Vietnamese cartoons are about to hit the market
Remember in 2024, the animated film "Wolfoo and the mysterious island" was taken on by Vietnamese filmmakers, from the beginning to the end and was positively received by audiences and experts. The Department of Cinema, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism stated that Vietnamese filmmakers have begun to be more bold, gradually stepping out of the safe cradle of making cartoons, many cartoons have been improved in both content and form. After being released in theaters, the film earned more than 5 billion VND.
By May 2025, Vietnam will have 2 upcoming Vietnamese films, "Trang Quynh Nhi: The Legend of Kim Nguu" and "De Men: The adventure to Lai Loi hamlet". The two films are scheduled to hit theaters from May 30.
The animated film "Trang Quynh Nhi: Legend of Kim Nguu" developed from the animated film series "Trang Quynh in childhood" released on YouTube. Each episode attracts hundreds of thousands of views, many of which reach 1 million views. To date, the YouTube channel Trang Quynh Thoi Nhi Nho - Hoat Hinh 3D movie has earned more than 1.42 million followers and is constantly increasing.
The people behind this successful series decided to release the film in theaters. The film version was made by director - Meritorious Artist Trinh Lam Tung and the Alpha animation Studio team over the past year and a half.
Meanwhile, De Men: The adventure to Lam Loi hamlet - a film adapted from the story of writer To Hoai is equally attractive. Director Mai Phuong of the film said that the recycled city setting in this cartoon was elaborately built, with images close to children such as balls, sunglasses, toys.
De Men - The adventure to Lam Loi hamlet has adapted some details to make the film closer to modern audiences. The countryside setting in the original story was turned into Hanoi charity city, with famous locations such as Co Cot, Long Bien bridge. They also created a hypothetical area called Lai Loi hamlet.
Despite many changes in details, the crew kept the humane message that writer To Hoai wanted to convey, which is the desire for all things to live in a world of equality and love. In addition, they mentioned current issues such as climate change and waste recycling. The film incorporates many famous folk songs, proverbs, poems, and folk melodies.
According to experts, cartoons in many countries are considered a gold mine, even dominating many cinemas because of their special appeal to many audiences. Cartoons are not only entertainment but also an effective educational and message- conveying means.
Expectations and challenges
For a long time, the animation film industry has not had much "back yard" because of large investment funds, but the number of audiences going to the cinema is not large due to the lack of attractive promotional forms.
Director Trinh Lam Tung said that to make a 3D animated film, it would cost about 3-4 million USD (about 75 to 100 billion VND). However, in the current context of the Vietnamese market, this number is very large, the possibility of a recovery is a challenge.
Vietnamese animated films are under a lot of pressure, because they have to compete with foreign animated blockbusters. Even some foreign animated blockbusters that have had brands for many years have always received huge investments, up to hundreds of millions of USD. Despite many difficulties and limitations, many Vietnamese filmmakers expect cartoons to make efforts to make a breakthrough in the near future.
