Low-cost domestic animated film "Niu Lai" unexpectedly becomes a hit in China

The film's pixelated and stuttering animated visuals have been likened to a PowerPoint presentation. The plot is convoluted and makes heavy use of a dream sequence. Some say its main characters - a calf, its mother and a leopard - look more like sponges with eyes and legs.

However, this low-budget children's film made by a 34-year-old landscape architect and his mother has become an unexpected hit in China, with fans praising it for bringing a refreshing sense of authenticity in the age of artificial intelligence.

"Niu Lai" is director Nobu Moe's first work. It tells a growth story through the dream of a calf named Niu Lai learning to walk. This is a work that he poured his heart and soul into, took five years to complete, and was released with almost no publicity. With less than 300 tickets sold in the first ten days of release, its poor performance sparked an online discussion, with viewers posting photos of the crude animation online.

Within days, however, the film, which viewers described as having "catastrophic" visuals, had gained a cult following. Driven by young fans, people flocked to theaters, making the film one of the year's top performers, taking in more than 20 million yuan since its release on August 5. Videos online showed that some audience members wearing cow masks were talking and laughing loudly during the movie, and openly filming the movie in the theater.

Businesses have produced plush toys in the image of Niu Lai, and fans have produced a large number of emoticons and movie posters to place in theaters. (The film's production company did not release an official poster.) Police in the eastern Chinese city of Hefei used the image of Niu Lai in a traffic safety announcement.

Even commentators in China's state media said they didn't want to miss it. Hu Xijin, the former editor-in-chief of the nationalist tabloid Global Times, described his experience of going "to join in the fun." "In the movie theater, all I heard was laughter from the beginning to the end," he wrote on social media platform Weibo on Sunday.

"Niu Lai" will likely become China's Generation Z's first cult film, reminiscent of the 2003 Tommy Wiseau film "Room," which fascinated fans with its huge plot holes and bizarre performances. While several Chinese films have failed at the box office and been labeled "super bad", few have become popular precisely because they were "bad."

The film, co-voiced by Xin Yumeng and her mother Sun Lifang, is characterized by a protracted and often confusing plot, stiff dialogue and janky graphics. According to Michael Berry, a professor of Chinese literature and film at UCLA, Xin Yumeng does not appear to be using artificial intelligence to create hyper-realistic effects, but rather a low-tech approach reminiscent of 1990s-style animation.

“It can almost be seen as a cinematic response to the ‘lie flat’ movement,” he said, referring to a trend in China that uses minimal effort to protest an overly competitive culture. Bai Ruiwen said that the film seemed to be resisting the technological arms race in the industry and instead embracing something that seemed "backward", "outdated" and "stupid".

Others interpreted the public's enthusiasm for "Niu Lai" as a rejection of the more formulaic, algorithm-driven big-budget films from Hollywood and Chinese studios.