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Which country is best for animation production in Asia? To answer this question, let’s find out with Animost in the article below! In the Asian market, Japan, Vietnam, and China are the countries that develop the animation industry. Keep reading to discover!
Which country is best for animation production in Asia?
Animation production in Asia is increasingly collecting a larger portion of domestic box office income, suggesting that powerful new competitors may soon be prepared to compete for top creative talent.
China and South Korea have been making significant investments in their domestic animation industries to transition from being destinations for the outsourcing of design work to new roles as content creators with locally developed plots.
Japan
Spirited Away, a 2003 Japanese animated film, defeated Ice Age, Lilo, Stitch, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, and Treasure Planet to win the Best Animated Film Oscar at the 75th Annual Academy Awards. With an estimated global total of US$289M, Spirited Away became one of the all-time top-grossing traditionally animated movies.
One of Japan’s most well-known animation studios, Studio Ghibli, which produced the movie, went on to create four other animated films that were nominated for Academy Awards, making Japan one of Asia’s top producers of animation.
Asian animated films are increasingly taking home a larger share of domestic box office revenue, indicating that strong new competitors may soon be ready to compete for top creative talent. Other Asian nations have yet to match Japan’s success in producing global animation projects on par with Hollywood productions.
To move from being locations for the outsourcing of design work to new roles as content makers with locally produced plots, China and South Korea have been making large investments in their domestic animation businesses.
>>>Read more: Asian animated films: a cultural and social reflection
Vietnam
Along with the increasingly diverse entertainment needs of the audience, the Animation market in Vietnam receives strong growth every year.
In particular, the Vietnamese market is gradually flourishing with the production of many quality works, the source of outsourcing services trusted by many major countries.
Many animation studios in Vietnam have produced quality 2D and 3D products. When talking about 3D animation, Animost Studio cannot be ignored. On April 5, Animost – Vietnam’s 3D animation production studio introduced the Real-time Motion Capture service – a real-time motion capture technology that is increasingly popular in the world cinema industry.
The studio then produced the 5-minute Monkey Cannon Short Film, which contained more than 100 frames. Monkey Cannon won the Gold award at the Digicon6 Vietnam contest in 2020 and received a nomination for the Asia region award.
Although there has not been a 3D animated film with a duration of 60 minutes or more like in other countries, the staff of the Vietnamese animation production industry has been participating in the implementation of many film projects from countries such as the US, France, Australia… Among them are Puppy Dog Pals of LucasFilm and Disney by the Vietnamese staff at SPARX* – Virtuos.
The funny children’s animation series AnimaCars (France) is undertaken by JAM Animation Studio and becomes the “intrinsic” partner of Amuse Animation in other series such as Lily Lovely Songs, Monster Town, etc.
Some of the super examples above partly prove that the animation industry in the Vietnamese market is increasingly “promoting” to excel.
As for the game, all the characters, objects, and backgrounds are the movement of a series of 2D and 3D images. Many game types are played on different devices such as computers, phones, consoles, etc., and each class will have different graphic quality for the game.
However, many games give players the experience of participating in the role of the main character in an adventure with the quality of a cinematic masterpiece.
And now, the 3D graphics and VFX of hit games like League of Legends, Valorant, Call of duty: Black ops – Cold, Ratchet & Clank, Kena, etc. all have the participation of Vietnamese staff.
>>>Read more: Top 4 Japanese animation companies with shows be loved most across the world
China
China has developed into a market that aims to turn its local animation industry into a major global producer during the previous ten years. The majority of China’s consumption of animation up to the mid-2000s came from international productions.
The robotic cat from Japan’s Doraemon television series hit the Chinese market in the 1990s and enthralled viewers with its time-traveling escapades. Meanwhile, thanks to international character merchandise, Chinese fans were also drawn in by animated programs like Hello Kitty and Pokémon.
However, since 2005, the Chinese government has put policies into place to raise the caliber of the nation’s animation sector, including creating incentives for the sector and broadcasting rules. For instance, the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film, and Television (SARFT) of China mandates that each TV station air no less than 60% of domestic animation.
Additionally, China maintains a foreign film quota that restricts the number of foreign films (both live-action and animated) that can be screened annually to just 34. Domestic animated movies now have the chance to “exploit this protected area” and use the domestic market as a springboard for international success.
To support the domestic growth of the industry, recent policies from several state ministries—including the Ministry of Finance, the General Administration of Customs, and the State Administration of Taxation—have also offered tax incentives to animation businesses.
However, it has been claimed that the restrictions on the importation of international animation prohibit the Chinese business from accessing “foreign expertise and technology,” which hinders the development of the sector.
However, despite a cap on imports of international animation, China’s animation sector has seen new heights of success with the release of several important movies. Due to increased competition and greater budgets, Chinese animated films are smashing more local box office records.
Monkey King: Hero is Back, an animated movie with a plot based on the well-known Chinese tale Journey to the West, was released in 2015 by Chinese filmmakers. After Kung Fu Panda 3 from DreamWorks, Monkey King became the second-highest-grossing animated picture in China, earning US$153M.
Domestic animation is anticipated to advance with increased state funding and new international alliances, even though domestic success in China has not yet translated into a worldwide success.
One of these most recent international collaborations was The National Animation Creative Research and Development Cooperation, which was established by Walt Disney Corporation, the China Animation Group (CAG) of the Ministry of Culture, and Tencent, China’s largest Internet service provider, to develop original content for both Chinese and foreign audiences.
Such collaborations might advance China’s animation sector from ideation and narrative development to final production, highlighting the country’s potential to become a major force in the industry.
>>>Read more: The development potential of the Vietnam Animation Studios
South Korean
Another important Asian center for animation is South Korea. The local animation business in the past was built by subcontracting with the Japanese and Western animation industries. For instance, outsourced Korean talent creates visual content for well-known American TV shows like Family Guy and Justice League Unlimited.
These collaborations have improved South Korea’s ability to generate high-quality animation. But they have also limited the possibility of developing original, locally developed plots.
But as internal conditions have changed, South Korean animations have increased their global appeal. In the 1990s, the industry received greater government assistance, and animators improved their skills by taking on subcontracting jobs.
Producers started to realize that deeper character development and more cautious marketing tactics, including catering to the family film market, were required as animation became a more popular industry.
For instance, Daisy, a Hen into the Wild (2011), one of the first popular Korean animated movies, relates the tale of a hen adopting a duckling. One of the first Korean cartoon programs to be shown in Europe and North America, this movie attracted attention at film festivals including the Sitges Film Festival in Spain.
Pororo the Little Penguin’s tale is another example that demonstrates the rising popularity of Korean animated programs. The show was created by Korean producers after they researched animated series from various nations and developed powerful characters with topics that appealed to a wider audience.
Pororo was given a prize by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in 2003, and in 2006, he won the President’s Prize at the Korea Character Awards. Pororo, the main character, was also chosen as the mascot for Seoul’s subway system, and Pororo Park was constructed in Lotte World, a significant Seoul leisure complex, to serve as a kid-friendly tourist destination.
As part of its 2015-2019 plan, South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism pledged US$345.8M in 2015 to increase animation output, creating more chances for the domestic industry to expand.
Success stories in animation like Pororo the Penguin and Daisy the Hen show the increasing importance that Korean content creators are giving to attentive content creation and storyline development. This evidence suggests that South Korea’s animation industry is developing a fresh batch of homegrown talent that is inspiring fresh innovation.
>>>You may want to know: New technology innovating 3D animation production industry
Conclusion
Through the above article, you have answered the question: Which country is best for animation production in Asia? It can be seen that the 3D Animation market in Asia is growing and developing strongly. Hopefully, the above information will help you gain more useful knowledge. Don’t forget to follow Animost’s Blog every week so you don’t miss valuable industry information!
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