Experiencing Interruptions?

Spotty Wants To Fly

“Once upon a time, in North Sea far, far away lived a very big fish. One day, the fish suddenly jumped out of the water and spread its huge wings to fly into the bigger sky further away.” When he hears the story, Spotty dreams of flying into the sky like the big fish did. However, all his friends discourage him to leave the water. But Spotty never gives up. After lots of practice, will he succeed eventually?

  • Guo Jun-ming
    Director
  • Project Type:
    Animation, Short
  • Runtime:
    5 minutes 16 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    April 2, 2018
  • Country of Origin:
    Taiwan
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Guo Jun-ming

Guo Jun-ming is the founder of “Flying Pen Comics”. In 1985, he began to study in Fu Hsin Trade & Arts School and work in Dragon Animation Company founded by Cai Zhi-zhong to pay his school fees. He learned his skills and techniques from Huang Hua-yu, so he got to participate in the production of “Wulongyuan” and “Old Master Q”. Two years later, he began his trainings in “Otto Cartoons”. Then he worked in several animation companies. In 1992, he was trained professionally as a director and began to create his original animations. In 1995, he founded his own animation company. In 2000, he founded “Flying Pen Comics”.

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Director Statement

This story is the epitome of my animation career. My career development is just like Spotty’s life, in which everything seems circumstantial but inevitable.
At the beginning, we didn’t have any serious messages or metaphors. All we wanted to create was a logical, fun and interesting story. When I first began to create animations, I tried to involve myself into the character and to experience his circumstances or dilemma, and projected my own values into it spontaneously. Then I accidentally realized that my animation career is exactly like Spotty’s life.
In class, the teacher tells a story of a fish flying into the sky, which reminds me of what my high school teacher told me forty years ago to create a beautiful life with my paintbrush. It was the first time that I was appreciated, encouraged and enlightened. Then Spotty encounters the jellyfish. We really need a jellyfish in our lives that knows how to appreciate us. In my animation career, Miss Lin Xiao-pei from Hakka TV was like the jellyfish in the story.
To fulfill his dream of flying, Spotty bumps into the jellyfish. The encounter can be interpreted as “making someone moved”. In my career, my ideas made some people moved, or they agreed with my ideas. In the story, a group of jellyfishes stimulate Spotty to fly high into the sky. Like those jellyfishes, Hakka TV also gave me the energy to dash forward. In 2016, I was nominated in the Gold Bell Awards. The little fish really soared up in the sky, representing one of my achievements.
When I kept trying to realize my dreams, I met lots of friends too, just like Spotty does with Conch and Banana Fish. They cared about me and gave me lots of advice, or even stopped me from marching forward. In the story, Lady Seaweed is the only person that doesn’t stop Spotty from trying to fly. And in reality, my wife has always been with me. She is my partner in both my life and my career, always giving me positive energy and encouraging me to never give up. So unexpectedly, Spotty’s story depicts my animation life vividly and thoroughly. It’s a wonderful and incredible experience.