‘So bad it’s good’: Rough animated film Niu Lai becomes surprise Chinese hit

A low-budget Chinese animated film that was widely mocked for its crude visuals became a viral hit, with people packing cinemas to see just how bad it is.

“Niu Lai”, which translates to “Here Comes the Cow”, earned around 7,000 yuan ($1,000) in its opening week from August 5, before surging to 33.06 million yuan ($4.92 million) at the Chinese box office, according to ticketing platform Maoyan.

The film, made by a mother and son, follows the journey of a calf named Niu Lai and was crafted frame by frame over five years, local media reported, with the duo also composing original scores for the end credits.

Caelan Moriarty, an American musician working in China, told AFP the film is “so bad that it’s so good”.

“I appreciate how bad it is, but there’s some heart (put) into it, so you can’t hate that,” the 25-year-old said.

Artificial intelligence could make the movie in “like ten seconds or even faster”, Moriarty said, but “the fact that they didn’t use AI, they took time” was impressive.

“It’s not perfect. But because it’s not perfect, it’s good, it shows how human it is… and I think that’s why this is trending.”

With its stiff 3D characters and awkward dialogue, the movie traces Niu Lai’s relationship with his mother. The film’s unpolished style quickly went viral on social media, with fans embracing its imperfections as part of its charm.

Student Stella Xing, who watched the film in Beijing after seeing memes online, told AFP: “Even though it’s pretty rough around the edges, there are so many funny details — like the way (Niu Lai) walks, for instance”.

“It’s hilarious and really makes people want to come see it,” she added.

‘Part of its appeal’

At cinemas in Beijing, hand-drawn banners of human-like cows with eyebrows stood in stark contrast to the glossy posters promoting Christopher Nolan’s latest film “The Odyssey”.

Barely any conventional marketing had been done to promote the film.

As “Niu Lai” took China’s internet by storm, online retailers on platforms such as Taobao rushed to produce merchandise featuring the yellow cow, including T-shirts, figurines and even boxer shorts.

One online merchant told AFP he started selling “Niu Lai” keychains as the movie became a hit.

The film offers “something different from the polished, sophisticated productions we are used to”, Pan Wang, an associate professor at Australia’s University of New South Wales, said.

“It is a bit like eating refined grains every day and then suddenly having some coarse grains for a change — the contrast itself feels refreshing,” Wang added.

“Its roughness, absurdity and imperfection become part of its appeal.”

Animated films have proven highly popular in the world’s second largest economy.

The more polished Chinese blockbuster “Ne Zha 2” ousted last year Disney’s “Inside Out 2” to become the highest-grossing animated film of all time.