The movie had already raked in 1 billion yuan before filming was even completed, something Yang Lin hadn't anticipated.
However, this also served as a testament to just how much "Crazy Animal City" appealed to netizens.
Upon hearing this news, the entire film crew redoubled their efforts.
By the third day, all filming work was wrapped up.
And all the animals from Xihong Zoo had made guest appearances in Animal City.
But even as cameos, it was an incredibly exciting event for these animals.
To celebrate the official end of filming, Yang Lin immediately procured a massive amount of ingredients, intending to treat the animals to a feast.
Before long, large trucks laden with all sorts of food rumbled into Xihong Zoo under the watchful eyes of the tourists.
Seeing this scene, the tourists were clearly at a loss as to what was happening.
It wasn't until the doors of these trucks opened, revealing the food inside, that they finally understood.
To their surprise, the food wasn't being sent to storage; instead, staff members were directly delivering it to different enclosures.
For the ape and monkey houses, various fruit platters and fruit cakes.
For the tiger enclosure, beef sashimi and salmon sashimi.
For the bear enclosure, buckets of honey and assorted meat platters.
For the free-range areas, abundant fresh vegetables and fruits, live chickens, and plump rabbits.
The animals seemed to be enjoying a buffet, with keepers on standby to replenish their servings as soon as they finished, leaving the tourists dumbfounded.
"What's today's occasion? Are the animals celebrating the New Year early?"
"I'd always heard the animals at Xihong Zoo were well-fed; now I've seen it for myself."
"What a life! I wouldn't dare eat meat this lavishly."
"The kicker is they're at a buffet with personal service. Doesn't that make you angry?"
"Oh my gosh, they're eating so deliciously."
"I thought I came to see animals, but I'm actually watching foodies."
"Worth it, worth it. For the price of one ticket, I got to see animals and a food show."
"This must be their payment, right? I heard they acted in a movie."
"Such a conscientious director Yang, actually converting their salaries into food for them."
"I feel like the male and female leads got the short end of the stick. How much can a rabbit and a fox eat? Are they getting a lifetime supply of greens and chicken?"
"So, what we're watching now isn't just a group of animals, but a group of animal celebrities, right?"
.....
After filming concluded, the post-production work for the movie also kicked off with great urgency.
However, since it was all shot on location, the so-called post-production mainly involved voiceovers for the animal actors and editing.
Fortunately, during this period, Niu and Ma had recruited a number of professional staff to join their team.
With just half a day remaining until the scheduled release date agreed upon with Douyin Movies, the final cut was finally completed.
But as Yang Lin saw the runtime of the final product, his expression turned peculiar.
"300 minutes? Is this the final version?"
He had known the movie's runtime might be a bit long, but he hadn't expected it to be this ridiculously extensive.
Hearing Yang Lin's questioning tone, Niu and Ma calmly explained:
"We couldn't help it; this is the result after we've condensed and condensed it as much as possible."
"Besides, 300 minutes is only 5 hours. Since we're not releasing it in theaters, viewers can pause it. It won't affect meal times or bathroom breaks."
"More importantly, didn't you say you wanted to broadcast this movie on the big screen outside Animal City? I calculated, one showing in the morning, one in the afternoon, and the day would be perfectly filled."
Listening to their reasoned explanations, Yang Lin was momentarily at a loss for words.
"Fine, 5 hours it is. They gave us 1 billion yuan, so a longer runtime is quite reasonable."
As he spoke, Yang Lin sent the final cut to Douyin Movies.
Shortly after he sent it, countless Douyin users noticed a countdown timer appear in the upper right corner of their screens.
Next to the countdown, the words "Crazy Animal City" also appeared.
Clicking on the countdown immediately jumped to a playback interface.
At this point, they all immediately realized: the movie was about to begin.
After days of pre-release hype, everyone was brimming with anticipation for this pure animal film shot by Xihong Zoo.
"Here it comes, it's finally here! After waiting for so long, we can finally watch it."
"Thank you, Douyin, for letting us watch for free. Thank you, Director Yang."
"How did you know I managed to snag tickets to Animal City tomorrow?"
"You're such a newbie."
"How did you know I got a tiger-view room?"
"Then you're even more of a newbie."
"It's half an hour until broadcast. Selling peanuts, sunflower seeds, and soda in the front row."
.....
As the countdown gradually ticked down, time quickly reached 8 PM Beijing time.
When the clock hands pointed precisely to 8, countless netizens, who had been waiting by their phone screens, simultaneously clicked into the playback interface.
The next second, the signature opening of Xihong Zoo appeared before everyone's eyes.
Accompanying the opening was an alarmingly long progress bar.
Upon seeing the 300-minute progress bar, the viewers were stunned.
But before they could even voice their complaints, the main feature of the movie had already begun.
As one animal character after another appeared, an unprecedented animal world unfolded before the audience's eyes.
This novel experience instantly captivated all the viewers.
And as the plot progressed, the mysterious Animal City began to reveal its true form.
Even though they had some understanding of Animal City from the descriptions of the first batch of preview visitors, the immense shock and novelty still washed over them in waves when a city composed entirely of animals appeared before them.
In the minds of most viewers, Crazy Animal City was supposed to be like the narrated animal world.
But seeing the scenes within Animal City at this moment, they realized just how wrong they had been.
Here, they saw animals unlike any they had imagined.
These animals had their own roles, professions, and even their own personalities and emotions, just like humans.
Magical yet grounded in reality, the animals' actions were absurd yet consistent with their natural behaviors, like a peculiar form of natural science education.
Before long, all the viewers were immersed in this unprecedented film.
The five hours passed in the blink of an eye.