Film Catfishes and Toads is based on an Annamese epic written by the anonymous author around the 19th century, but it has some innovations to suit the social situation of the 1990s by artist Ngô-mạnh-Lân. This film also belongs to the very few Vietnamese animated films that are remembered for a long time among generations of audiences.

The story tells about a strange quarrel between Mr Catfish and his relatives with the residents of the hedgerow hamlet. Public opinion is skeptical that Mr Catfish and his wife kidnapped Mr Toad's children to raise them. However, Catfish tried to bribe officials to win this case.

Through this film, children will learn the biological behavior of some animals which accustomed to living in humid environments. For adults, it provides a perspective on the fragility of both morality and law.

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Vietnam Animation Studio
produced in Hanoї 1993

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00:00:06,500 --> 00:00:08,500
According to an order of the
Ministry of Culture and Information

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The Cutout Film

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<b>CATFISHES AND TOADS</b>
.

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<b>CATFISHES AND TOADS</b>
Based on a Vietnamese fable

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Scenartist : Hữu Đức
Shaping artists : Nguyễn Bích, Hữu Đức
Literary editor : Vũ Kim Dũng (Merited Artist)

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Acting artists : Phan Trung, Bùi Nga
Caméra operator : Viết Tuế
Composer : Đỗ Hồng Quân (Merited Artist)

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Character and decorative designers :
Đăng Giáp, Vinh Hoa, Mỹ Lưu, Bích Hạnh, Phạm Thị Hiền

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Voiceover by actors from the
Hanoї Traditional Opéra Theatre

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- Subtitles by Duy Kiền -

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Director : Ngô Mạnh Lân (Merited Artist)

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Recording and printing at the
National Documentary and Scientific Film Studio

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Come on, we almost get there.

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[Maternity Home]

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Round mother and squared baby, will you ?

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♫ We are little Tadpoles,

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♫ We are swimming freely in the water.

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♫ Let's wait until there is thunder, rub-a-dub,
♫ We'll rise to the surface to reunite our parents.

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I'm infertile.

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I'd rather catch them for my nurture.

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I must possess them.

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My honey !

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Come and see our children !

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Yo, my children !

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My dear children !

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♫ Ahoy, hushaby !

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Our children, wherever you are, come home !

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Come back now !

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Hey, you !

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Where the hell are you from ?
Why do you disrupt this night ?

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Are you planning on your stealing ?

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Who steal ? Don't slander !

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I'm looking for my lost children.

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What if they were kidnapped by goblins ?

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Alright, go away to avoid making noise !

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Ugh, my children !

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There you are !

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My children !

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Your parents are us, come !

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Get out, I said.

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Why can your children swim underwater ?

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Go now !

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Right !

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It was Catfish the flathead
who kidnapped our babies.

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Alas, what should we do ?

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I will file a lawsuit to let you know.

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[No Taking Bribes !]

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According to Toad's file,

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Catfish was sued for
kidnapping Toad babies.

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However fact and fiction is still unclear,

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I called in witnesses
for our interrogation.

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Here, Sir !

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Yo, Catfish !

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Why do you steal Toad kids,
then you even assault him ?

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Your Excellency !

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That Toad just lied.

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He took advantage of the darkness to
crawl into my pond to steal something.

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I just shouted.

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He was afraid that he blamed me.

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His family originally lived on land.

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How could his children
be in the water, right ?

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I take the liberty of request
Your Excellency to enlighten us.

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Yo, thou !

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Explain to me any reason, now !

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Sir, we are inherently honest,

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so we don't know anything about the
trouble between Mr Catfish and Toad.

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Your Excellency !

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When my wife was about to give birth,
Ms Bard and Mrs Crucian Carp helped her.

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The moment Mr Catfish hit me,
they all witnessed it, too.

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I allow Toad and his witnesses to leave.

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About that Catfish.

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My underlings !

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Put him in jail to await
investigation and verdict.

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Right, Sir !

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Ouch !

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O Heaven, o Earth !

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Bro, a very small gift for you !

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Darling, come to find Senior Snakehead !

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Maybe there's some way
to solicit for me.

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Otherwise I'll die !

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Sirs, I'm an ignorant woman.

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I hope a little care from you.

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Be assured !

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Here, Mayor Cranoglanis is
very skillful in public affairs,

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so it will be done.

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Of course !

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Just prepare your offerings,
the trial will end very soon.

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Your Excellency !

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Catfish doesn't have an evil heart.

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That's why his wife
give you these things.

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They just hope a little
reconsideration from you, Sir.

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Alright !

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Let me see !

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I really don't want to
dig up dirt on anything.

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Toad's file isn't yet transparent, too.

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I'll send a few clerks to check it out.

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Alright !

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Leave to prepare your generous things !

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It will be done !

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Right, it will be done anyway.

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Don't worry !

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[Inspection Delegation]

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Mayor, accept these things
to run around for our family.

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Of course !

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Behold, gentlemen !

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There !

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These babies have black skin and flat heads.

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They're clearly of Catfish's lineage.

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Master Turtle, make a photo !

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That's right !

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They are exactly the flathead Catfishes.

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No wrong at all !

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Yo, Toad !

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Your liver is too big
to lie me, isn't it ?

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My underlings, tie him up !

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Bow to you, Sir !
It's unjust for me !

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What injustice ?

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Yo, Scribe Eel !

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Bring out your photo !

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Yo, Toad !

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Raise your frog eyes and look !
("frog eyes" = low intelligence)

122
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They are clearly the flathead Catfishes.

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His kids, not your kids, right ?

124
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It's unjust.

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It turns out ye took Catfish's corruption.

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You lie, when corruption ?

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Underlings, put a cangue on him
and give him a hundred lashes !

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Ouch, it's unjust !

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What a pain !

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Alright !

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My Scribe, open our trial for Toad !

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As you wish.

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However, at Catfish's pond, got it ?

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Right, Sir.

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Uncle Frog, you seem leisurely, right ?

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Yo, Mrs Toad !

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Where are you going to look so miserable ?

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I don't hide anything :

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My children were kidnapped by Mr Catfish.

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My husband was even beaten and imprisoned.

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I don't know who to call with this injustice.

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High heaven and deep earth, ahoy !

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Gosh, it's tough !

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I'm inherently incompetent,

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but I heard :

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Bachelor Treefrog is
an elder of great wisdom,

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especially about paperwork.

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You should knock on his door.

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It's probably fine !

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Ah, Madame Toad !

151
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What problem do you have ?

152
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Sir Bachelor, do us a favor !

153
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I bow you, Sir !

154
00:12:55,000 --> 00:12:57,500
What an injustice !

155
00:12:58,500 --> 00:13:01,000
Nevertheless, we can't be hasty.

156
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Oh hell, how do I do ?

157
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Let Catfish takes care of your children.

158
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Then the trial will be more interesting.

159
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Let me tell you a little !

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Seventh Grade Biology
Family of Frog-Treefrog-Toad
Egg-Embryo-Tadpole-Leg Growth-Jumping Ashore

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I got.

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I'm grateful to you, Sir.

163
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His Excellency is coming !

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We open a trial for Toad
on charges of fraud today.

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He said nonsense to
possess Catfish kids.

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Your Excellency !

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Toad continued to file a complaint.

168
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What so ?

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His denunciation is as follows :

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Initially, Mrs Toad laid eggs in the pond,

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then the eggs hatch into tadpoles.

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Nonetheless, Mr Catfish
caught and raised them.

173
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Yo, Toad !

174
00:14:37,500 --> 00:14:40,500
Where did you base
your claim nonsensically ?

175
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Your Excellency, an injustice for us.

176
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Your Excellency !

177
00:14:47,000 --> 00:14:49,000
It's really unjust for Toad family.

178
00:14:49,500 --> 00:14:50,500
Then I ask :

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Are they like Toad or Catfish ?

180
00:14:54,000 --> 00:14:55,500
Your Excellency !

181
00:14:56,000 --> 00:14:58,000
They are like...

182
00:14:58,500 --> 00:14:59,500
Catfish, but anyone else ?

183
00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:01,500
Hey, Ms Catfish the flathead !

184
00:15:02,000 --> 00:15:03,000
Don't arrogate !

185
00:15:03,500 --> 00:15:04,500
Like Catfish !

186
00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:06,000
Like Toad, not like Catfish !

187
00:15:06,500 --> 00:15:07,500
Like Catfish, not like Toad !

188
00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:12,000
Shut up !

189
00:15:12,500 --> 00:15:14,000
Do you want to cause chaos ?

190
00:15:14,500 --> 00:15:16,000
My underlings, lock their mouths !

191
00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:22,000
Wait !

192
00:15:22,500 --> 00:15:23,500
Your Excellency !

193
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What else ?

194
00:15:25,500 --> 00:15:29,500
Your Excellency, be less angry
and let me express a few words.

195
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What ?
Quick !

196
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Yo, let's all look out at the pond !

197
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Come up !

198
00:15:54,000 --> 00:15:56,000
Hurry up !

199
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Those are our children !

200
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Oh, here you are, our children !

202
00:16:23,500 --> 00:16:25,500
Dad, Mom !

203
00:16:27,000 --> 00:16:28,500
Oh, my sweet kids !

204
00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:34,000
Urgh !

205
00:16:34,500 --> 00:16:35,500
What is this problem ?

206
00:16:36,500 --> 00:16:38,000
Why is this strange ?

207
00:16:40,500 --> 00:16:41,500
Scribe Eel !

208
00:16:42,000 --> 00:16:45,000
You harmed me !
You tricked me !

209
00:16:45,500 --> 00:16:47,000
Dear Sir !

210
00:16:47,500 --> 00:16:49,500
They seemed like Catfishes in retrospect.

211
00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:54,500
The wheel has come full circle
in biology and chemistry now.

212
00:16:55,000 --> 00:16:56,500
I don't get it.

213
00:16:57,000 --> 00:16:59,500
Calm down, Your Excellency !

214
00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:01,500
The cause is as follows :

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00:17:07,500 --> 00:17:11,000
Their shapes are like Catfishes,
But they are just the Tadpoles.

216
00:17:11,500 --> 00:17:14,500
The moment their tail falls off,
They will go back Toad family.

217
00:17:19,500 --> 00:17:23,000
God originally created them,
Thus nothing can be changed.

218
00:17:23,500 --> 00:17:26,500
With the fullness of days and months,
Tadpoles immediately turns into Toads.

219
00:17:36,500 --> 00:17:37,500
Got it ?

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Yo, Catfish !

221
00:17:46,500 --> 00:17:48,000
Why did you deceive me ?

222
00:17:48,500 --> 00:17:49,500
Your Excellency !

223
00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:51,500
My family is barren.

224
00:17:52,000 --> 00:17:55,000
I was foolish to catch them,
but I didn't see...

225
00:17:56,000 --> 00:17:57,000
Huh ?

226
00:17:57,500 --> 00:17:59,000
You just take a risk, didn't you ?

227
00:17:59,500 --> 00:18:01,000
Why didn't you say it sooner ?

228
00:18:01,500 --> 00:18:02,500
Your Excellency !

229
00:18:03,000 --> 00:18:05,500
We were sure that once
you have took our offerings,

230
00:18:06,000 --> 00:18:07,500
you would protect us, Sir.

231
00:18:09,500 --> 00:18:11,000
You lie !

232
00:18:22,500 --> 00:18:24,000
The verdicts !

233
00:18:25,000 --> 00:18:27,000
Our verdicts are as follows :

234
00:18:27,500 --> 00:18:28,500
First :

235
00:18:29,000 --> 00:18:31,500
Catfish has committed fraud.

236
00:18:32,000 --> 00:18:35,000
Then he is banished to
crawl in the mud.

237
00:18:35,500 --> 00:18:37,500
Crawl in the mud !

238
00:18:38,500 --> 00:18:39,500
Second :

239
00:18:40,000 --> 00:18:43,500
The dismissal to Scribe Eel
for his cheating on his superior.

240
00:18:44,000 --> 00:18:46,000
He also get down in the mud.

241
00:18:46,500 --> 00:18:48,500
Down in the mud !

242
00:18:49,000 --> 00:18:50,000
Third :

243
00:18:50,500 --> 00:18:53,500
Their tails has fell off
for Tadpoles to become Toads.

244
00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:57,000
Then they are allowed to
reunite with Toad family.

245
00:18:57,500 --> 00:18:59,500
Reunion with Toad family !

246
00:19:00,000 --> 00:19:02,500
It's so great !
That's right !

247
00:19:25,000 --> 00:19:30,000
Be yourself, will you ?

248
00:19:31,000 --> 00:19:38,000
♫ We are brothers of one family,
♫ We went ashore to see our parents.

249
00:19:38,500 --> 00:19:45,500
♫ We are happily singing and dancing,
♫ In the eternal love of our countryside.

250
00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:52,500
♫ We was called Tadpoles in our childhood,
♫ When we have their tails to swim freely.

251
00:19:53,500 --> 00:20:00,000
♫ Then our tails fell off for us to grow up,
♫ The purple chicks are us the Little Toads.

252
00:20:05,500 --> 00:20:10,999
<b>THE END</b>
© Varhiv 2024

The cutout genre is very popular in Vietnam Animation Studio's products, perhaps because it is suitable for the circumstances of a chronically poor society from the 1960s to 1990s. Even in the early 2000s, they still hadn't given up this habit and also reaped a number of art awards. An example : When I was a kid, I watched a behind-the-scenes video of film Bicycles and Cars, in which, director Phương Hoa only used a black table, then held a pair of tweezers to manipulate very small pieces of cardboard to create the story. Therefore, I also think that it is very possible that Vietnamese filmmakers must have seen The Wise Gudgeon, so the poetics have many similarities.

The basis of film Catfishes and Toads is an epic from the 19th century, when Vietnamese society was still relatively closed and backward. However, at the time of creating the project, director Ngô Mạnh Lân used the content of the comic book he composed, in which some details were added to make the story more modern.

This can be considered a rather strange film in 1993, when the Vietnamese government was aggressively enforcing the birth control law. It means that each family is only allowed to have a maximum of two children, unless one or both of them die, then they can have more children. This law was of course repealed in the early 2000s, when Vietnamese society was more prosperous, but in the 1990s it was quite harsh. In addition to encouraging parents to use contraceptives, the government will suspend the work of violators who are on the payroll of state agencies, and in rural areas, they will be fined with rice. However, this was a hardship for men who cannot give birth to sons, because the traditional concept of Vietnamese people was that they need someone to carry on the family line. Therefore, many persons have accepted all forms of punishment, and of course, in many places it was easy to bribe to have "unplanned" children. Therefore, the story of the Catfish family and even the Toad family really does not have a satisfactory ending.

In this film, only Cat - the character with the highest authority - is a mammal, the rest are all fish, amphibians and reptiles. Right like catfish and toad, which are animals that are very close to Vietnamese culture. Although, as I know, because of their habit of living in mud, catfish are slimy and very dirty, while toad skin also has toxins similar to snake venom, however, these are two delicious dishes and are also very valuable for persons who are sick or have rickets.

According to a Japanese folk legend, Japan lies on the back of a catfish, so earthquakes often occur. I think, it might be related to the image of the Buyan Island's whale in The Humpbacked Horse. About toad, it is virtually the protector of agriculture in Southeast Asia. The toad catches insects that are harmful to crops, and it also signals when a thunderstorm is coming (even though I'm quite scared of this animal, just imagining it makes me shudder). In business circles in South China and Southeast Asia, people sometimes display in the living room a statue of a toad holding a coin, this image is believed to be a wish for prosperity for the homeowner. Even when the French government established a protectorate in Indochina, French engineers invented statues of toads spraying rain in fountains.

I also added that in the past, rich Vietnamese people had the habit of adopting children. Although these adopted children are treated like biological children, but they are used for many purposes : Serving, worshiping, and even when they grow up, they will marry the homeowner's children or the homeowner themselves. In the 1990s, child smuggling across the Vietnam-China border was also a very painful problem. Therefore, Toad asked this question : "Hay là có đứa mẹ mìn nào bắt ?" (What if they were kidnapped by goblins ?). "Mẹ mìn" is a word that probably originated in Hong Kong, almost as a combination of English and local Chinese languages. It could be all of the following : Mama, mommy, mummy... This was the informal way prostitutes call their bosses, later, its meaning changed to refer to all women who specialize in selling children and young women. When I was a schoolboy, both my parents and teachers told us to be careful to avoid being kidnapped by "mẹ mìn" (in the Russian subtitles, I translated it as "kikimora"). :D This reflects an extremely difficult situation in the 1990s. In addition, Catfish also said an aphorism : "Xin quan lớn đèn giời soi xét cho !" (I take the liberty of request Your Excellency to enlighten us). If this sentence is translated word-by-word, it really is : "I request Your Excellency to hold the heavenly lantern to illuminate us". "The heavenly lantern" is an image representing the justice of the law. This sentence was usually said by commoners or low-ranking officials to high-ranking officials, but when Vietnamese society transitioned to democracy, it only existed in books or films.
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