"There is a fish in the North Ming Dynasty, and its name is Kun. Kun is so big that I don't know how many thousands of miles it is." This is the beginning of the film, and also the beginning of Zhuangzi's "Xiaoyaoyou". Zhuangzi is an important figure in the Taoist school First, his Taoist philosophy has influenced Chinese people for thousands of years. Among them are the ideas of obeying heaven and following the laws of nature; obeying human nature and governing by doing nothing; understanding all things and not fearing life and death. These are all ideas that teach people Philosophical ideas on how to achieve happiness.

The story of the film is based on a myth and legend. Every human being is a big fish. He is born on this side of the sea, spends his life across the sea, and returns to the other side of the sea after death. His body turns into soil, and his soul turns into... Be a little fish and keep going through reincarnation.

Under the seabed of the sea is connected to another world. Everyone here is transformed and bred by the power of nature, and has innate magic powers, including controlling the growth of trees and flowers, and changing flames. , using the power of wind, etc. In addition, the souls of human beings after death are also collected in this world. The people here also have the power to control the natural laws of the human world. I call them the gods here and call this world the divine realm.

When the divine people reach the age of 16, they have to go through the coming-of-age ceremony alone. They transform into red dolphins and swim through the towering water column summoned by the gods to reach the human world. They observe the dynamics of human beings. After 7 days, they successfully return to the divine world to complete their adulthood. present. The plot of the film begins here. Chun, the heroine of the God Clan, comes to the human world and sees many beautiful things in the human world, the most beautiful of which is the male protagonist Kun.

Kun is a handsome and muscular guy with a red birthmark in the center of his forehead. His hairstyle is the long braid from before the Republic of China. His image is very characteristic of ancient China. In addition to his beautiful appearance, his inner moral character is also excellent. Love nature, the sea, dolphins and fish, and have a pure and kind heart. Why is this character so deified? Because he is Kun in Zhuangzi's "Xiaoyaoyou"! As a representative of China's thousand-year civilization, it must be perfect.

On her sixth day in the human world, Chun was entangled in a net used by humans to hunt dolphins and was in danger. At this time, Kun appeared as a hero in time to save the beauty, but he was involved in the whirlpool and died. Kun decided to save a dolphin without any hesitation when he knew there was a whirlpool. This is the first time in the film that someone insists on his true intention at the cost of his life.

Chun saw that her sister was in great pain after losing her brother. She was filled with self-blame and uneasiness, and was determined to resurrect Kun. After returning to the God Realm, he asked his grandfather about the place where people go after death - Rushenglou. Later, he accidentally got the help of a stone statue and got there. He asked the spirit woman to resurrect Kun's life, but the way to get it was to give half of his lifespan. Chun I agreed immediately. This is the second time in the film that someone insists on their true intentions at the cost of their lives.

Afterwards, Chun took Kun’s soul (a small fish) home and they were together happily! But things are not that simple, because raising human souls is against the rules of the tribe and goes against heaven, which will bring disaster to the divine world. The entire divine tribe, including Chun's mother, not only opposes it, but also wants to kill Kun. At this time, only Qiu was always guarding Chun, helping her overcome difficulties and get out of danger.

Qiu is the other male lead in the film, the leading male to be precise, because he has more roles. He is also a handsome guy, with short white hair, cool appearance, bold and careful. I love Chun deeply in my heart, I don’t want Chun to suffer a little bit, and I do my best to support Chun. This character is very important and explains the core idea of ??the film, which will be mentioned later.

On the way to escape pursuit with Kun, Qiu was unfortunately bitten by a two-headed snake and was poisoned and fell into a coma. Chun hurriedly carried him to find his grandfather. Grandpa's power was to control the herbs, cure diseases and save people, but there was no cure for the poison of the two-headed snake. At this time, Grandpa made a decision. He exchanged his life for Qiu and cured Qiu. He devoted his remaining life to the cause of saving lives and healing the wounded. This was the third time in the film that he paid the price of his life and persisted in his true heart.

Kun grew bigger, and the environment of the God Realm deteriorated as a result. It snowed in June, and the Gods became even more angry. They tried their best to hunt down Kun and started to attack Chun. Qiu felt very uncomfortable when he learned that his tribe wanted to embarrass Chun because of Kun, so he secretly let Kun go away behind Chun's back. But he didn't know that Kun was exchanged for half of Chun's life and how important it was to her. When Chun learned that Kun had been let go, he jumped out of the ice cave and searched for her at all costs. Finally, she used her last bit of strength to find Kun, but she was unconscious in the snow. When Qiu saw this scene, he felt sad and regretful. He finally realized how important Kun was to Chun. After waking up, Chun told Qiu everything. Qiu was heartbroken. His beloved only had half his life left. What should he do?

Qiu found Lingpo and hoped to exchange half of his life for Chun's lifespan, but Lingpo said that the price was higher and that she would need a whole life! Qiu agreed immediately. This is the fourth time in the film that someone has sacrificed his life to stick to his heart.

However, Lingpo did not want his life, but wanted something more valuable in him - Qiu's identity, the future god (with the power to open the water column to the human world), Qiu's grandmother is the god , but grandma didn’t tell Qiu about her identity. Moreover, Lingpo also told Qiu that the lives of Chun and Kun were connected. If Kun returned to the human world, Chun's life would end.

It was very painful for Qiu to learn everything. Kun had grown very big and would soon return to the human world. By then, his beloved Chun would also die. How can we save the one we love?

Why does this happen? If everything goes well and you rely on your own persistence, you will definitely be able to catch up with the one you love and be together happily.

Even if you can't catch her, you can still be by your side. Seeing your loved one every day is equally happy. But now everything is gone, even if it’s a god, what’s the use of a god if you can’t be with the one you love, and can’t let the one you love live to the end of your life!

Qiu made a huge decision and used his power as a god to privately open the water column leading to the human world, allowing Kun to take Chun with him to live a happy life in the human world. I regret that I can't be with you, but I must let you live!

However, this approach is very risky, because Qiu's power is still very weak, and if the water cannot be controlled, it will flood the entire God Realm. Sure enough, what they were worried about finally happened. The seawater poured in and poured down. The entire God Realm was facing submergence, and the people of the tribe were in danger. With her beloved Kun on one side and the safety of the entire divine clan on the other, Chun was caught in a dilemma. She never expected that it would bring such a disaster to her people, and Chun felt infinite regret and self-blame.

But the situation has come to this, and blaming yourself is of no use. The only option is to find a way to save the people! Farewell, Kun, go back to the human world alone! Chun jumped into the water, hugged the roots of the crabapple tree (grandpa), and used his greatest thoughts to transform into powerful force to make the whole crabapple tree grow rapidly. It grew bigger and bigger, turning into a towering tree, supporting the entire forest. The sky saved the people. This is the fifth time in the film that someone has paid the price of his life to stick to his heart.

Has Kun returned to the human world? No, Kun did not go to the human world alone. He saw Chun jumping into the water and realized there was danger. He immediately dived into the water to look for her, but there was no human figure, only Haitang. Finally, with tears in her mouth, she took down a crabapple branch and swam away into the distance.

It is said that Qiu's plan failed completely, so he had no choice but to seek help from the Lingpo again. Finally, he used his identity as a god to get back the other half of Chun's life. The Begonia branch turned into a human body, and Chun was resurrected, but without his magic power. . Happiness finally returned to Chun, Qiu and Kun.

Without any magic power, Chun and Qiu became the most ordinary humans, and could never return to their tribe. The two of them sat quietly on the beach, enjoying the hard-won happy time. Qiu knew that this precious time was short-lived, because he made another decision, a perfect decision, and he would take action at dawn. By then, he would say goodbye to his beloved forever.

Therefore, this is the last night to stay with the one you love, and you must confess your love! Qiu finally plucked up the courage to say what was in her heart, "Chun, I have no parents since I was a child, only my grandma was with me. Until I saw you, I had someone to care about. Being by your side is the happiest thing for me. I love watching you the most." The way you walk, the way you look embarrassed, the way you smile, I love to see everything about you!"

After saying this, Qiu looked at Chun with expectation in his eyes. "Well, I know, I have always regarded you as my brother." Chun only said one sentence.

The confession failed, Qiu was very sad and lay quietly aside. Suddenly Chun said again, "Qiu, you are the only person in this world who treats me best." Hearing this, Qiu could no longer suppress his inner emotions, tears burst out of his eyes, and he sobbed hard. With your understanding, all my efforts are worth it.

At dawn, Qiu took out the artifact and opened the water column leading to the human world. Kun said goodbye with tears, grew arms and flew into the water column. Tsubaki wanted to go to the human world with him, but without the human token, he couldn't enter the water column. Qiu knows this deeply in his heart. He wants to fulfill his sweetheart's wish. Her happiness is my greatest happiness. So Qiu swallowed the artifact, turned into a force that surrounded Chun, and sent her into the water column.

"Go to the human world and live happily with Kun. I will turn into the wind and rain in the human world and always be by your side." This is the sixth and last time in the film that you have to pay the price of your life and stick to your heart. .

The plot is not very complicated but very touching, especially the six acts of sticking to one's heart at the cost of one's life. It is not only touching, but also shocking! What exactly does the film want to convey to the audience?

The description of the value of life is mentioned several times in the movie. The first time was Grandpa's reply to Chun's words about death. Death is a part of everyone's life journey and everyone will experience it. Grandpa's time is coming soon. We should cherish living life and do what we want to do, so that we can welcome death well. arrival.

The second time was what grandpa said to Chun before he died. I know you are doing a very dangerous thing. Many people will oppose you, but as long as you do it with a kind heart, no matter what happens, Whether it is good or bad, right or wrong, leave it to others to comment. Grandpa supports your decision. I will turn into a crabapple tree and bless you.

The third time was the conversation between Lingpo and Qiu. Lingpo said, you young people don’t take life seriously and kick it like stones on the street, unlike us old men who fight hard. I want to live one more day. Qiu turned around and said, if you can't do what you want to do and are unhappy, what's the point of living longer?

Through these three descriptions, it is not difficult to see the idea that the film wants to express: only by adhering to one's original intention and doing what one wants to do, can life be valuable and meaningful. Only when you face death will you have no regrets or fear. Looking back at the six acts of paying the price of life, each time it was to stick to one's heart and face death calmly, which just verified this idea.

This idea coincides with Zhuangzi’s philosophy.

The first chapter of "Zhuangzi" is entitled "Xiaoyaoyou". This article is full of stories. The idea contained in these stories is that there are different levels of happiness.

Relative happiness can be achieved through the free development of our nature; absolute happiness can be achieved through a broader understanding of the natural nature of things.

Zhuangzi believes that the necessary condition for achieving relative happiness is to develop our natural nature, that is, to exert our natural abilities. This ability is our "virtue". The natural nature of all things is different, and their natural abilities are also different, but one thing is the same, that is, when they fully and freely exert their natural abilities, they are all equally happy. "Xiaoyaoyou" tells a story about a big bird and a little bird. The abilities of the two birds are completely different. The big bird can fly ninety thousand miles, but the little bird cannot fly from this tree to that tree. But as long as they all do what they can and love to do, they will all be equally happy. Zhuangzi advocates governance by inaction. Individuals have different natures, and if they follow their inner nature, they can achieve relative happiness.

Going back to the movie, we found that this is indeed the case. Kun’s nature is to love nature and dolphins; Grandpa’s nature is to be in charge of herbs, cure diseases and save people; Chun’s nature is to repay kindness and cherish family affection; Qiu’s nature It is not wanting the one you love to suffer and fulfilling the wish of the one you love. And they all stuck to their true intentions and achieved relative happiness.

Zhuangzi also provides an understanding of death. People are afraid and anxious when facing death. The mental pain caused by this emotion is sometimes as severe as physical punishment. However, people can weaken their emotions by using their understanding. For example, if it rains and you can't go out, adults will understand and won't be angry, but children will often get angry. The reason is that if adults understand more, they will feel much less disappointed and angry than children. Therefore, to the extent that the mind understands the nature of things, so far does it have the power to control the consequences without suffering for them. That is, "turning emotion into reason". Think about the fact that there are people around us who like to lose their temper. In fact, it is not due to personality, but to the very limited scope of understanding the nature of things. In Yang Jiang's words, "Your problem is mainly that you don't read much and think too much." .

Zhuangzi himself has a story that illustrates this point very well. When Zhuangzi's wife died, Hui Shi went to mourn her, but she saw Zhuangzi squatting on the ground, singing in a pot. Hui Shi said, it’s enough if you don’t cry. Isn’t it too much to sing and drum again? Zhuangzi said, No, I am indeed very sad when she dies, but death is the most natural thing, just like the change of spring, summer, autumn and winter. Now that people have rested, I would be unreasonable if I cried loudly.

If we combine the characters in the film, we will find that no matter Kun, Grandpa, Chun or Qiu, they have no fear or hesitation when facing death. This is precisely because they understand life and death and resolve their fear.

In addition, Taoists believe that a sage has a complete understanding of the natural nature of all things, and his mind is no longer affected by changes in the world. In other words, he has achieved the "identity" of man and all things. That is to say, it transcends the difference between oneself and the world, the difference between me and "not myself", and reaches the state of being one with the Tao, where the Tao is inactive and nameless. In this way, the happiness he gets is absolute happiness.

In the film, only Chun and Qiu made two acts of realizing their wishes at the cost of their lives. They are definitely saints. Especially Qiu, who finally gave up his whole life to fulfill his sweetheart, and turned into the wind and rain, becoming one with nature. The happiness he got was absolute happiness.

Does Chun and Qiu have their origins? Of course there is. "Xiaoyaoyou" also says: There are ghosts in the south of Chu who regard five hundred years as spring and five hundred years as autumn; in ancient times, there were Dachun people who regard eight thousand years as spring and eight thousand years as autumn. Chunqiu came from here.

To sum up, the film conveys a philosophical thought of the Chinese Taoist school to the audience in the form of Chinese mythology, praising and praising this attitude towards life, which requires adhering to one's own nature and exerting one's own strength. Contribute your life to meaningful Taoism, realize your self-worth, and let your life bloom into beautiful flowers. Even if you wither, you will never regret it. This philosophical thought itself is a kind of beauty, which can infect everyone to reflect on themselves and work towards a better life.

How can such a great work not shock me! And it is also a domestic animated film. You must know that domestic animation has always been very slow. There was once a "Lotus Lantern" that was excellent, but then it failed to recover. It was not until last year's "The Return of the Great Sage" that marked the rise of domestic animation. To think that such an excellent work as "Big Fish and Begonia" was released in just over half a year. It's better than any animated movie I've ever seen because the thinking is on a higher level.

Whether it is caring for the environment and protecting peace in Hayao Miyazaki's works, or family, friendship and love in Disney series, they all belong to small love, that is, the love for a certain type of thing. And "Big Fish and Begonia" promotes a kind of great love, love for all things (including animals, people, the environment, racial peace, emotions, everything), which is supported by Chinese philosophical thoughts and is not on the same level at all.

So, I'm excited. "Big Fish and Begonia" marks the arrival of an era when excellent domestic animated films will appear in a hundred flowers blooming, just as Taoism is just one of many schools of thought among a hundred schools of thought.

Let us who love animation look forward to it!

(In terms of painting style, all elements including character modeling, creature types, items, clothing, house design, etc., and even music are original with Chinese characteristics. If some aspects are like Hayao Miyazaki’s works, they can also be used as references. , but it is more of a return, because these elements themselves are Chinese)