Authorities urging animated offerings to draw on national spirit

From Ne Zha, the country's highest-grossing animated film of all time, to White Snake 2: The Tribulation of the Green Snake, which was a hit earlier this year, Chinese animators are increasingly demonstrating an interest in drawing inspiration from traditional culture in an attempt to resonate more with domestic audiences, industry insiders said.

In its recently issued 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) for Chinese cinematic development, the China Film Administration proposed that authorities support the creation and production of animated films that highlight "the spirit of China and the aesthetic style of the East "to better meet domestic demand and enhance cultural awareness among teenagers.

Widely regarded as a pioneer of Chinese animated films, the Shanghai Animation Film Studio－which has produced more than 500 movies and earned 400 awards in the past six decades－is devoted to telling stories based on Chinese folklore and myth, which are mostly rendered through traditional art forms such as wooden puppeteering, paper-cutting and brush painting.

Su Da, a veteran director who is also head of the studio, said the plan indicates that new opportunities for Chinese animators are on the horizon, and that domestic talent should make use of innovative technologies to produce more quality works and boost the international influence of Chinese films.

Su revealed that the studio is currently producing two movies based on Chinese literary works. One is employing the latest 3D animation technology to retell the adventures of the Monkey King, as adapted from the 16th-century novel Journey to the West, while the other uses brush painting techniques to animate Ban Ling Fei Du, a film based on novelist Shen Shixi's popular tale.

Saying that Chinese animators are better qualified to depict the delicate emotions and essence of the Chinese spirit, Su suggested that domestic producers increase their efforts to train the next generation of talent, encouraging them to add more "artistically contagious, fresh and heartwarming "elements to their work to deepen the appeal of domestic animation.

Ma Hua, a professor at the Animation School of the Beijing Film Academy, said that one of the domestic breakthroughs Chinese animators have achieved in recent years is to have altered the once prevailing view that animation was only for children.

Exemplifying the trend, a string of popular films like Big Fish &Begonia and the White Snake franchise target adults, deepening the exploration of diversified genres and complex, thought-provoking themes, Ma said.

He called for investors and consumers to be more patient and give animators time to polish their work.