Film Name: 青蛙总动员 / The Adventure of Frog / Adventure of Frog
When a serious director makes a particularly unprofessional film with a serious attitude, it leaves you both laughing and crying. If such a story unfolds on screen, it’s a comedy; if it happens in real life, it’s a tragedy.
While the film’s technical execution isn’t particularly impressive or sophisticated, you can still sense some sincerity. For instance, the opening sequence’s fresh 2D style paired with the theme song actually transported me into the world of “McDull.” Unfortunately, the film’s lack of professionalism erupted as soon as the music ended.
Even setting aside the unprofessional plot structure and character development, the film fails to meet basic standards of safety and appropriateness. The first 30 minutes are almost unbearable. The relentless, oppressive antagonist subplots and the protagonists’ constant injuries keep the film steeped in a near-constant atmosphere of horror. Some children in the theater were scared to tears and couldn’t watch. After 30 minutes, two parents in my screening left with their kids.
Right from the start, a tiny frog is devoured by a giant tadpole. Setting aside whether such a plot has scientific basis, the sheer abruptness of this loss of life creates immense psychological pressure for the audience. Throughout the first 30 minutes, scenes of bullfrogs demonically chasing little frogs appear countless times, often treated as mere transitional sequences. In those opening 30 minutes, you even witness the violent spectacle of a bullfrog spitting out half a frog leg it had devoured. In those opening 30 minutes, humans continue spraying pesticides on farmland, poisoning the little frogs. When the child declares that bullfrogs shouldn’t bully the small, isn’t his own act of chasing the bullfrog with a broomstick another form of bullying the weak?
I can’t help but wonder: if I had a child, would I want them to watch a film so saturated with darkness, terror, murder, and poison? Would I want them to endure psychological oppression and torment during a time meant for joy? I believe what children will remember most after watching this film isn’t the protagonist Xiao Hei Meng’s cuteness, but the bullfrog’s cruelty and viciousness. These images, camera angles, and even the deliberately terrifying voice of the bullfrog crafted by the film will haunt children’s nightmares for days.
Xiao Hei Meng’s mother “dies” to save him—at least that’s how Xiao Hei Meng leads the audience to believe. Though I sensed she might reappear later, this tragic plot point in the first 30 minutes weighs heavily on already vulnerable viewers, turning the viewing experience into an exceptionally stifling and sorrowful emotional ordeal. Such an experience should have been merely a fleeting accent to joy.
The film spares no effort—even bordering on hysteria—in depicting the bullfrog’s violence. Yet this earnestness only serves as a concentrated manifestation of the film’s lack of professionalism and craftsmanship. Why not devote more attention to portraying the little frogs’ beautiful lives and pure friendships? Why not focus more on depicting the frog family’s affection, or even the touching story between Xiao Hei Meng and the human child?
Throughout the film, the little black frogs relentlessly search for the “Peach Frog Spring”—an idyllic paradise suited for young frogs. But is the seemingly beautiful pond they discover truly the ultimate “Peach Frog Spring”? Could it not be disrupted by humans, polluted by sewage, or overrun by bullfrogs? The true “Peach Frog Spring” may be something attainable yet elusive, perhaps worth a lifetime of relentless pursuit. Or perhaps it isn’t a physical place at all, but rather a spirit of mutual support and the triumph of the underdog. Regrettably, the film fails to explore these profoundly human themes, instead settling for a superficial narrative.
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