Film Name: 摩尔庄园2海妖宝藏 / Legend of The Moles-The Treasure of Scylla
Last year, “Legend of The Moles 1” stood out as the highest-quality film among the top three adaptations of children’s online community games. The other two were “Seer 1” and “The Dragon Knight 1.” While “Seer 1” achieved the highest box office revenue at 43 million yuan, its production quality was relatively the lowest, with its success largely attributed to aggressive marketing and promotion. “The Dragon Knight 1,” co-produced by Tencent, Youyang, and Xuandong—three companies with substantial media resources—ultimately earned only 33 million yuan. While superficially surpassing the 30 million yuan threshold, this result failed to justify the resources invested by the production team and could even be considered a failure. “Legend of The Moles 1” achieved a box office of 18 million yuan, a solid and steady start.
“Legend of The Moles 2” largely maintains the narrative quality of its predecessor while adopting 3D technology for enhanced visual detail. The TV series protagonist, Molo, finally receives significant screen time in this feature film. The introduction of legendary characters like Phantom Thief RK adds compelling elements to the sequel. This is a standard sequel that can be enjoyed independently, featuring new conflicts and characters.
It’s difficult to judge a film aimed at young children by adult standards. Therefore, I made a point of observing the audience’s reactions during the screening—noting which scenes made the children laugh and which they watched intently. Here are my observations in chronological order:
· When Molle joined the RK League, he appeared clumsy. He took a big tumble while walking, prompting laughter from the audience.
· When Old Farmer Uncle (I forgot his name) took Mo Lele’s handmade battle robe and was questioned, he replied, “I thought it was an old bedsheet and threw it away.” Laughter erupted.
· The line “A rabbit that can’t protect itself isn’t a good rabbit” drew loud laughter.
· When discussing wishes, Dudu declared, “I want walnut cakes that never run out!” Parents laughed.
· The scene opening the Trial Gate had the children watching intently.
· On the ship, the Moors faced a sea monster attack. The struggle between the fat sea monster and Dudu sparked laughter throughout the venue. Their fight resumed after a few seconds, triggering more laughter.
· RK and the captain’s standoff on the balance beam drew laughter from the audience.
· RK gets caught in an island trap. After being rescued, he falls headfirst to the ground, drawing laughter.
· As the Moors traverse a tunnel, the twin Moors Kubi and Biku bump into each other, eliciting laughter.
· When the evil wizard Kula is tied up, both the Captain and RK simultaneously yell, “Shut up, pervert!” causing laughter.
·Mole Mole tumbles down the stairs, eliciting laughter from the audience.
·When RK makes his final wish, prioritizing the greater good by declaring he’ll restore joy and peace to Mole Manor, the audience applauds.
These are all the plot points where laughter erupted during my observation. Though limited to one theater, this still offers some indicative insights. I believe at least the following takeaways warrant attention:
First, sudden, simple physical gags are the primary source of humor. The film features numerous slapstick sequences where characters stumble, collide, and fall, each reliably eliciting laughter. In contrast, the comedic banter between the distinctive little moles, Kubi and Pikku, fails to generate much laughter. This demonstrates that in early childhood animation, verbal humor is less direct and engaging than physical humor. Physical comedy provides immediate sensory stimulation, whereas verbal humor requires logical processing—a far more demanding cognitive task.
Second, spectacles and icons capture attention. The climactic finale naturally drew the most intense focus from children. Earlier scenes where kids instinctively leaned forward in their seats to watch intently were largely tied to two keywords: spectacle and icon. For instance, the opening of the Trial Gate and scenes featuring RK drew particularly intense scrutiny. The sequence where RK and the Captain—one embodying mysterious chivalry, the other heroic justice—face off on a balance beam introduced a novel logic rule absent in other films: the two must maintain a fixed distance due to physical constraints. Children grasped this intricate dynamic through common sense, erupting in knowing laughter.
Third, emotional resonance is handled with restraint. The film avoids overly emphasizing how RK sacrificed his “small” wish to see his parents for the “greater” goal of restoring peace to Moorland Manor. Instead of lecturing through didactic exposition, it reveals RK’s inner conflict and shared decision within a mere minute. This approach is rare in domestic animation. Even in an era where many American blockbusters prefer heavy-handed dialogue to lay out their themes directly, subtlety, nuance, and indirect expression seem to have become casualties of fast-food culture. The ending of “Legend of The Moles 2” proves that subtlety can sometimes touch the heart more deeply than directness.
Regarding this film, I’d like to point out two shortcomings—perhaps nitpicking, but offered for industry colleagues’ reference.
One issue is the overuse of the idol character. RK is both Kiki’s idol and the idol of all young viewers. Much like Phantom Thief Kid in “Detective Conan,” he embodies three defining traits: exceptional operational skills, an air of mystery surrounding his identity and whereabouts, and a morally unconventional stance. Such characters demand protection above all else: they should appear sparingly, not frequently; they should emerge at pivotal moments, not become integral to the plot’s step-by-step progression. Have you ever seen Phantom Thief Kid tag along with Conan and Ran to solve cases day in and day out? He typically appears at the most critical junctures, towering over the masses with his extraordinary presence. Otherwise, how could his idol status be fully realized?
Using RK as a plot gimmick and sequel hook in “Legend of The Moles 2” is understandable. However, RK’s appearances became too arbitrary and frequent—even falling into traps and getting knocked down—drastically diminishing his sacred status in viewers’ eyes. This amounts to brand self-sabotage by shattering the idol’s illusion. When an idol becomes just another actor with excessive screen time, when they lose the scarcity and mystique they should possess, they cease to be an idol. Consequently, they can no longer cultivate the audience’s sense of anticipation and reverence. And with that diminished sense of anticipation and reverence, the subsequent demand for interaction—the desire to purchase merchandise—also wanes.
Another issue lies in the inconsistent fates of characters of equal standing. The film portrays several types of sea monsters: the Golden Sea Monster, the Phantom Sea Monster, the obese sea monster that sprays anesthetic drugs, and others. Whether introduced initially or appearing sequentially throughout the plot, these sea monsters all convey a sense of equal importance, with no apparent hierarchy. Yet ultimately, the Golden Mermaid is petrified, while the others survive and are never mentioned again. This creates a subtle sense of confusion: Why such a stark difference in fates for characters of equal standing? Why was the Golden Mermaid petrified, not the others? While it’s not essential for all characters of equal status to share identical fates, inconsistencies must be justified with plausible reasoning to withstand scrutiny.
In this regard, we can examine the classic Chinese animated film “The Gourd Brothers.” Seven brothers grew from the same gourd vine, and they should have been of equal standing—each should have gone one after another to defeat the Snake and Scorpion Demons. Yet the film ingeniously designed a reason for their differing fates: the theft of the seventh brother’s purple gourd created a new plot conflict. The first five Gourd Brothers held essentially equal status and met largely similar fates: each encountered the serpent demon’s poison and fell into its trap. Though their individual abilities differed and their methods of defeating the serpent and scorpion varied, their outcomes must remain fundamentally consistent. Otherwise, one might ask: Why could that particular gourd defeat the serpent demon while the others could not? The Sixth Brother, possessing unique abilities and serving to facilitate the Seventh Brother’s birth, held an extraordinary status, justifying his distinct outcome.
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