Xiao Xiao () is a series of Internet cartoons by China animator Zhu Zhiqiang, featuring stick figure men performing choreography fight scenes. Some of the cartoons are interactive and game-like. All cartoons are in the Macromedia Flash format, although Xiao Xiao #1 was originally in AVI format. It has now been converted to Flash.
Xiao Xiao literally is the character for small repeated twice in Chinese; here this repetition connotes an affectionate diminutive – an equivalent might be the English expression little bit or lil old . Each Xiao Xiao cartoon is given a Chinese title with the adjective Xiao Xiao preceding a descriptive noun phrase. Xiao Xiao #1 was originally titled Xiao Xiao Zuo Pin , which translates to A Little Bit of Creative Work . Since then each Xiao Xiao cartoon has had a different noun succeeding Xiao Xiao – #4 is titled Little Sheriff , and #7 is titled Little Movie .
The term has gradually shifted meaning from the cartoons themselves to the main character, an anonymous black stick-figure – in this context it means something akin to little fella , appropriate since in most perspectives Xiao Xiao and his fellow stick-people appear tiny and childlike, with disproportionately large heads and small limbs.
Xiao Xiao is placed in various dangerous situations to prove his martial-arts prowess, often against other stick figures who appear more or less identical to himself. Usually other stick figures are also black, but can be other colors, and Xiao Xiao s perpetual nemesis is the Boss, a purple stick figure who commands the enemy sticks and appears to be Xiao Xiao s only peer in ability.
Others have seized on Xiao Xiao s popularity to make animations exploiting the easy-to-draw style of stick figures and minimalist backgrounds, often creating cartoons that are sequels or takeoffs of the official Xiao Xiao cartoons, especially Xiao Xiao #3. This practice has been frowned upon by many in the Flash cartooning community, resulting in one parody cartoon, Stick Slayer vs. Xiao Xiao, featuring a realistically drawn cartoon who goes around destroying poorly done stick-figures, ultimately killing Xiao Xiao himself and then the creator Zhu.
=Episodes=
Xiao Xiao #1 is a simple fight between two stick-figure men, parodying the look of fighting games by taking the level of violence in the fight to extremes.
Xiao Xiao #2 adds interactivity; the stick-man (Xiao Xiao) faces a series of physical challenges, the outcomes of which depend on the player s button mashing ability.
Xiao Xiao #3 is a kung-fu style fight scene in a simple line-drawn house; Xiao Xiao faces off against a seemingly endless series of stick-man opponents using fast-paced martial arts moves; the simple background, two-dimensional movement, vanishing corpses and regenerating enemies call to mind side-scrolling games. The encounter ends in a final showdown between Xiao Xiao and a purple stick-man labeled Boss (another video game reference) in a fight that parodies multiple scenes from The Matrix. The visual theme of Xiao Xiao, a plain black stick-man, fighting against a purple stick-man Boss, remains constant throughout the series. This is the best known Xiao Xiao animation, and has been shown on MTV.
Xiao Xiao #4 is an interactive first-person shooting game in the style of Virtua Cop, casting the player as Xiao Xiao in the role of a Western (genre)-style sheriff complete with cowboy hat and six-shooter. It ends with another scripted fight scene with the purple Boss (which parodies another scene from The Matrix ).
Xiao Xiao #5, billed as a Battle to the death... and beyond returns to the two-dimensional fighting-game-reminiscent side-view style of #3. This time Xiao Xiao and the Boss duel using various conventions from anime and similar genres, exhibiting supernatural powers such as the use of magic spells, the ability to pull weapons out of hammerspace and to continue their battle through astral travel after death. It is notable for its comedic ending.
Xiao Xiao #6 returns to Xiao Xiao #2 s style but this time with a bit more of a plot, forcing the player to button-mash Xiao-Xiao through a barroom brawl.
Xiao Xiao #7 and #8 are the most elaborate of the animations, forsaking the side-view of previous Xiao Xiaos for a fully three-dimensional, cinematic camera view throughout. Once again riffing on films like The Matrix , they depict Xiao Xiao s infiltration of the Boss s mansion and his pursuit after the Boss escapes. #8 ends with a To Be Continued message and has yet to have a sequel, though given that the ending is a bit of an anticlimax the message may have been ironic.
Xiao Xiao #9, a departure from the rest of the series, is a fully interactive Fighting game game in the style of Final Fight. Rather than a plain, pen-and-ink background, the background is this time a full-color, realistic re-creation of a desk ostensibly intended to be Zhu s. As with other Xiao Xiaos and the original beat-em-ups that helped inspire them, Xiao Xiao must fight through a series of stick-thugs before confronting the Boss.
Xiao Xiao #10 or Xiao Xiao: Mall Brawl appears to have been created by Zhu as an advertisement for the CityPlaza mall; it is an altered version of Xiao Xiao #3 wherein Xiao Xiao is colored red to match the CityPlaza logo and the background has been embellished to make it resemble the inside of a shopping mall.
=Copyright infringement=
In June 2004, Zhu filed a lawsuit against Nike, Inc. for plagiarizing his cartoon stickmen in their commercials. Nike representatives denied the accusations, claiming that that the stickman figure lacks originality, and is public domain. Zhu eventually won the lawsuit, and Nike was sentenced to pay $36,000 to the cartoonist.
News articles:
[http://www.ipfrontline.com/printtemplate.aspid=2082 Can a Stickman be original A Chinese court thinks so...], Wednesday, February 09, 2005, ipFrontline
[http://www.lawdit.co.uk/reading_room/room/view_article.aspname=../articles/Nike%20losses.htm Nike loses Stickman case but decides to appeal...], Lawdit Solicitors
=External links=
[http://www.xiaoxiaomovie.com/ The official Xiao Xiao site] (down)
[http://www.newgrounds.com/collections/xiao.html Mirror of Xiao Xiao collection]