The ambition is for Vietnamese children’s films to become a source of entertainment for all families.

Văn Hoá spoke with the director, painter and distinguished artist Trịnh Lâm Tùng to get his opinion.

PV : What is your opinion on the current state of children’s cinema in Vietnam, given the low number of releases each year?

– Deserving artist Trinh Lam Tung: Although Vietnamese cinema has regularly produced successful films in recent years, films for children remain quite rare.

One of the main reasons is that young audiences are not yet seen as a potential target group requiring long-term investments. While many developed film industries focus on instilling a taste for cinema from a young age, in Vietnam, young audiences are often relegated to the status of “secondary” audiences.

Furthermore, the production of children’s films, particularly animated films, presents many challenges due to high costs. Directors not only have to attract children, but also convince parents to bring them to the cinema, which puts great pressure on the content and profitability of the film.

In your opinion, why are producers still hesitant to invest in children’s films? Is it because these films are difficult to make profitable and therefore they are not inclined to invest in them?

In my opinion, the limited number of children’s films on screen can be explained by many factors, ranging from questions of profitability and market confidence to fear of risk among investors. Compared to comedies or horror films, children’s films often struggle to create a strong impact or generate controversy to attract audience attention. Furthermore, production costs are very high and the production process is much more complex than for other genres.

However, I don’t believe that young audiences lack potential. The problem is that we don’t yet have many high-quality works capable of touching the emotions and stimulating the imagination of children and their families. When a film benefits from careful content and production, audiences are more than willing to go to the cinema to appreciate it.

What pushed you to make “Little Trang Quynh: The Legend of the Golden Bull” when children’s films are still quite rare in Vietnam?

— C’est précisément cette « rareté » qui m’a motivé à réaliser à tout prix le film “Little Trang Quynh: The Legend of the Golden Bull” .

The Vietnamese public has long had a strong connection with international cartoon icons like Mickey Mouse and Doraemon, who have left them with wonderful childhood memories. However, I wonder: why do so few film characters embody the Vietnamese spirit? Characters deeply rooted in Vietnamese culture and history still remain quite rare on screen.

In my opinion, « La Petite Trang Quynh : La Légende du BÅ“uf d’Or » is not just a simple film; it is also the aspiration of many generations of children’s film directors. It is also an opportunity for us to experiment, to listen to the public and to check if telling popular tales through a modern cinematic language can appeal, in order to better guide our future projects.

During the production of “Little Trang Quynh: The Legend of the Golden Bull,” did you experience any commercial pressures?

— It was inevitable. When we started the project, there were virtually no commercially available animated films that we could draw inspiration from or learn from.

From the start, the team recognized that producing children’s films presented significant commercial challenges. However, focusing only on short-term gains would make it difficult to build and develop a sustainable children’s film industry in the future.

In my opinion, the most important thing is to gradually establish a relationship of trust with the public. This is a process that takes time and cannot be achieved after just one or two productions. A children’s entertainment brand that wants to grow sustainably needs perseverance, continued investment and a content ecosystem strong enough to support its audience through its different stages of growth.

With foreign films consistently dominating the box office during the summer, what should Vietnamese children’s films do to compete and retain young audiences?

Vietnamese cinema benefits from a unique asset: a rich folkloric and historical heritage. Therefore, it is relevant to explore stories that foreign films struggle to recreate, such as Vietnamese cultural elements, popular legends or emotions that resonate with the daily lives of children in the country.