Where Is Mama? A Response to Te Wei’s 1960 Animated Film

Tadpoles Looking for Their Mother or Where is Mama? follows the story of a charming cluster of baby tadpoles searching for their mother in the water. Along the way, they encounter many other creatures of the pond until finally, the family is reunited.

Using traditional Chinese ink wash brush stroke painting techniques and music, Wei crafted a peaceful and poetic visual experience. Upon some further research, I found that the film was one of the firsts of its kind and would be used as a reference for years to come by other Chinese animators. I also discovered that the film was created in Wei’s animation studio under his direction and he would later be known as the founding father of Chinese animation.

One of my favorite moments of the film was when the mother frog came back to the water to see that her eggs were gone. This particular scene evoked a lot of emotion and it was very easy for me to humanize the mother frog character. I loved the overall style of each pond creature that was introduced, especially the goldfish and am amazed by how elegantly they are animated. I would have never guessed that each frame was a true ink wash painting.

This made me think a lot about what qualities animation loses as it is more frequently produced 100% digitally in modern times. Where is Mama? has a certain charm and character that digital animation seems to lack. I wonder how traditional painting can be mixed with modern-day animation techniques to make something awesome.