I unironically enjoyed Niu Lai

Let me begin by saying that I'm not an animator. And even given five years to learn, I'm not remotely confident that I could produce the film that this mother-and-son duo did.

If you've heard of Niu Lai, you probably know it because its animation style has made it something of a meme. It's definitely not fantastic by 2026 standards (or even 2006 standards), but you've got to admire the heart that was put into it. And say what you will, but I was entertained! Five years of work, knowing nothing about animation and film-making, $200, and we get an absolute banger of a movie with a heart-warming message about a mother's love for her son and a young calf coming-of-age.

I won't spoil the plot (yes, it has a plot), but I wanted to talk about why this movie became so popular. We've got a number of blockbuster hits that cost millions that have come out or are coming out this year. They're all financed by big studios, of course, and have a lot of star power behind them. (How many movies is Zendaya in?) I enjoyed The Odyssey, and I'll probably enjoy Dune 3 and Spiderman: Brand New Day when I get around to watching them. I don't want to knock them. But honestly, they'll probably blend together in my mind in five years, and we'll all be onto the next big thing. Niu Lai's distinctive style (if you can call it that) isn't something I've really seen before, and probably won't see again, not anytime soon.

It's cliche to say it, but we live in an age of generative AI. Not that this is used much in film-making, but even as a general trend, I've noticed CGI becoming a lot more prominent in films over the last little while. If you compare some of the big hits from my really young days to what's made today, I'd argue it holds up or is better in terms of effects. Let's look at Doctor Who. I remember tuning in at 5 years old for the first time, and I was immersed. Maybe the effects show their age a bit, but then I remember watching Jodie Whittaker's first episode at the Doctor and being enormously distracted by how obscenely polished everything looked. It couldn't be natural. In its quest for hyper-realism, it looked unreal. Hell, look at Cats: big budget, same thing. Niu Lai, by contrast, is at least honest about what it is: a passion project.

Underneath the laughs and memeing about poor animation, I reckon this is what gave the film some steam. One comment I read said something to the effect of: "forget AI. human slop is back!" And that precisely illustrates my point. I won't sit here and pretend the film is a technical masterpiece (although I wouldn't call it slop: they worked hard on it). However, there's something endearing—beautiful, even—about art that is just made by humans because it has a story that wants to be told. And in the case of Niu Lai, the story behind the scenes is as powerful as the one it tells.

Xin Yumeng wanted to make a movie. His mother, Sun Lifang, learned screenwriting to help him. They were the only two cast and crew on the film (hence why you see people laughing at the end when only two names come up for all the roles). They composed and sang the soundtrack (quite well, I think, but I'm no expert in Mandarin). They used second hand hardware, and an architectural modelling program. Animation programs, after all, can get expensive both in terms of price and the tax you pay on your CPU/GPU. That's right. They made this thing in fucking SketchUp, like a CAD program, and it shows, but I just love that creativity. Human creativity. I didn't feel numb. I didn't feel bored or taken for a ride. It was just fun and sweet.

Go ahead and laugh, but don't shit on this movie. It's too fucking wholesome for that.

EDIT: did some research and remembered that SketchUp is something I used in school as a kid. I take it back: this film is a technical masterpiece.