China Adds Postscript To 'Minions' Showing Crime Doesn't Pay
In recent years, the China Film Council seems to have taken new steps to ensure foreign films deliver the right message to viewers.
Beijing, China. The latest film, Minions, reinforces a message to Chinese audiences that audiences in other countries won't see: crime doesn't pay.
A postscript added to the Chinese theater version states that the villain who ends the film as a free man then goes to prison for 20 years.
Foreign films have long been the subject of references to sensitive issues for the ruling Chinese Communist Party, such as Taiwan, the Dalai Lama and human rights. In recent years, the China Film Council seems to have broadened its scope to ensure that films convey the right message and not what is considered harmful.
This can be a problem in a movie where the villain is the central character. “Minions. The Rise of Gru is a prequel that follows the debut of Gru, the crime lord from the Despicable Me animated series.
The solution. Add separate postscripts on the characters, their lines are indented at the end.
One of them states that Wild Knuckles, an elderly villain who was apparently young Gru's mentor, was then imprisoned for 20 years. Before the credits, it simply moves away from the outer horizon.
Gru's postscript states that he renounces evil, joins good, and in his greatest achievement is the father of three daughters.
Chinese movie bloggers have pointed to the added subtitles in social media posts, to mixed reactions. Some said the additions were an overreaction to the animated sitcom. Others said they show the correct values, especially for children.
"I don't think a positive energy ending should exist," said film buff Jenny Jian. "It's completely unnecessary."
"Positive energy" is an expression that originated in China a decade ago and was promoted by the Communist Party to promote inspirational messages from the media and the arts, according to the China Media Project, which tracks media trends.
The China Film Administration, which oversees the Film Council, did not respond to questions sent by fax. China Film Distributors Co and Huaxia Film Distribution Co. did not respond to emails.
China does not have a movie rating system that rates a movie's suitability for different audiences. Instead, authorities are asking producers to remove or edit what they deem inappropriate before films are approved for release.
Minions: The Rise of Gru, which has grossed 114 million yuan ($17 million) at the box office since its release in China on August 19, is not the first time Chinese authorities have changed the ending of a film.
In the 2018 film The Mint Yard, about a vigilante, the protagonist is handcuffed to a hospital bed. A friendly detective throws a key at her, and in the final scene the bed is empty with handcuffs hanging from the railing.
The Chinese version ends with her still in bed before she gets the key.
Associated Press press assistant Caroline Chen contributed to this report.
