From landscape art into animation
MAKING OF
How was Niu Lai made?
From a 2021 idea through five years of independent production, a release permit, and theatrical distribution: this page combines the director's account, film listings, and official records without filling gaps with guesses.
Production followed gradually
Director account and reporting
Theatrical release in 2026
WHO MADE IT
Not a conventional studio pipeline, but a personal production sustained by family.
Public credits centre on Xin Yumeng, Sun Lifang, and the first production company. The one-person core-animation claim comes from Xin's interview; the two-person core description includes his mother's writing, voice, and music work.
Xin Yumeng
He moved from landscape art into animation and described himself as integrating the core animation work alone.
Sun Lifang
Listings credit writing and voice work; Xin says his mother also shaped the script, wrote the score, and wrote and sang the ending song.
Dalian Jingyuan Culture Film and Television Media Co., Ltd.
The China Film Administration lists it as the first production company on the release permit.
WHY NIU LAI
A Year-of-the-Ox idea became a story about standing up.
Xin said the project began in the 2021 Year of the Ox, while his father also has the ox zodiac sign. The central image became a newborn calf who faces trials in a dream and grows into a courageous protector.
He connected the story to his own experience of effort and setbacks. That helps explain why the decisive final action is Niulai finally standing.
Read the full director interview ↗HOW THE WORK MOVED
The public interview reconstructs five stages from script to sound.
This is the director's retrospective account, not a formal production log.
- 01
Concept and script
The Year of the Ox and his father's ox zodiac sign prompted the central image. Mother and son repeatedly discussed values, audience, and review considerations while shaping the dream-growth story.
- 02
Character and IP design
Xin said the film has fewer than ten characters and that character design took roughly three to four months, prioritising recognisable protagonists over unlimited detail.
- 03
Shots, motion, and assembly
After design came performance, virtual camera angles, and image flow. Xin described making the figures truly act and then assembling those images into a film.
- 04
Adapting to hardware limits
The interview describes unaffordable high-end equipment, second-hand parts, and hardware failures. When a vista overwhelmed the machine, Xin used landscape-design methods to find a workable solution.
- 05
Score, ending song, and voices
Xin says Sun Lifang wrote the score while he handled synthesis; she also wrote and sang the ending song. Public listings credit both mother and son with voice work.
WHAT FIVE YEARS MEANT
The challenge was not simply moving slowly, but carrying conflicting jobs at once.
Studio animation separates art, storyboards, and audio. Xin described coordinating the whole while also handling individual details.
Xin said high-end hardware was unaffordable, leading to second-hand purchases and visual compromises.
His account includes technical blocks, sleep disruption, and sustained pressure; his parents became his most direct support.
Coverage attributes the no-AI and frame-by-frame claim to the director; this guide does not treat it as an independently audited finding.
MAKING-OF MILESTONES
Five documented points connect the idea, production, permit, and release.
- 01
From landscape design into animation
In a pre-release interview, Xin said he studied landscape art and developed the idea after years of watching and loving animated films.
Read the director interview ↗ - 02
Project established; production begins
Xin said the project was established by year-end and production followed, requiring a shift into animation art, storytelling, and technical problem-solving.
Check the interview transcript ↗ - 03
Production and technical obstacles
The record supports only an approximately five-year total. Xin says technical blocks repeatedly made him consider quitting; no year-by-year production log is public.
Read the five-year report ↗ - 04
Animation release permit
The China Film Administration lists permit 2024-33 and the first production company. It confirms release eligibility, not artistic or technical quality.
View the official record ↗ - 05
National theatrical release
Maoyan records the mainland release and an 86-minute runtime. Before release, Xin said he had no reference point for how audiences would receive the production.
Open the film listing ↗
EVIDENCE BOUNDARIES
More complete does not mean inventing the gaps.
Currently supported
- The 2021 idea and project timing come from the pre-release interview.
- Credits, runtime, release, and first production company are independently listed.
- The five-year period, design phase, hardware limits, and family roles are attributed.
Still undisclosed
- A verifiable full budget, annual spending, and equipment list.
- The full software pipeline, shot count, render schedule, and daily log.
- A complete contributor roster and task-by-task labour record.
KEY SOURCES