Big Fish & Begonia

I heard about Big fish & begonia (Da Hai) in 2013 and I was shocked by the 5-minute trailer at that time. At first sight I thought it was a Ghibli movie again, but then I learned about that the core story got some inspiration from some ancient Chinese proses, such as "A Leisurely Tour" by Chuang-tzu and ShanHai Jing. As a Chinese, I know I can't describe my feeling perfectly in English, but I just want to say that Big Fish & Begonia (Da Hai) is a very moving and wonderful movie which can make me cry every time. It tells a story about salvation, love and growth. It's totally Chinese, from these good pictures to the touching story. I hope one day the movie can be released in some other countries, so that more and more audience can enjoy its beauty and be moved by it.

I have not watched a film made in China for quite a long time even if I am Chinese myself. Our film industry still has a long way to go. However, I am deeply impressed by the creative story and the perfect combination of 2D and 3D animation of DaYuHaiTang, and I personally consider the film as a revolutionary art piece.

Through the story, the film emphasize the relationship of our life and our dreams. It encourages us to stick to what we eager for, to what we believe, even when the environment is against us. In the movie, Kun is the symbol of our dreams. It grows, it flies, and its life is tightly related to the one who raises it. We are born to achieve something, if the goal in our life isn't achieved eventually, our life is meaningless. Be brave and go ahead, that's what the film wants to teach us.

The movie contains many Chinese traditional elements, which has seldom been seen before. I am also glad to see that Chinese animation has finally started to focus on how to move audience emotionally. However, there are many shortcomings as well. The film has a good story, but it failed to tell it well. The plot goes too fast at the beginning, and too slow at the end. Besides, a lot of redundant words can be found during conversations. Maybe the film crew should do something about that in their next movie.

The film did a great job, but it's the audience in the cinema that let me down. I was shocked to see many people laughing mockingly at the characters at some meaningful scenes just because it seems funny to them. Some people are even insulting the film and the characters on the Internet as well. In my opinion, whether a film is good or not, it is an art piece, and it is the result of the film crew's diligence and creativity. We should talk about the strong points and drawbacks of the film objectively, not insulting it without thinking deeply. The poor moral quality of the audience can be seen in those rude remarks. The Chinese animation industry is developing rapidly, it's the audience ability to appreciate films that failed to keep up.

We really enjoyed this movie for its striking animation, fantastic and beautiful worlds, and likable characters. Although the original language and mythological themes are Chinese, the animation was done by Studio Mir, based in South Korea, which also worked on the Legend of Korra. Almost all of the Chinese animated epics deal with how the characters (often gods, spirits, or demigods) relate to heaven; in Big Fish & Begonia, the alternative universe is under the earth, or, more precisely, under the sea. We also noticed a lot of allusions to Studio Ghibli, above all Spirited Away, especially in some of the characters (for example the steward of souls was like a male version of the witch who runs the bathhouse). Plus the strong female lead character whose story is nevertheless closely tied to a romantic interest.

Visually pleasing and technically well executed enough, this Chinese animation started off with loads of promises but very soon fall into a narrative mess with no meaningful nor discernible plot flow, with characters introduced from nowhere then uncerimoniously dropped for no reason.

Character motivation is at best flimsy and perplexing to the point the viewer no longer has any motivation to stay engaged.

Very unfortunate this animation was decimated by the egoistic desire to show off the visual technicalities with scan attention paid to a meaningful plot with characters who can engage viewers ... instead what we have is a pointless rainbow of visuals and memes which go nowhere.

And to then get the usual bunch of paid 10* hustler-reviewers to put in their cheap adoration ... just salt into wound :(

What a missed opportunity! 😭😭😰😡😠🙁

View this movie on Shout! released Blu-ray disc. I very much would love to like this movie, but creativity is one big problem here. Animations were well done but just too much like Studio Ghibli animations - including movements and features of the characters (just look at Kun sister).

There is also a problem with the story. Even though the producers/director claimed that it was "inspired" by Chinese mythology, there is nothing much recognisable for me here, even though I am Chinese. It doesn't help when help that Chun, the main character said that she don't believe in God, yet they themselves have some kind of magical powers.This magical-powered beings were just being referred as "The Other". What was that? Why with all the power they have, they couldn't stop the flood?

I also viewed the Bonus Features, and understood that it creator had been through a lot just to make the film, but that is no excuse for the convoluted script (could this be the reason why he had problem in finding investor). Is it because China is a communist country where they were warn not to lick the script with any religion? I wonder.

Yes, it got beautiful imagery, animations, and great score from Kiyoshi Yoshida. Yet, this movie is more of a copy of Studio Ghibli (especially Spirited Away! Just look at all the cute creatures). It kind of sad to see China animation ended up like that. They did much better work before. I am not surprise that it received divided reviews in China.