# Deep Sea (深海) (2023 film)
**Deep Sea** (深海, *Shēn Hǎi*) is a 2023 Chinese 3D animated fantasy film directed by Tian Xiaopeng (田晓鹏), released in mainland China on 22 January 2023, the first day of the [Lunar New Year](https://www.edgepedia.org/lunar-new-year) holiday[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2232477/). It follows Shenxiu (参宿), a withdrawn young girl who falls into a dreamlike underwater world after being washed overboard, and it is best known for its "particle ink" (粒子水墨) technique, which combines traditional Chinese ink-wash painting with mainstream 3D animation[2](https://ent.people.com.cn/n1/2023/0123/c1012-32611586.html). The film was Tian's first feature in eight years, following *Monkey King: Hero Is Back* (2015)[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2232477/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director and writers | Tian Xiaopeng, co-written with Tian Bo (田博)[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2232477/) |
| Release | 22 January 2023 (mainland China); limited US release 24 November 2023 by Viva Pictures[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2232477/) • [3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Deep-Sea-%282023-China%29) |
| Runtime | 112 minutes per 1905.com; 105 minutes per The Numbers[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2232477/) • [3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Deep-Sea-%282023-China%29) |
| Signature technique | "Particle ink": 3D animation built from billions of particles per scene, developed over two years of research[2](https://ent.people.com.cn/n1/2023/0123/c1012-32611586.html) |
| Production time | About 7 years, against a typical 3 years for an animated feature[4](https://www.chinafilmnews.cn/Html/2023-01-18/10799.html) |
| Box office | 450 million yuan in its first 8 days; $136,090,000 total per The Numbers[5](https://www.dianyingjie.com.cn/2023/0131/357892.shtml) • [3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Deep-Sea-%282023-China%29) |
| Reception | 88% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (26 reviews); 79% audience score[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/deep_sea_2023) |
## Spoilers
### Story
The protagonist is Shenxiu (参宿), an ordinary, socially anxious girl whose parents have divorced and who lives with her father, his new wife, and their child[7](https://miff.com.au/festival-archive/films/32734/deep-sea) • [1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2232477/). Abandoned by her mother, she carries a deep sadness and bad dreams about a monster called "Nightmare"[7](https://miff.com.au/festival-archive/films/32734/deep-sea) • [6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/deep_sea_2023). During a storm at sea she is washed overboard and awakens in a wondrous underwater world, where she joins the motley crew of the Deep Sea, a restaurant built from an old submarine, guided by a shapeshifting creature she knows from her mother's songs[7](https://miff.com.au/festival-archive/films/32734/deep-sea). Her odyssey toward the Eye of the Deep Sea doubles as a search for her missing mother[7](https://miff.com.au/festival-archive/films/32734/deep-sea).
The Chinese Film Data Information Network synopsis describes a girl who loses family care, enters the deep-sea world in a dream, and, with the encouragement of a boy who risks his life to save her in both reality and the dream, regains the courage to face life[8](https://www.zgdypw.cn/zzxm/gcpxfxm/xfxmzzxq/202407/15/t20240715_7388894.shtml). Producer Yi Qiao (易巧) said Tian wanted, after *Monkey King*, to make a film closer to ordinary people: Shenxiu has no special identity, and the male lead Nanhe (南河), the ship's captain, is a book-selling clown, an unglamorous everyman rather than a legendary hero[9](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_21697885). Shenxiu is voiced by Wang Tingwen (王亭文) and Nanhe by Su Xin (苏鑫)[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2232477/).
## The particle ink technique
**Particle ink** is the film's central innovation. The team spent two years developing it, stacking countless particles to form the shapes of ink washes and thereby breaking the hard contours of 3D objects; to simulate the flow of ink colors, staff ran more than a hundred mixing experiments with detergent, acrylic paint, food coloring, and milk[4](https://www.chinafilmnews.cn/Html/2023-01-18/10799.html). The Melbourne International Film Festival program describes the method as layering billions of specks of "digital dust" per scene, inspired by the Tang Dynasty ink washes that popularized the freehand brushwork style known as xieyi, producing visuals softer and more fluid than the hyperrealism favored by 3D filmmakers such as [James Cameron](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-cameron)[7](https://miff.com.au/festival-archive/films/32734/deep-sea).
The production numbers are large. The studio's own breakdown put a single shot at roughly 2 billion or more particles, thousands of colors, three months of work, and 140 versions of the storyboard[9](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_21697885). The "sea-splitting" shot carried more than a hundred layers of particle effects and billions of particles, and the effects artist responsible stretched a shot planned for 3 days to 15 months[4](https://www.chinafilmnews.cn/Html/2023-01-18/10799.html). Animation director Chen Zheng said the hardest part was not the particle count but converting two-dimensional ink into three-dimensional form, a genuine challenge for computers; visual effects supervisor Wu Minzhi recalled that each frame took about a week to render, after which new problems of color, light, and form often surfaced[9](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_21697885).
The film's makers framed the technique as an attempt to find a 3D animation style distinct from the Pixar-influenced mainstream. Tian told international audiences in Berlin that the whole 3D animation field has been influenced by Pixar's style, and that *Deep Sea* is a strongly experimental attempt at a form belonging to China[10](https://news.sina.com.cn/o/2023-02-22/doc-imyhqaiw8562424.shtml). 1905.com's production notes add that while non-photorealistic rendering in 3D was not itself new, earlier attempts had appeared only in short films, making *Deep Sea* a milestone in scale and difficulty[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2232477/).
## Production
Tian spent about seven years on the film, against the roughly three years a typical animated feature takes, because of the research and development load[4](https://www.chinafilmnews.cn/Html/2023-01-18/10799.html). Producer Yi Qiao later described how the project was repeatedly close to collapse: at one point only a dozen or so people could understand the core visual concept, staff left for the games industry, and production efficiency dropped[11](https://finance.sina.cn/2023-01-24/detail-imychywn1467436.d.html). The opening credits sequence alone took two years to make[9](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_21697885).
Character work carried its own burdens. The film's sea otters, chosen because the sea otter is the world's most fur-dense animal, number more than 80, each with individually animated fur, layered into outer hair, underfur, arm fur, and whiskers[4](https://www.chinafilmnews.cn/Html/2023-01-18/10799.html). The creature called the sea spirit, which has no fixed model, required 27 character models and more than 500 tentacles after transformation, animated down to individual strands[4](https://www.chinafilmnews.cn/Html/2023-01-18/10799.html). Voice recording also stretched over five years; the girl who first voiced Shenxiu grew up and her voice changed, so the crew re-held auditions[12](https://xinwen.bjd.com.cn/content/s63d12075e4b0ed71f928382d.html).
## Release and box office
The film opened in mainland China on 22 January 2023, the Lunar New Year's Day, in 3D, IMAX 3D, and China Film Giant Screen formats[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2232477/). It earned 450 million yuan in its first 8 days[5](https://www.dianyingjie.com.cn/2023/0131/357892.shtml) and 500 million yuan by its tenth day, at which point Sina's report noted it still had some distance to go to recoup its costs[13](https://news.sina.cn/2023-01-31/detail-imyeancq6880579.d.html). Cumulative box office later passed 700 million yuan[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2232477/), and The Numbers records a total of $136,090,000, all from China[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Deep-Sea-%282023-China%29). It was nominated in the Generation Kplus International Jury Best Feature category at the 73rd [Berlin International Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/berlin-international-film-festival)[14](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E3%80%8A%E6%B7%B1%E6%B5%B7%E3%80%8B/18748673?fromModule=lemma_inlink), and at its Berlin premiere the screening drew repeated applause, with foreign media praising production standards beyond expectations[10](https://news.sina.com.cn/o/2023-02-22/doc-imyhqaiw8562424.shtml).
## Reception
Critical response centered on the same split the box office showed. On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds 88% among 26 critics and 79% among audiences[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/deep_sea_2023). The Guardian's Phuong Le called the mix of hyperreal 3D animation and impressionistic Chinese-painting compositions unique to behold despite tonal unevenness; Rich Cline of Shadows on the Wall called it truly groundbreaking and worth seeing on the big screen for its imagery[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/deep_sea_2023). MIFF's program quoted Filmuforia's verdict that it offers younger viewers a visual treat and mature audiences something deeper[7](https://miff.com.au/festival-archive/films/32734/deep-sea).
Chinese commentary was more divided. 1905.com noted that after box office passed 700 million yuan the film met controversy over thin characterization and muddled plotting[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2232477/). Sina's report summarized the audience split as "gorgeous effects, thin story" on one side and viewers who found it stunning on the other[13](https://news.sina.cn/2023-01-31/detail-imyeancq6880579.d.html). Tian responded that *Deep Sea* is a film to be felt rather than parsed, saying he accepted any cost for it[13](https://news.sina.cn/2023-01-31/detail-imyeancq6880579.d.html), and told an industry audience that without technical underpinnings the future road for [Chinese animation](https://www.edgepedia.org/chinese-animation) would not be long[15](https://www.1905.com/news/20230201/1612282.shtml).
## Significance for Chinese animation
The film's stated ambition was to break the dominance of American and Japanese animation by developing a three-dimensional form with a Chinese aesthetic[4](https://www.chinafilmnews.cn/Html/2023-01-18/10799.html). *People's Daily* reported that the particle ink technique, applied across the entire film, achieved a fineness of detail beyond any previous animated work, and that Tian spent two full years producing just the first three minutes of particle ink test footage[16](https://paper.people.com.cn/rmrb/images/2023-02/02/20/rmrb2023020220.pdf). Producer Yi Qiao argued that the film's meaning for the industry lies not only in a new technology but in the act of innovation itself[11](https://finance.sina.cn/2023-01-24/detail-imychywn1467436.d.html). In March 2026 the *Deep Sea* team opened a game-creation account and released a new short, planning to gamify the Deep Sea IP around the film's small sea otter[14](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E3%80%8A%E6%B7%B1%E6%B5%B7%E3%80%8B/18748673?fromModule=lemma_inlink).
## References
1. [深海 Deep Sea (2023), 1905电影网](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2232477/)
2. [对话电影《深海》制片人：用"粒子水墨"打造奇幻冒险故事, 人民网](https://ent.people.com.cn/n1/2023/0123/c1012-32611586.html)
3. [Deep Sea (深海) (2023), The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Deep-Sea-%282023-China%29)
4. [《深海》：让世界看到全新中国风, 中国电影报](https://www.chinafilmnews.cn/Html/2023-01-18/10799.html)
5. [《深海》公映8天收获4.5亿元票房, 电影界](https://www.dianyingjie.com.cn/2023/0131/357892.shtml)
6. [Deep Sea (2023), Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/deep_sea_2023)
7. [Deep Sea, Melbourne International Film Festival program](https://miff.com.au/festival-archive/films/32734/deep-sea)
8. [深海, 中国电影数据信息网](https://www.zgdypw.cn/zzxm/gcpxfxm/xfxmzzxq/202407/15/t20240715_7388894.shtml)
9. [《深海》：无人在意的小丑编织了一场最绚烂的梦丨主创专访, 澎湃新闻](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_21697885)
10. [《深海》亮相柏林电影节, 新浪新闻](https://news.sina.com.cn/o/2023-02-22/doc-imyhqaiw8562424.shtml)
11. [制片人易巧：《深海》有无数次可能夭折，但值得去试, 新浪财经](https://finance.sina.cn/2023-01-24/detail-imychywn1467436.d.html)
12. [首创"粒子水墨"！这部京产动画电影呈现五彩斑斓的深海, 北京日报](https://xinwen.bjd.com.cn/content/s63d12075e4b0ed71f928382d.html)
13. [《深海》导演田晓鹏：这是一部感受型电影，任何代价我都接受, 新浪](https://news.sina.cn/2023-01-31/detail-imyeancq6880579.d.html)
14. [深海（2023年田晓鹏执导的动画电影）, 百度百科](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E3%80%8A%E6%B7%B1%E6%B5%B7%E3%80%8B/18748673?fromModule=lemma_inlink)
15. [《深海》举办特别观影 导演田晓鹏对话动画从业者, 1905电影网](https://www.1905.com/news/20230201/1612282.shtml)
16. [走出心中那片"深海", 人民日报 (2023-02-02)](https://paper.people.com.cn/rmrb/images/2023-02/02/20/rmrb2023020220.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Films by genre, form, and subject › Animated and short films › Animated films by country and region*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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