Animation industry, once basking in high-flying adulation and rapid development, encounters difficulties of "hard landing" at present. Animation industry in the pioneer cities (including Changsha, Hangzhou, Wuxi, Shenyang, etc.) is showing an obvious free falling trend after several years of rapid expansion. Except a few bases, most of the current 24 national animation industry bases have suffered a decline in both production quantity and market share.
As for specific animation companies, there were 656 animation companies obtaining domestic TV animation distribution licenses at the end of 2013, 100 of which had no output for five consecutive years (accounting for 15.2 percent) and 439 had no output this year (accounting for 66.9 percent). Many professional animation producers believe that the deteriorative trend of ecological environment facing the once flourishing animation industry slows down the industrial expansion.
Lost of government support
The 21st Century Building in Hunnan District, Shenyang was once a national-level animation industry base embracing numerous animation companies and over a hundred of related enterprises, more than half of which were original enterprises. However, nowadays, a majority of these animation companies have been deserted.
Ji Dahai, General Manager of Manjianghong Animation Co., Ltd., a company initiated and started from the District, said that loss of government's tempting monetary support played a major role in bankruptcy or relocation of these companies. Reliable government supports include rent subsidy and broadcasting awards. In addition, the government departments spent a large amount of money establishing animation technology sharing platform and made great efforts to provide interest-free loans and industry support funds. Local governments were meant to provide support for animation industry's sound initiation; however, the support became the "dependence" of many companies.
It is the "dependence" that made many companies regard government support as the sole profit mode. In order to gain awards from government, many companies produced crappy works while putting strenuous efforts to public relations during broadcasting links instead of investing in quality improvement, thus failing to make a long-term development plan for both works and companies. After realizing the malpractice, fund subsidy and policy awards were halted in 2013 in Huaina District and Shenbei District, districts with greatest concentration of animation industry in Shenyang.
However, stop of government support coincided with economic downturn. Whole animation industry began to suffer rupture of capital chain; as a result more than 2/3 animation companies closed their businesses or went bankrupt. Only less than 30 animation companies of 148 in Hunnan District maintain operation at present. Fiery imploration to authoritative TV broadcasting has also gone.
Shenyang is not alone. Across the country, most animation companies able to maintain continuous upward trend are inseparate from government support giving driving momentum.
Lack of market value
At the site of the just-concluded Sixth China (Shenyang) Animation Video Game Expo, each booth enthusiastically showed off "animation derivatives", such as a RMB 25 yuan bookmark with "One Piece" design and cultural shirts priced RMB 100 yuan each with animation characters, like "Kuroko Tetsuya". Most of these animation images of the derivatives came from Japanese and American animations, while few of them originated from domestic animations, which lead people to lament and sigh where Chinese elements were.
At a booth selling derivatives of American animation Iron Man, a model of one-foot-high "Iron Man" priced at over RMB 100 yuan. Though the "Iron Man" seems to be imported with original packaging, it is made in China in fact. Production chain occupied by Chinese toy manufacturers, in fact, is downstream industry chain with least profits in animation industry.
However, data still seem tempting. In 2013, China's animation industry enjoyed a total output value of RMB 87 billion yuan, possessed more than 4,600 enterprises and employed nearly 220,000 people. However, original animation share and added value from animation derivatives (excluding original equipment manufacture) are pitiful.
Zhang Xuan, a teacher from Animation and Multimedia Division of Shenyang Luxun Academy of Fine Arts, believes that currently China's animation industry is confronted with a situation of "highlighting original equipment manufacture while neglecting originality". "Script shortage" leads to scarcity of originality in both themes and artistic images. Due to lack of excellent original works, China's animation market is awash with foreign works, thus making it difficult to realize brand image authorization and develop derivative markets.
Ji Dahai also confirmed the foregoing viewpoint. "Original animation images feature long periods, huge costs and high risks; while original equipment manufacture for foreign countries features low risks and stable earnings and rewards." Manjianghong Animation Co., Ltd. has always been subsidizing its originality mainly by original equipment manufacture, responsible for the "middle section" (painting, coloring, etc.) with most intensive labor for Japanese and American animation companies. Due to small scale and lack of marketing experience, the only way for the company to grab shares in market is to cooperate with toy manufacturers and publishers.
The only method to reorient the self-satisfaction of medium- and small-size animation enterprises is market, and finally leading animation enterprises adept at originality will capture the market. However, such leading enterprises are still not found in Shenyang. It can be predicted that China's animation industry will enter in-depth adjustment in the following 2 to 3 years.
Need for copyright protection
If a classical animation image endures, its derivative books, audiovisual products and derivative sales will achieve endless development like a rolling snowball. Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf has relieved the pressure of China's animation industry without fist products for a long time. However, nearly 90 percent of its derivatives are not authorized by its copyright holder.
Gong Changsheng, General Manager of Shenyang Best Creativity Animation Co., Ltd., said that "only enterprises' efforts to fight against piracy are limited." China's animation toys make up more than half of the whole animation derivatives market, while animation costumes and publication account for 15 percent and 4 percent respectively of the animation derivatives market. However, pirate animation derivatives bring serious damage to the creators' interest of animation companies.
Ji Dahai said that earnings of domestic small- and medium-size animation companies are mainly from broadcasting, while European and American animation companies mainly rely on development of derivatives within copyright period. If China's copyright protection system remains incomplete, no matter how many fine animation images are created, animation derivatives won't be able to extend their market, life and various grandiose schemes for development of animation industry would only be a castle in the sky. A clean market environment is therefore far more important than incentive policies for a sound animation industry.