Raising Dragons in Hollywood

At the company's monthly meeting, Rossi and Sammy, as team representatives, handed over the results of months of hard work.

Since the company has no big plans in the near future, and it is only a short animation of less than 10 minutes, they were "lucky" to get a precious opportunity to test screen in front of the management.

This test screening was less formal.

The short animations produced by ordinary employees alone, although courageous, do not necessarily have any commercial value.

Therefore, for the vast majority of people in the management, this can only be regarded as a little relaxation after busy work.

On that day, the 'audience' who attended this brief preview included:

Norris, the manager of the film and television entertainment department, is a middle-aged man who is rarely out of shape in the management. He loves fitness in his spare time. He just returned from a vacation in Hawaii not long ago. The popularity of the company is good.

He should be regarded as Sammy's immediate boss. Although the company has been severely exploiting and oppressing the bottom-level employees, he is a person who takes care of the employees in his department.The reason why Sami and the others were able to form a team to make animations, and now they can still show the finished animations, is all due to his insight and support;

There was also Fabian, the representative of the Ministry of Justice, a man with a stern face.

This man has great ability, but has a cold personality.If he is your teammate, then rejoice!Because he can help you with some legal issues, even if you spread your wings on the edge of the law, he can give you the most reliable support.But once he becomes an enemy, he will definitely make people sleepless;

Ed, the marketing manager, is an obvious snob.

He can even kneel down and lick your shoes if your movie sells well, but if your movie doesn't go well, he'll quickly turn into an extremely mean villain;

Helena, the big beauty of the International Affairs Department, is the dream lover of all male employees in the company, smart and capable, gentle and amiable;

Wesley from the experience and consumer products department is a handsome man in the fat world, but his definition of love is very different. If the law can relax the definition of marriage a little bit, he should be more willing to marry Mickey Mouse .

In addition, there are some emerging network new media, as well as important staff in charge of theme park business and so on.

But generally speaking, the work of each department has overlapping and overlapping parts, and the main decision-makers in the company are the above-mentioned people.

At this time, a very boring meeting that lasted more than two hours had just ended, and everyone was a little tired.

They sat in the screening room with no expression on their faces, because they didn't have any expectations for this short animation, so they didn't pay attention to the animation screening, but seized the time to continue discussing some work issues in the second half of the year in a low voice.

This atmosphere of indifference is a bit embarrassing for a group of animators.

But Sammy was not surprised by this, because since he joined the company, his creativity has not been recognized, and he got used to it after sitting on the bench for a long time.

At this time, Norris, the boss of his department and the person in charge of the film and television entertainment department, probably noticed them, and came over to jokingly say: "Although I have confidence in you, if I wait for the screening to start, I will wait 3 minutes. If you want to go out and go to the bathroom without holding on, then it must be a bad work."

Sammy couldn't help but rolled his eyes silently, wanting him to go to the toilet early, or tell him a relatively scientific truth: "If you can't bear it for the remaining few minutes, then it's not that it's bad, but you The urinary system is very bad, please seek medical advice as soon as possible. '

However, he ended up saying nothing.

Well, actually Sammy didn't have much confidence in what he was doing.

Nobody (except some super narcissist) can say 'my stuff is the best' from the start.

From the very beginning, all Sammy wanted was to express himself, because he just likes to tell stories, he just likes to draw some weird cartoon villains, he just likes to make people jump suddenly, and he really likes warriors to slay dragons.

So, his animation process has always been a natural one.

If the audience likes it, that's great, and kills two birds with one stone; but if the audience doesn't like it, although it's disappointing, it's normal.

There are no two identical leaves in the world, and naturally there will not be two people who happen to have exactly the same thoughts and preferences.

It is only when there is difference and difference that it is wonderful.

Different points of view will make different voices, and different voices will make the world that should be desolate become lively.Come to think of it, if everyone in the world looked exactly the same and spoke the same words one day, that would be the most terrifying end of the world.

Sammy loathed everything that was fixed and institutionalized.

And this point is also shown in the animation without any concealment by him...

When no one was paying attention, "Who Killed the Dragon" began to be screened quietly.

That's right.

Sammy changed the name of the anime from "Kill the Dragon" to the current "Who Killed the Dragon".

Although Maiqilong thinks incomprehensibly, there is actually no difference between the two names, they are both killing dragons.

Ke Sami believes that the latter is more relaxed and less aggressive than the former in terms of emotional color, and it will be easier for (deceived) people to accept.

Because this group is what the director says.

In the end, the name became like this.

Now, the audience sitting in the front row of the projection room raised their eyes inadvertently, just in time to see the title of the animation clearly.

A few apparently simple words like "Who Killed the Dragon" calmly and abruptly appeared on the big screen.

It was a crooked line of naive fonts that looked like children's graffiti, but the color was as dark as blood. As soon as it appeared on the black background, it gave off an indescribably depressing and weird feeling.

"It's kind of interesting."

Norris, the person in charge of the film and television entertainment department, touched the unshaven stubble of his chin and said to himself: "But it's really different from the company's style."

Sitting next to him, Ed, the head of marketing, was clearly less eclectic.

He immediately frowned disapprovingly, with a look of disapproval: "The children won't like it."

But the next moment, the lively music sounded, and every syllable seemed to dance in circles, put on wings, and fly into the air...

This made the viewers laugh and feel relieved, thinking that the weird opening just now might just be a gimmick for grandstanding, and the essence of animation should still be very relaxed.

But the background on the screen changed suddenly, and a cemetery with a super simple black and white background appeared again.It looks like it was cut out of some waste cardboard.

At the top of this, there are many small tombs with crosses on them.It may be that the post-processing of the cartoon is specially done, and each one looks round and cute, but it still cannot hide the fact that this is a grave bag in the cemetery, and the dead people will be buried in the grave bag.

"What are these, can you show them to children?" Ed from the marketing department muttered angrily.

He complained to Norris: "I told you earlier, that Sammy in your creative department, his brain is not normal at all, the dragon slaying submitted last year was very bloody and violent, very bad, and you are still willing to do it?" Give him the chance to experiment."

Norris smiled as always, and patiently comforted: "After reading, we will talk after we finish."

With just two sentences, a white grave bag against a black background split open on the screen, as if some monster opened its mouth, and a small skeleton jumped out of the grave bag.

At the same time, the narration of the animation also sounded:

[Mosley is a warrior who says he has slain a dragon. ]

Accompanied by the soft narration, the little skull lively wielded a tattered knife, and its two bony legs bounced along with the music, making a subtle sound of bones colliding. In its hollow eye sockets, two groups of red flames were burning.

The camera moves slowly, and not far from the cemetery, a small house inhabited by humans appears strangely.

A clay doll boy appeared on the screen, sitting quietly in the yard, with a strange appearance, a triangular head, round protruding eyes, a rectangular body and two rectangular legs, weird but cute.

[Eight-year-old Mosley, also named Mosley, has an older brother named Matt. ]

[Matt is disobedient, but Mosley is Mama's good baby. ]

The clay dolls on the screen sit upright, showing an obedient side.

In the corner of the screen, a black figure representing the mother is viciously grabbing the ear of another little puppet.

[The grown-ups will lock the disobedient Matt in the house. ]

Immediately, there was a huge "bang" sound of closing the door from the speakers!

The black figure representing an adult locked the little puppet named Matt into the room. Through the window, the little puppet only showed a small head with a very dull expression.

[Then the grown-ups say to obedient Mosley...]

Eight-year-old Mosley sat still and sat more upright.

The black figure that symbolizes adulthood becomes so large on the screen that it almost completely covers the little doll Mosley.

Vigorously waving his arms like a mantis waving his arms, shaking his body amidst weird music and narration.

[Mosley, Mosley. ]

[No matter what you hear, don't go out. ]

[The dragon is prowling outside the house. ]

[Its howl will make you cry and make you bleed. ]

A larger black shadow appeared, like a giant dragon.

Then, the shadow that symbolizes an adult disappears.

The narration continued:

[But Mosley is actually not obedient, he is more rebellious than his brother Matt. ]

[He has a good friend who is Mosley the Skeleton. ]

[When no one else knows, eight-year-old Mosley bravely walks out the door with Mosley the Skeleton. ]

[Work together to slay the dragon. ]

The music then becomes more intense.

Little puppets and little skulls run and jump on the screen, swinging knives, all kinds of crackling sounds can be heard, and when the tattered sword cuts down, there will also be screams and the color red symbolizes blood. With the overall black and white background, it is obvious It's supposed to be dark, but it's magically uplifting to watch.

[People think I'm crazy, but I protect everyone. ]

[I struggled to run towards the distance, and the dragons screamed in pain under my knife. ]

[Dragon!I'm going to tear you apart and let you go. ]

[You can no longer hurt anyone. ]

[I am Mosley, the dragon slayer——! ! ]

[Even if fear makes me tremble, all the dragons will scream in pain under my knife. ]

[You can no longer hurt anyone. ]

[You can no longer hurt anyone. ]

"What the hell is this?"

Ed from the marketing department finally couldn't help asking.

On the screen, the dolls and skeletons in the black and white background continue to run and jump, as if fighting fiercely with an invisible dragon. The movements are exaggerated, funny, and very cute.

But for Ed, who pays attention to the commercial nature of the product, this still cannot conceal the incomprehensibility of the plot.

There was dead silence in the screening room.

Everyone looked at each other, not knowing how to answer.

"Okay, how long until it's over?" Ed asked impatiently.

"A few minutes." Wesley from the product department laughed from the side: "Actually, look carefully, the doll and the little skull are quite cute."

But then it got worse!

The music became more and more low, the little puppet and the little skull happily ran back to the previous human house, and then, the little puppet bumped its head on the adult's leg.

Noticing this plot twist, the 'amateur' audience in the screening room finally got a little bit of attention.

But what I never expected was that the plot took a sharp turn from here!

The voice of the narrator still recited calmly:

[Mosley, who sneaked out disobediently, is found. ]

[He said: I am going to kill the dragon and protect everyone. ]

[Adults laugh: there are no evil dragons in the world, they are made up to lie to you. ]

[Mosley says: Yes, I killed a lot of dragons with the skeleton Mosley. ]

[The grown-ups say: No skeletons, no dragons, there is only one Mosley in the world, and that is you bad boy. ]

[The disobedient Mosley was locked up like his brother Matt. ]

On the screen, the little puppet Mosley and the little skeleton Mosley are standing face to face in an empty room.

[Mosley asks alone: ​​Are you there, Mosley? ]

[As long as you still believe in me, I will always be here. ]

[Little Skeleton Mosley rattles the bone, and two clusters of flames burn fiercely in the hollow eye sockets. ]

[But it can't make a sound, it's just a little skeleton. ]

[The adults show up the next day. ]

[They brought food to Mosley and said sternly: There are no dragons in the world, review your disobedient behavior. ]

[Mosley thrusts his arms through his hair sadly and says to himself: Are you there, Mosley? ]

[Little skeleton Mosley continues to swing the bone vigorously, the flames flickering in the empty eye sockets, but still can't make a sound. ]

[The third day...]

[Day four...]

[Mosley grows restless and lonely, like a puppy abandoned in a dump. ]

[He begins to waver: are you there, Mosley? ]

[Little Skull moved his bone arm with difficulty, trying to respond, but the arm snapped and fell to the ground. ]

[It stares blankly at its bone arm, silently. ]

[That day has finally come. ]

[Mosley's tears fall like dewdrops from withered rose petals: Dragons are made up, there are no dragons. ]

[The little skull makes a broken sound, the red flames in the hollow eye sockets are instantly extinguished, and the bones fall apart. ]

[It falls to the ground with a crackling sound, turning into a putrid pile of white dust. ]

[The grown-ups open the door, and bright, brilliant sunlight streams in. ]

[They rush in, along with his older brother Matt, who embrace Mosley warmly, stroke his head, and praise him: Good boy, you're a good boy now. ]

[Mosley smiles like them: Yes, I am sensible, there are no dragons in the world. ]

[A gust of wind blows, and the white dust left by the little skeleton Mosley also disappears. ]

Everyone in the screening room: ...? ? ?