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The movie "Under the Alien" adapted from the Chinese comic "Under the One" is currently in theaters. The reviews of the movie can be said to be mixed. As a cartoonist, what do you think of this movie adapted from a comic? In this video, we invite cartoonist and picture book writer Ji Di to talk about the movie "Under the Alien".

Cartoonist Jidi talks about the movie "Under the Alien" (06:34)

Zero, Opening

Half a month ago, an editor friend asked me if I had any plans to watch "Under the Alien" and to share my experience watching the movie. I checked and found out that the director was Wuershan. I really liked his "Investiture of the Gods". In addition, it was adapted from a comic book, so I became interested and thought I could go and watch it. If a director has made great works, you really want to see him challenge himself.

1. The difficulty of adapting comics into real people

Adapting a comic book into a movie is not easy, but it is actually quite difficult. When I was a kid, I loved Saint Seiya, but it was adapted into a live-action movie and turned out to be a terrible disaster. After watching it, I just wanted to delete my memory.

Paintings on paper are a quiet space that often contains the emotions and imagination of every reader. When they are turned into movie scenes and the director and screenwriter's personal understanding is added, readers often feel dissatisfied.

Fortunately, I don't know much about the original novel of "Under the Alien", so I can watch the movie with a relatively simple mindset. When I entered the theater, I repeatedly reminded myself to watch the movie with mindfulness, not to make prejudgments, and not to bring my own prejudices. I think I watched it with mindfulness, and I didn't even notice the seven mosquito bites.

Comic "Under One Person: New Edition", written by Mi Er, Jiangsu Phoenix Literature and Art Publishing House·DuKe Culture, June 2022 edition

2. Surprise

Let me first talk about the advantages of this movie:

I feel that the director is very dedicated and creative in his efforts to make the film comic-like.

In comic-adapted movies, when the comic camera language is converted into actual dynamics, it often gives people a sense of exaggeration. But in this movie, it has formed a unique art style that looks very smooth. The body movements and facial expressions of the characters all present a strong sense of comics. The movements and pauses of the characters during the fight have a unique sense of time, which is different from the dynamics of the characters in the real world, making many exaggerated body movements look fun and not abrupt.

Some animated sound effects were added, which were used very well in some places and felt quite outstanding. Onomatopoeia was also incorporated in some places, which was quite different from the director’s previous art style. Such a bold attempt eliminated the boundary between paper and screen and brought an interesting visual experience.

In the story, some traditional Qi and blood theories are presented in a very unique artistic way, and the combination with real people is very interesting. I feel that this is also a difficult point in comic-adapted movies. The combination of real scenes and theoretical explanations, and the conversion between them, can easily appear abrupt and stiff, but the movie presents them very naturally.

This story is fictional and quite large, so some of the plot needs to be presented through narration, but the accompanying cutscenes are very beautiful, so it doesn't make people feel bored.

It was also a pleasant surprise that some characters spoke dialects. The heroine seemed to speak Guizhou dialect, which is very similar to Sichuan dialect. It sounded very friendly and made the character seem richer and more interesting.

The male protagonist who seemed weak at the beginning would think, "I need to study hard and find a good job in the future" when he encountered something. I think this treatment is very humorous and resonates with people. In European and American movies, when the protagonist encounters difficulties, the way to escape may be some unhealthy life, but in this movie, the protagonist wants to escape to study, which is really the cuteness of Chinese students.

Zhang Chulan, the male protagonist in the movie "Under the Alien"

3. Regret

There are also some regrets and some shortcomings in this movie.

The biggest regret is that some female characters in the movie are shot in a vulgar way, and some shots are a bit bad taste. I think this may be a comic for men after all, and the female characters in it are there to satisfy some male imagination or show some of their fears. Although they have a lot of scenes and lines, they still give people a sense of emptiness, which is quite regrettable.

Xia He in the movie "Under the Alien"

The supporting character Hulin's superpowers are too similar to Yondu in Guardians of the Galaxy, especially the iconic whistle. Maybe the director intended it as a tribute or a joke. But I don't think it's necessary, because the audience doesn't need to think of other movies when watching this movie, it will affect the mood of watching important plots.

The protagonist's childhood growth lacks personalized details, and the daily life between the grandfather and grandson is more like a master and apprentice than a relative. It may be the lack of some delicate and profound emotions that makes it difficult to invest emotionally, and the protagonist's rampage later will seem a bit deliberate. If you want the audience to resonate with the protagonist, you need some real emotions as an anchor. For example, the first Marvel movie "Doctor Strange" is not only very entertaining and humorous, but also has a certain literary quality because of the conflict of human nature. The growth and regeneration of a conceited doctor, and the deep bond between him and his teacher. At the end of the story, when the teacher asked him to give up, the time of the world stopped and raindrops fell. That section was shot beautifully, quietly and deeply. This treatment is very artistic. However, this movie still lacks some of this mature emotion, which is a more regrettable part.

IV. Conclusion

In general, Chinese comics can be adapted into movies, and the production is also very good. Although there are still some unsatisfactory aspects, I think it is a good thing to have a start. For example, when I draw a book, I feel that I have thought of everything, but after it is published, after some time, I will slowly find that there is still room for improvement. Sometimes you have to make something imperfect so that it can get better and better in the future.

Adapting comics into movies is a seemingly simple but very challenging task. It is really difficult to make the imaginary world and fictional characters grow flesh and blood, and to move people's hearts and make them remember for a long time in addition to the sound and light stimulation. But some people are doing it, some are trying, and more and more people are investing in this industry, which is a particularly good thing.

I wish you all gain something and be happy no matter what you do.