Introduction
Hello, fellow adventurers! Blaziker is back for a surprise animated movie adventure, and this time, we will be taking a look at perhaps one of my most anticipated animated movies of 2023: Chang An!
Once again helmed by the legendary Light Chaser Animation, Chang An (or 30,000 Miles from Chang An) chronicles the legendary poems of famed Chinese poet Li Bai through the recounts of his friend in Gao Shi in his last moments of his life to a military inspector.
I have already reviewed one Light Chaser animated movie this year with New Gods: Yang Jian, which is a slight disappointment in my opinion. Now, Light Chaser returned to its roots with movies focusing on Chinese culture, but this time, rather than being set on Chinese folklore, this movie is based on the legendary poems of Li Bai, Gao Shi and other legendary tang Dynasty poets. Also, this movie is even longer than Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, at close to 3 hours.
Will this be a comeback for Light Chaser? Only one way to find out, on to our adventure!
Key Information
- Directors: Xie Junwei, Jing Zou
- Animation Studio: Light Chaser Animation
- Country of Origin: China
- Rating: PG
- Release Date: 8 July 2023 (in China)
Trailer
The Review
Story and Characters
When even comparing to Light Chaser’s previous movies, a lot of them (except for Cats and Peachtopia) focused on its core strength with their take on epic Chinese mythology and folklore. However, in the case of Chang An, while it is also based on Chinese literature, Chang An is based on a series of poems by the legendary Chinese poet Li Bai (voiced by Ling Zhenhe as the younger version and Xuan Xiaoming as the older version), along with other poems by general Gao Shi (voiced by Yang Tianxiang as the younger version and Wu Junquan as the older version) and other famed Tang Dynasty poets.
To adapt a series of poems into an epic, not to mention an epic lasting around 2 hours and 40 minutes (making it the longest animated movie of 2023, beating Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse by about 20 minutes), is a very risky move, and yet somehow Light Chaser managed to make such a long movie feel effortless.
Probably the best part of the movie goes down to two things regarding its writing: how well-paced the movie was in ensuring that there is no boring or out-of-place moment in the movie and how well the movie incorporated various poems in the movie without feeling overbearing. There is something timeless about Chinese poetry that makes its verses hit hard, but it is even better when the dialogue in this movie voice those poems to their full effect. Given that Yang Jian suffered from a convoluted plot in my review, this risk paid off in spades.
What is even better was the budding relationship between Li Bai and Gao Shi. Throughout the movie’s runtime, there was a level of maturity between the playful Li Bai and the serious Gao Shi that went beyond their coincidental meeting, turning it into a love dance thanks to their love and prowess for poetry. Even at times when Gao Shi was annoyed by Li Bai’s drinking habit (which is pretty much one of the best things about the real-life Li Bai as well), their relationship was well-developed in a surprising way.
Even so, the movie did not back down on its supporting cast. Du Fu (Sun Lulu) plays an integral supporting role that helped Gao Shi along the journey throughout his various meetings with Li Bai, even when they are pursuing different paths. Again, voice acting is as solid as the other Light Chaser movies, but that was to be expected anyway.
The only thing I wish this movie could have done better was to make this movie cut off about 10 minutes of unneeded time, but that was the only bad thing I could say about this movie.
Animation
Light Chaser had excelled when it comes to their animation, but in the case of Yang Jian previously, there were a few issues regarding its animation. Thankfully, that was fixed in Chang An, and besides that, this movie had some extra tricks up its sleeve when it comes to animation.
If I can pick an animation sequence in Chang An that I love, I honestly cannot, because Light Chaser pulled off some of the best animation work among their catalogue. There were various animation sequences with precision, creativity and uniqueness, from a simple wrestling flight to visions while being drunk. The action sequences and background designs of the various places are as pristine as the creative visuals, creating a spectacle that make the viewing experience less boring even with such a very long runtime.
Still, even if the character designs share a similar language with Light Chaser’s previous movies, Light Chaser nails the expressions in the various characters which is to be expected of them. There is distinctiveness in each character and, while not completely different, have so much expression, even subtle ones which is hard these days.
Honestly, even if the animation is not as wildly creative as Deep Sea this year, the animation in Chang An is amazing enough that it does not need to be so out there. All it needs is for the animation to be of high quality, and Chang An passes the test with flying colours.
Soundtrack, Other Elements and Level of Enjoyment
As usual, the soundtrack in Chang An is excellent. Of course, Chang An uses classical Chinese orchestra music, but when such a score helps to aid the epic-ness and scale in this movie, I do not feel it is worth changing the formula unless really needed.
In addition, while sound editing and mixing is a very minor element in an animated movie unless they are integral, the sound editing in Chang An is great. There is a varying and correct amount of clarity in the movie’s various scenes, be it as quiet as a performance on a boat as Li Bai drums to the beat of a dancer, to the battle scenes throughout the movie. Man, for an element that is usually an afterthought, the sound editing is amazing.
As for my level of enjoyment, despite its long running time, I was never bored about this movie. Watching it felt joyful as I continued on with this movie, especially with certain animation sequences. Considering how far Chinese animation has come, this was a creative animated movie that brought me an abundance of excitement towards the Chinese animation scene.
Conclusion
I got to be honest, I was expecting some great things from one of my most favourite new animation studios in recent memory in Light Chaser Animation, but I never expected them to improve this drastically from their previous movie.
Chang An is an epic and ambitious animated movie that came so close to being a perfect movie in all departments. Despite being nearly three hours, it never slows down in terms of its pacing and narrative, it delivers some of Li Bai’s most memorable poems with precision, its animation flows as smoothly and majestically as the Yangtze River, the soundtrack exemplifies great classic Chinese music coupled with great sound editing, and it was a blast to watch through.
Not only is Chang An one of the best Chinese animated movies in recent memory and up there with Deep Sea this year, it is a movie that felt faithfully Chinese in the best way possible. I can finally say this is probably the best animated movie by Light Chaser Animation Studios, and their ambition and grit is what makes this movie’s success possible.
Thank you so much for joining me on this adventure. Next time, we will stay in China for yet another animated movie from them, but this time, it will be a special Chinese animated movie that I am so excited to share given its sheer obscurity (of which I helped out with the movie’s translation). I will see you in the next adventure, and until then, k thanks bye!
Blaziker’s Hot Sauce Movie Rating
