They
are sort of like lawn gnomes, except they have serious action cred. Traditional
Chinese door gods are either threshold figurines, or as in the case of the old
school restaurant operated by Raindrop’s grandmother, colorful New Years’
posters portraying mythological heroes. They bring luck to those who hang them
in our world and sustaining karma to the depicted demigods in the spirit realm.
Unfortunately, the soulless materialism of our day and age has caused an
economic crisis in the spirit world. The worlds will collide in Gary Wang’s
animated 3D feature Little Door Gods (trailer here), which screened
at this year’s New York International Children’s Film Festival.
Raindrop’s
grandmother has the last poster of two once popular door god brothers affixed
to the entrance of her similarly once popular wonton house. In the spirit
world, the handsome Yu Lei and the portly Shen Tu guard a mystical mountain,
because that is the strange sort of gig that used to be readily available for
door gods. Unfortunately, they have been put on probationary notice. They are
required to attend mandatory retraining sessions and present themselves for a midnight
roll call (evidently, these recessionary rituals have particular resonance on
the Mainland, but Westerners definitely ought to get the general drift).
Meanwhile,
a predatory nouveau riche fast food franchisee is conspiring to sabotage the
restaurant Raindrop’s mother will soon inherit. She had a hard time of it in
Beijing, so she wants to stay in her hometown and make a go of things, even
though Raindrop feels lonely and isolated there. However, the little girl will
forge a connection with both door gods when each happens to save her from a
roving pack of rabid mutts. Yu Lei has come to unleash the Nian, a legendary
monster that darned near destroyed both worlds before it was trapped behind
three seals. He figures mortals might start to appreciate the gods again if
they save them from the apocalyptic beast. It’s a really ill-conceived plan,
but sometimes there’s no talking to a demigod. Shen Tu followed Yu Lei across
hoping to dissuade from his mad scheme, but he gets sidetracked helping
Raindrop and her mother save and maybe even slightly modernize the family
business.
There
is much that is familiar about LDG,
but there are a number of neat little variations. Having the less dashing door
god serve as the primary, uncompromised hero is a particularly nice change-up.
Yet, it is the specific Chinese cultural currents, both ancient and
contemporary, running through the film that really elevate and enrich it. Most
viewers should easily pick up on the class inequities, bureaucratic arrogance,
and contempt for tradition that combine to jeopardize our new favorite wonton
house. The door gods themselves and the correspondence between the human and
spirit worlds are also deeply rooted in ancient folklore.
First
time helmer Wang’s animation team (several of whom were headhunted from Pixar
and DreamWorks) has created some lively and reasonably expressive figures as
well as a few truly eye-popping fantastical backdrops. It always looks as good
as any Hollywood studio animation release and has a handful of Ghibli worthy
moments.