Creative content needed
On April 2, 2010, a movie named "Lan" was screened in some theaters in China. The movie tells the story of how the girl Jiang Xiaolan grew up with her grandfather. Strictly speaking the movie is not a typical children's film, but is more like a family movie whose leading characters are a senior citizen and a young girl.
There are two predominant types of children's movie in China: one tells a story about the life of a child and seeks to make people think; the other is designed to make its viewers laugh.
The former usually reminds people to cherish life and the people around them ("Lan" fell into this category). The latter type attempts to evoke humor by focusing on fanciful or unrealistic things.
Among the 100 movies produced in 2010 and 2011, most were of these two types, indicating a lack of new ideas which could help attract a broader audience base.
Step by step
The current situation for children's films frustrates many actors and producers, but it is hard to improve circumstances overnight.
The movies have a clear target, and in order to attract viewers the writers must first improve the quality of the stories. Constantly focusing on stereotyped and routine content will never save the industry, according to an insider.
Although it is hard to bring children's movies back to theaters, producers can still screen them to children directly by selling them to schools.
Producers can also cooperate with the government. If a movie is good enough to educate kids, the government should consider paying for it.
Once a movie has been widely seen among children, there will be more suggestions and comments to help writers and directors improve their films. Only step by step can movies play a role in educating children and bring wonder to their lives.
