that the tempo is sometimes slow for this movie, but after all, the white snake story was always a love story and not a action film. And the biggest controversy of this film, the sexual under tone. This movie features an animated kiss scene, sexy villain and implied sex scene. Some people are offended because they think CG animation are for Children. But this is a love story, more importantly in the fiery tell white snake was pregnant with Xu Xian's child. How do they have a Child without having sex? And I don't want to Discourage anyone, the sexual tone is a very minor part of this story. It kind of feel like 2D Disney style sexual tone.

In conclusion, great movie with a non-western story. I see you are a man of culture as well.

It was and felt good to see it. The animation was very good, right up there with the disney standards if not better. The story it seems is deep rooted in the chinese culture but otherwise too it made some impact. Nice, swashbuckling adventurous ballad for all ages. Once again, the animation was way up there with the leaders in the Market.

The animation was excellent. It was visually stunning to sit there and watch the animation go by, which works well for me because I don't speak the language and I don't like to read and watch animation. Overall, a great experience.