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Nguu Lai: Despite critical backlash, mother remains a constant source of support
Báo Tuổi Trẻ
22/08/2026
20:33
The low-budget animated film 'Niu Lai' is creating a 'so bad it's good' phenomenon in China, and the film's popularity has now reached an international level.
Toàn bộ đội ngũ sản xuất Ngưu Lai chỉ gồm Tín Vũ Manh và Tôn Lệ Phương - Ảnh: Weibo
According to HK01, the production team for Niu Lai consisted solely of director Xin Yumen and his mother, Sun Lifang. Neither had any prior experience, yet they spent five years completing the film by themselves. Despite the rudimentary visuals and special effects, the box office revenue has seen a surprising surge, with Niu Lai currently exceeding 33 million yuan.
Before the premiere, Xin Yumen spoke with Dalian Children's Radio, sharing his inspiration and the five-year journey of making Niu Lai.
The origin story of Niu Lai began with Xin Yumen's decision to change careers. Born in 1992 in Dalian, China, he studied landscape design and later worked in interior/exterior decoration and Building Information Modeling (BIM).
In 2021, after watching numerous animated films, Xin Yumen decided to make a film of his own.
Speaking on his career pivot, Xin Yumen explained that he had watched many animated films since childhood and felt he had the foundation and potential, leading him to enter the film industry.
Tuy nhiên, khi thực sự bắt tay vào làm, Tín Vũ Manh mới nhận ra công việc đặc biệt khó khăn - Ảnh: Weibo
According to him, landscape design focuses on overall composition, whereas animation requires micro-level processing, from individual frames to the emotions of each scene.
Addressing criticism regarding the choppy frame rate and raw image quality of Niu Lai, Xin Yumen candidly admitted that these issues were unavoidable.
Throughout the five-year production, the film had no external post-production team and received no outside investment. Xin Yumen handled almost the entire process alone, from modeling, digital rigging, lighting, and rendering to editing and voice acting.
Due to a limited budget, he could only purchase used consumer-grade computers from second-hand platforms. At one point, the hardware was so overloaded that the motherboard burned out, severely impacting the production schedule.
Tín Vũ Manh cũng thừa nhận do thiếu kinh nghiệm nên phải đi nhiều đường vòng trong quá trình thực hiện - Ảnh: Weibo
Notably, Niu Lai did not use AI at any stage of the production process. Xin Yumen does not shy away from the film's technical flaws.
He stated: "Audiences don't go to the cinema to use a microscope to inspect every strand of hair. Between obsessing over every detail and ensuring the overall story, I chose to let the story drive the film."
The creation of Niu Lai was also made possible by the participation of Xin Yumen's mother, Sun Lifang. A former state-owned enterprise employee with no filmmaking experience, she taught herself screenwriting from scratch and took on all the voice acting for the female characters in the film.
She also taught herself music, composed the score for Niu Lai, and handled the lyrics, composition, and performance for the film's closing song.
Tín Vũ Manh đánh giá rất cao khả năng sáng tác của mẹ. Anh cho rằng những ca khúc mình viết ra cơ bản chỉ có giai điệu mà không có cảm xúc, trong khi âm nhạc của mẹ lại khiến anh vô cùng bất ngờ - Ảnh: Weibo
However, during the production process, the mother and son frequently disagreed. Xin Yumen recounted that "arguing, debating, and slamming tables" happened quite often. Ultimately, in most of these disputes, he chose to listen to his mother. He admits that he lacks social experience, while his mother is, after all, a person with more life experience.
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