IP - The missing foundation of Vietnamese animation

IP (Intellectual Property) is considered the key to success for animation films in the world. However, in Vietnam, building IPs that are attractive enough to attract audiences, be commercially successful and spread, is still a big challenge.

Long but not durable

In film and animation, IP is often understood as a system of characters, stories, images... created by individuals or organizations, copyrighted and commercially exploitable. IP is not just a short-term project, but a product with the potential to develop into a brand, promoting the commercialization of animation.

In the world , many IPs have spread their influence globally, such as: Doraemon, The Lion King, Toy Story, Madagascar, Ice Age, Shrek, The Croods, Minions, Pokemon, Dragon Ball... In Southeast Asia, Malaysia also had a very successful IP - Upin & Ipin.

Starting in 2007 as a long-running animated series, the series was later shown on Disney Channel Asia from 2009, then moved to film versions, of which the 2019 film UPin & IPin: Legend of the Sword was shown in Vietnamese theaters. In addition, Malaysia also has other famous IPs such as BoBoiBoy, Ejen Ali... Or recently Mechamato Movie (2022).

Ceramic Warriors - the first stop motion animated film in production

Vietnam also has some IPs that are gradually conquering the audience, such as: Wolfoo, Seven-color Rabbit, En... or recently, characters like De Men, Trang Quynh, which are also expected to be potential IPs that can go the long way. However, despite having a history of more than 65 years of development, in which many works have won awards at film festivals around the world, Vietnamese animation is still limited to single works, mainly in the form of short films.

The number of full-length animated films shown in theaters can be counted on the fingers of one hand. The awareness of building IP to build a brand, from which to serve commercial exploitation, has only emerged in the past decade, pioneered by Sconnect - the unit that owns the IP Wolfoo.

Ms. Vu Nguyen Phuc Anh, Director of the Vietnam Association of Cinematography and Animation (VAVA), said: “The core of building Vietnam’s IP is to create unique, national characteristics, like the case of Upin & Ipin in Malaysia. I hope that by 2030, we will have famous IPs, at least at the regional level.”

Overcoming the “quietly strong”

According to VAVA, the animation and visual effects industry in Vietnam, although developing very strongly, is not prominent because it mainly works for international projects. It is estimated that more than 60% of animation and VFX studios in Vietnam have participated quite deeply in international projects. However, VAVA representatives believe that if there is no transformation like what China and Korea have done, the Vietnamese animation industry will forever remain the "nameless factory" of the world.

Director - Meritorious Artist Trinh Lam Tung calls this "the pain of outsourcing". According to him, the positive side of outsourcing is bringing in much higher income than the domestic market, thereby ensuring life; the opportunity to learn advanced production technology and strict quality control processes; improving communication skills, project management according to international standards. But the negative side is also not small. The overwhelming demands, time zone differences and repetitive work wear down health and creative passion, thereby fading the dream of making animated films for theatrical release. More importantly, outsourcing causes the team to be fragmented, reducing team spirit.

“I know many colleagues who are extremely capable, but when they work for hire, they only know how to do that part. Many people are full of ambition but then get caught up in outsourcing, and when they look back, all their dreams are shattered, and there is not a single work that bears their personal mark. That is a professional pain,” Meritorious Artist Trinh Lam Tung shared.

However, that does not mean that Vietnamese animation does not have positive signals. Mr. Ta Manh Hoang, CEO of Sconnect Vietnam, revealed that in 2026, this unit will release at least 2 films, while continuing to focus on training human resources as well as building quality scripts to create a sustainable ecosystem.

Some domestic studios such as Sun Wolf Animation, Colory Animation... are also actively developing theatrical animation projects. Recently, VAVA, with the support of the French Embassy and the French Institute in Vietnam, organized the Vietnam Animation IP contest with the aim of creating a platform for new IP creative ideas.

The above efforts are not only to build a creative platform to promote the development of the animation and special effects industry in Vietnam - a field that already has almost everything, from human resources to facilities, but what is lacking is the right direction for Vietnamese animation to truly explode and conquer audiences at home and abroad.

VAN TUAN

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/ip-nen-mong-con-thieu-cua-hoat-hinh-viet-post810150.html