Rough animated film becomes a surprise Chinese cinemas hit

A low-budget Chinese animated film that was widely mocked for its crude visuals became a viral hit, with people packing cinemas to see just how bad it is.

Niu Lai, which translates to “Here Comes the Cow,” earned about 7,000 yuan (US$1,041.60) in its opening week from Aug. 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.

A person walks past a ticket machine advertising Niu Lai at a cinema in Shanghai yesterday.

Photo: AFP

Caelan Moriarty, a US musician working in China, said the film is “so bad that it’s so good.”

“I appreciate how bad it is, but there’s some heart [put] into it, so you can’t hate that,” Moriarty said.

Artificial intelligence (AI) could make the movie in “like ten seconds or even faster,” but “the fact that they didn’t use AI, they took time” was impressive, he said.

“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,” he added.

With its stiff 3D characters and awkward dialogue, the movie traces Niu Lai’s relationship with his mother. The film’s 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, said: “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,” she added.

At cinemas in Beijing, hand-drawn banners of human-like cows with eyebrows stood in stark contrast to the glossy posters promoting filmmaker Christopher Nolan’s latest movie 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.

The film offers “something different from the polished, sophisticated productions we are used to,” University of New South Wales associate professor Pan Wang said.

“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.