PLEASE DON’T SCROLL PAST THIS!
Back in January of 2015, two animators from China, Yimumu(蚁木木) and her partner Tim, released the first episode of their animated web series, The Legend of Lucky Pie, online. As of writing this, there are now 4 episodes. I first herd about this show on one of @pan-pizza‘s videos but never got around to actually watching it until later. When I did eventually watch Lucky Pie, I was hooked! I loved the characters, the setting and the overall relaxed and laid-back atmosphere, not to mention the impressively fluid animation!
Around the time of episode 3′s release, the Lucky Pie team decided to create a Patreon page for the show to get more funding, as most of their money came directly from Tim’s own salary. unfortunately, so far, they’ve only been able to raise $158 out of thier $1000 goal.
This, for lack of a better term, breaks my heart to see…
One of the reasons I was drawn to this show was because it was made in China. If you’ve seen any number of articles or videos online discussing movie or cartoon plagiarism, than you’d know that China has a rather infamous reputation for ripping off successful American properties in order to make a profit. Its likely due to this that many have dismissed Lucky Pie as nothing more than a knockoff of Adventure Time attempting to capitalize on its famous brand.
This, However, couldn’t be further from the truth! While it is obvious that Yimumu and Tim took heavy inspiration from “American style” cartoons like adventure time, their dedication to getting episodes released despite no studio environment, almost no budget and understaffing, not to mention the clear effort put into the animation as well as the fact they put these episodes out for free on youtube makes me highly doubt that this series was meant to be a quick cash grab using the Adventure Time formula. Wendy Zhao of the Cartoon Brew animation news site, stated that the Lucky Pie team were “a team of enthusiastic animation friends” who “are determined to make this show and fight the ‘tacky’ and ‘trite’ animated shows usually shown in Chinese media.”
When I watch Lucky Pie, I don’t see a group of Chinese corporate numb-nuts ripping off a popular American franchise for the sake of a quick buck, I see a couple of passionate, hardworking and determined artists who want to make something of true beauty and substance in a landscape that has, in recent years, become soulless and stale, and they’re off to an amazing start with Lucky Pie! a start that, I’m afraid, may end to soon…
On their blog and the comments of the 4th episode, Yimumu has said that, if significant funding doesn’t come their way soon, episode 5 of The Legend of Lucky Pie will be the last.
So Please, if you care about The Legend of Lucky Pie, Yimumu and Tim’s animation career, Chinese animation or independant animation in general, reblog this post, subscribe to the Lucky Pie Youtube channel, watch the episodes, give them a like, share the videos with your friends, follow the Lucky Pie team on their Facebook page, and their blog @luckypie, and, most importantly of all, if you have money to spare, donate to the Lucky Pie patreon Page so the show can go on and Yimumu and Tim can continue their work with more staff and resources at a faster pace.
@skeletoncliquefreak @iwannahugtyler @cecile–taylor @heyheytheweenieishere @ikurodere @hermes9197 @shadok123 @droosy @kaips @shinyillusionz @dontevencareman @everythingsaghost @jadeyarts @the-ice-castle @kanonberyl @rebeccasugar @oweeeeendennis @charlesoberonn @ianjq @badcharacterdesign
Do whatever you can to support The Legend of Lucky Pie and the Lucky Pie team. don’t let this show end only to be remembered as a Chinese Adventure Time knock-off!
#SaveLuckyPie
#SaveLoLP
#AnimationFriendsForever
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