On May 30, the original domestic animated film "Children of Time" was officially released. The film was co-written and directed by young directors Yu Ao and Zhou Tienan. With a unique perspective, delicate emotions and exquisite pictures, it created an animated world that combines elements of love, fantasy and adventure.
The Child of Time movie poster
Yu Ao and Zhou Tienan are creative partners and also lovers in life. Before they became well-known to the audience for their performance in the "Annual Comedy Competition", they had already developed a deep connection with the animation field.
In "Child of Time", they tell the audience a brand new original story without any IP blessing - the superpower that can transcend time cannot transcend the fate of the character, the girl who can pause and control time at any time can never catch up with the pace of her lover... Under the novel high-concept setting, the romantic love story shell is wrapped in a deep thinking and delicate interpretation of parting and regret.
Zhou Tienan and Yu Ao
Before the film was released, the screenwriters and directors Yu Ao and Zhou Tienan accepted an exclusive interview with The Paper. From an unexpected farewell to five years of hard work, the story behind this animated film was told.
A farewell poem wrapped in love The decryption key is hidden in the watch
The story of "Child of Time" revolves around the cold-faced killer Shiqi and the fishing village girl Qianxiao. The two are connected by the mysterious holy object "Wheel of Time". One wants to "quit" to find freedom, and the other wants to "leave the island" to find excitement. They temporarily cooperate to become "one-day Wheel of Time partners", and start a romantic adventure with surprises in the bustling metropolis. In the film, the interweaving of fate, the budding of love and the exploration of time form an imaginative story framework.
The initial inspiration did not come from a grand narrative conception, but from an unexpected separation in life.
In 2019, the puppy they had raised for nine years was accidentally killed by a big dog. The sudden change plunged them into deep pain. "At the time, I really couldn't believe it and couldn't accept it. We had already prepared ourselves for the dog to grow old, but we didn't expect the separation to come so suddenly."
This experience made them realize that most farewells in life are often unforewarned. This deep feeling about parting became the starting point for the creation of "Children of Time". Yu Ao and Zhou Tienan wanted to express the theme of "there will always be reunions, and parting is not the end" in the film. The time in the film is no longer linear, but presents a cyclical state. The audience seems to be in a time maze full of fantasy while watching the film.
Poster of "Child of Time"
Manipulating time is a high-concept setting in the movie, which brings countless jokes and novel ideas. The creators also racked their brains to present this most important narrative element in the movie that everyone is familiar with but has never seen in a concrete and interesting way.
The prop "Kalachakra" became the key to decoding. The inspiration for this concept comes from Buddhist classics, which carry the alternation of time and space. During the script stage, Yu Ao wrote, "Qian Xiao caught up with the light and saw a world full of fantasy. When he went inside, he saw a tunnel made of film." Film freezes time and also condenses time accurately and concretely. And the puppy that originally inspired them to create this movie also reunited with them in the movie in the form of memories.
In the movie, the encounter, acquaintance, love, and companionship of the protagonists Shiqi and Qianxiao all unfold in this special time structure. They part and reunite without knowing it, and the repetitive causes and consequences appear confusing in the disrupted timeline, but the desire to protect and redeem each other is extremely firm as they reverse time again and again.
Movie Stills
Many plots in the film are causal. It is necessary to clarify the relationship between the timeline and the inner thoughts of the protagonists in each scene. Interested audiences can also unlock another "deep" fun of watching movies. As creators, Yu Ao and Tie Nan also gave intimate tips for watching movies - "You can pay attention to Qian Xiao's watch. The watch that Shi Qi gave her was at a specific time point, and Qian Xiao has been wearing it since then."
Regarding making an original story that is not an IP, Yu Ao admitted that he felt a lot of pressure during the screenwriting stage. "There is definitely pressure, but you always have to tell some new stories to give the audience a different viewing experience. You always have to step into some unknown dimensions and take a look yourself."
The actor's natural youthfulness gives the character a soul.
In the film, the setting of the two main characters, Shiqi and Qianxiao, also reflects the directors' own projection. Qianxiao is a small town girl who aspires to be the protagonist of a movie. She is lively, straightforward, full of enthusiasm for life and full of longing for the future, but she also has her own weaknesses and losses. Yu Ao and Zhou Tienan incorporated their observations and understanding of the living conditions of young people when shaping these two characters. They believe that young people tend to show a positive side when facing social life, but when they are alone, they also have their own protective shell.
Movie Stills
Seventeen is a cold-blooded killer with severe obsessive-compulsive disorder. His persistence in tasks and pursuit of details make him stand out among the killer profession. This setting not only creates a lot of jokes in the narrative process of the film, but also promotes the development of the plot to a certain extent. "Seventeen himself is a person who will not give up until the task is completed and is obsessed with his own killer KPI. We were thinking about what kind of characteristics are in line with such a character setting, and make the audience feel a little cute and a little human. We hope this trait is a shortcoming, but the shortcoming makes him more like a human being."
Obsessive-compulsive killer 17
The direct source of this setting is director Yu Ao himself. Zhou Tienan, who is her work partner and life partner, began to "complain" about this topic, "Her obsessive-compulsive disorder has the greatest impact on me! It may be that she doesn't let me rest until I finish writing. She will make a very clear schedule every day and must complete it within the specified time. Even if the work that could be completed in three days is OK, she will say that it must be completed today in order to give herself more space for revision and improvement."
Zhou Tienan and Yu Ao
Yu Ao at the side immediately demonstrated his efficient verbal skills to urge for updates, "Look, if we can finish it in three days, that's OK, but if we can finish it in two days, aren't we amazing? If we can finish it in one day, isn't that perfect?"
The production of animated films often takes a long time and the process is complicated. If one link fails to keep up, the entire project will be delayed. Yu Ao said that it was indeed due to the fact that both she and the producer were obsessive-compulsive girls. During the entire project process, they were always "managing time", which was particularly in line with the title of the film.
With the outer shell of the character image, the voice injects the soul into the character. The dubbing lineup of the film is fantastic. Although it is a film described by the producer as a "three-no movie", it has attracted a luxurious dubbing lineup - Wang Junkai, Liu Xiaoyu, Zhou Shen, Huang Bo, Jia Bing, Ma Dong, Jin Jing, Zhou Tienan, Yan Peilun, Zhang Xiaowan, Liu Yang, Luo Shengdeng, Xuan Xiaoming, Cao Xue, etc., gathered in the metropolis to perform a fantasy time journey together.
When talking about the voice actors joining the team, Yu Ao and Zhou Tienan still find it a little unbelievable.
Zhou Tienan revealed that they had selected many voices at the beginning, but they all felt that they lacked some soul. It was not until Wang Junkai appeared that they found the Seventeen in their hearts. "Xiao Kai actually gave Seventeen a different charm. He is not only a killer, but also a teenager. He has a very sincere, genuine, gentle and even shy side in his heart. Those are very precious and natural states of Xiao Kai himself. We are very grateful that he is willing to present this side of him in our movie."
Wang Junkai voices Seventeen
When the producer first mentioned that Wang Junkai could play this role, Yu Ao and Tie Nan's reaction was "You are so bold, but can he come?"
"Objectively speaking, we are new directors, and we are working on an original story without an IP. So in the initial stage, no one paid attention to us. This is a very practical and specific difficulty that our team had to face." Yu Ao admitted. But after really working with Wang Junkai, Yu Ao said that he immediately joined the "little crab" team and was "circled" - "I read his script, and every line was logically emphasized. We would talk about this story, the subtext and actions of the characters, and a lot of thoughts about life, including parting. He would digest them very seriously." After this cooperation, Zhou Tienan found that "beyond the halo of those stars, you will find that you can really get to know him as a person. Including the fact that he and the team drove for a long time in the rain to support the premiere of the movie, it was really exciting, and there was a very youthful "middle school feeling" that supported me."
Zhou Shen, who plays Amu in the film, also served as a voice actor for the first time. Yu Ao revealed a small episode - before Zhou Shen entered the recording studio, his good friend Jin Jing told Yu Ao, "Don't be nervous, Zhou Shen is the best person in the world." With a mood of "Let me see how good the best person in the world can be", Yu Ao walked into the recording studio and found that the entire crew was immersed in laughter that could not be stopped. But apart from the laughter, Yu Ao could also feel Zhou Shen's deep understanding of the theme of the movie, "Later we talked about some topics about parting. Through the glass of the recording studio, at that moment, I felt that we saw each other."
Zhou Shen voices Amu
Two exits: one is to embrace sadness, the other is to release yourself
Entering the world of "Children of Time", the audience will be attracted by a unique visual style. During the art design stage, the creative team naturally thought of the city of Shanghai as inspiration. "The state of old Shanghai is both ancient and modern. At that time, both visually and in people's minds, there was an alternation between new culture and old civilization. This natural dramatic tension makes us feel very interesting." The unique art scene design allows the film to create an atmosphere that is both retro and fashionable - from the big clock tower to the corner of the alley, people can feel the unique charm of old Shanghai. The design of these scenes is not imagined out of thin air. The art team carefully referenced many places in Shanghai and carefully sorted and selected scenes with ancient charm and modern elements.
The film's art reference is Old Shanghai
In addition, the scene of the Sands Islands in the film symbolizes the passage of time. The sand elements alone are stacked up in 40-50 layers. The flow trajectory of each particle has been debugged several times. The creators hope to use the "hourglass image" as a metaphor for emotional weight. This extreme pursuit of details is also reflected in the carving of the character's dynamics. In the design of character dynamics, the team abandoned motion capture technology and insisted on presenting the ideal artistic style with "pure hand-K" animation. For example, Amu's cartoon-like multi-POSE switching is completed frame by frame, and the production volume is 2-3 times that of the conventional process. Such complicated carving details are only to reduce the tiny dynamic traces of real people and make the characters more unique in the language of animation.
The creation process of the entire animation can be described as a long and arduous marathon. The early text script creation took two years. In 2020, the industry fell into a state of stagnation. In this gap, they also stepped onto another stage of life, the "Annual Comedy Competition". Comedy works such as "Laugh, Piolevic", "Money! Ah", and "When a Man Steps into the Civil Affairs Bureau" combine imagination and insight into life. The creation of animation and comedy nourishes and influences each other.
The director at the premiere
The creation of animation and comedy is like two parallel worlds that coincide by chance. Recalling that period, Yu Ao said, "The theme of the story is about separation. At that time, the whole world was very heavy in life and news. "Children of Time" and "Comedy Competition" are actually two outlets. One allows me to embrace sadness, and the other allows me to release myself." Yu Ao said.
On the day of the interview, on the same floor of Shanghai Metro City Mall where the movie premiere took place, the drama "Lychees in Chang'an" starring Song Tianshuo was being performed in the "Shang Theater"; Xiaowan and Guan Le, who participated in "Riding the Wind 2025", also had a stage that people talked about. Talking about the "Xiren" who "opened the book" in different fields, Yu Ao said with emotion, "'Xiren' will always shed tears for each other's achievements. It is really a very loving group. It is a very happy thing to see each other grow in their respective fields."
"Children of Time" incorporates many tributes to classic movies in the fantasy love storyline. There are many tributes to classic movies in the film, from the arrangement of scenes to the lines of characters, which can make the audience feel the creator's deep respect for film art. The sentence in Edward Yang's "Yi Yi" that "people's life has been extended three times since the invention of film" just confirms the theme of the film; the time and space tunnel formed by the film is a concrete expression of the function of film in "carving time".
Film version poster
As creators who have been associated with animation for more than ten years, the public's attention and enthusiasm for animation sparked by "Nezha: The Devil Boy Conquers the Dragon King" this year also made the two people who have deep roots in the animation industry very excited. "The film is facing a big test this year. Many people are discussing whether its market is still there? But because of this animation, so many people are willing to go to the cinema. It is a milestone work, with great achievements in both artistic expression and technical style." As for whether the high box office of "Nezha 2" will bring pressure to the latecomers of animation, Yu Ao said, "Every animated film has its own unique vitality, and we all complete our own artistic expression under limited resources and cycles. I hope that the audience can also pay attention to some explorations of "Child of Time" in the narrative and emotional dimensions."
