Translator: Legge Editor: Legge
The next day.
In the morning.
At a theater in Beijing.
“It's time for work.”
“Little Liu, do a check on the equipment.”
“Little w.a.n.g, how many movies are screening today?”
“Just four, but most of the sessions are for Frozen.”
“Hai, to give an animated film such a screening rate, will it really work out? Will people really watch it?”
“Sister Han, the ticket bookings have been tabulated!”
“What are the ticket sales for today?”
“They're all sold out!”
“What? Sold out?”
“The tickets for all of Frozen's showtimes have been sold out.”
“Huh? There are people buying tickets for the morning sessions too?”
“d.a.m.n, just how many fans does Teacher Zhang have!”
Shanghai.
In a theater.
“Look!”
“Isn't that Director Li Ke?”
“He's here?”
“Ah, I saw Xu Meilan!”
“Sister Lan also came to support the movie?”
“And Jiang Hanwei too! That's Jiang Hanwei, right?”
“It's him. Old Jiang has also been filming a show in Shanghai recently.”
“That theater is booked for the day. The attendees are all celebrities.”
“Awesome!”
New York.
Several Hollywood animation directors came together in a group.
These people were all well-known animation directors in Hollywood. One of them was even the director of a Top 3 animated film of all time at the Hollywood box office, even though its earnings weren't that much compared to Hollywood live-action movies.
“Are we really going to watch it?”
“Come on, let's have a look.”
“It cost 200 million dollars to make, so I would like to see what he came up with.”
“I don't have much hope for it.”
“The new directors are all too arrogant for their own good.”
“Yeah, who doesn't know how tough it is to make an animated film? As someone who has only made a live-action movie, what does he know about animated films? What does he know about Hollywood animated films?”
London.
“Wow!”
“Who is that?”
“Lillian!”
“Lillian brought her family here to watch a movie?”
“Is she going to watch Potter's new movie?”
“Surely? She has a guest role in that movie, after all.”
“Eh, that's not right. She didn't go into that cinema hall!”
“That cinema hall is—the VIP cinema hall for Frozen?”
“What? Lillian is going to watch Zhang Ye's animated film?”
“Lillian has actually come to support Zhang Ye's movie on its premiere day? She's not even going to watch the movie she acted in?”
“Uh, it's making me wanna watch Frozen as well.”
“Why don't we also buy a ticket for it?”
j.a.pan.
At a downtown theater.
Several acquaintances b.u.mped into each other in the crowd.
“Ah, Kyoko.”
“Ah, Seki-chan?”
“Editor Fujita, what are you also doing here?”
“Ahem, you all came to watch Frozen too? Weren't you all calling to boycott Zhang Ye at the editorial department yesterday? You were so hyped about the boycott, so what are you are doing here!”
“No, that's you! You're always the first person to criticize Zhang Ye's new works, but aren't you here too?”
“I'm just curious, aren't I?”
“Hai, we were curious too.”
“Keep this matter a secret. We never saw each other.”
“Uh, OK.”
France.
At a media session.
Many media personnel had come, with quite a few film critics among them. When everyone got seated in the theater, they took out their pens and notebooks and got ready to write their reviews of the movie.
“This farce is finally coming to an end.”
“Yeah, Zhang Ye was too impulsive this time.”
“Everything was actually going very well for him in the international entertainment scene.”
“Who let him challenge the Hollywood directors?”
“The movie hasn't even started yet. Talk after we finish watching it.”
“Is there still a need to watch it? Do you really think that he can win?”
“During the n.o.bel Prize award ceremony, during the premiere of Wolf Warrior 2, during the time Man vs. Wild was showing, I've always stood on the losing side by writing my drafts in advance. So I've decided this time that as long as it's a report on Zhang Ye, I will only write my drafts after I've watched to the end. This is a very special person we're talking about.”
On the Web.
Netizens from all over the world appeared.
Quite a few social media personalities also joined the festivities. They used their own ways to share this moment of the ultimate bet between Zhang Ye and the Hollywood directors by livestreaming to their fans.
“It's starting!”
“The live text commentary for Frozen is beginning now!”
“I've arrived at the theater, and I'll be updating everyone on how Zhang Ye's new movie turns out, haha.”
“Two minutes and counting down!”
“The lights have dimmed! I can't wait!”
“Everyone, wait for my video review.”
“The worst animated film with the largest budget in history will be coming soon!”
On the day of the premiere.
Media outlets from around the world were all in attendance.
The entire world's industry insiders were paying attention to this.
Many normal people also went to watch the movie at the earliest showtime.
Zhang Ye's sisters.
Xu Meilan.
Lillian.
Fan Wenli.
Jiang Hanwei.
Zhang Xia.
Many of Zhang Ye's family and friends had come to catch the premiere.
A lot of people knew how capable Zhang Ye was and what he could do, but his opponents this time were simply too good. That 700 million USD box office movie that Wilson directed had backed Zhang Ye into a tight corner. They had never seen Zhang Ye lose before, but they knew even the most capable person couldn't keep winning forever. If there was ever a time when Zhang Ye would lose, then it would probably be this day.
At this time.
Frozen premiered around the world.
When the first scene played, many people were taken by surprise.
On the screen.
“Elsa. Elsa! Wake up. Wake up. Wake up.”
“Anna, go back to sleep.”
“I just can't. The sky's awake, so I'm awake, so we have to play.”
“Go play by yourself.”
“Do you want to build a snowman?”
“Hehe.”
“Come on, come on, come on, come on! Do the magic! Do the magic!”
“Ready?”
“This is amazing!”
“Watch this!”
“Wow!”
Korea.
The theater burst into an uproar.
“Oh my G.o.d!”
“What kinds of visuals are these?”
“It looks exquisite, doesn't it?”
“The character designs are so pretty!”
“These two girls are so cute!”
“I've never seen an animation with such good visuals before!”
“This looks like it was really made frame by frame!”
“So this is what 200 million USD can make?”
“Zhang Ye is such a wastrel. He's so bold to spend money like that!”
“Yeah, no one else would dare to spend as much as he has!”
“Ah, Anna's hurt!”
On the screen.
The story continued developing.
Anna's memory was altered.
Elsa was confined to the castle and isolated from others.
Everything had calmed down and seemingly returned to normal.
“Do you want to build a snowman? / Come on, let's go and play. / I never see you anymore. / Come out the door. / It's like you've gone away. We used to be best buddies / And now we're not. / I wish you would tell me why. / Do you want to build a snowman. / It doesn't have to be a snowman.”
Elsa said, “Go away, Anna.”
Anna sang dejectedly, “OK, bye.”
When this song played, it surprised countless moviegoers around the world once more.
New York.
The Hollywood animated film directors were stunned.
“Music?”
“Why is there music?”
“It has tied music into the plot and dialogue?”
“Can it even be done this way?”
“Woode, has anyone made an animated film in this way before?”
“I think—it's never been done like this before!”
“Zhang Ye really does know how to make a Hollywood animated film!”
“This does have the style of Hollywood! Yet it's not quite the same!”
Beijing.
At the theater that Zhang Ye's sisters were.
“Ahhh!”
“Anna is so cute!”
“It's such a good song!”
“Why is this song so good!”
“They're both so adorable!”
“I thought this was going to be a sad story, but when the song played, why does it change the entire mood of everything? They even used the lyrics as their lines?”
“This animated musical was made by our brother?”
“Oh, our amazing brother!”
London.
Lillian's family was rather surprised.
“So how is it? I wasn't wrong in bringing you all to watch this, right?”
“Sis, that Chinese friend of yours is so impressive.”
“I'm sure this opening has captured everyone's attention.”
“Is this a brand new type of animated musical? It's truly unimaginable.”
Lillian smiled and said, “This fellow has always had a lot of guts to try out new things. But even with what we've seen, it might not be enough to outdo those Hollywood directors. Let's see what else he has up his sleeves for the rest of the movie.”
