Curious tale of Pu's return

The most lighthearted of the five stories, Princess Lotus follows a teenage painter on an adventure in a bee kingdom, where he befriends a bee princess and helps her battle a sinister black python demon.

Director Huang Heyu, who helmed Painted Skin, says the team drew inspiration from Song Dynasty (960-1279) paintings to convey a range of emotions — using symmetrical, balanced compositions to reflect the characters' everyday lives, and incorporating blank space and "broken branch" framing technique, emphasizing detail and simplicity, in scenes set in the protagonist's study to evoke deeper artistic resonance.

The poignant tale of Miss Lu tells of a scholar's undying devotion to a beauty who died young. In an extraordinary act of love, he carries her ghostly form on his back to complete a series of missions, ensuring her favorable reincarnation. His devotion proves so powerful that time itself reverses — he becomes young again, allowing him to marry her in the afterlife.

As the film continues to gain popularity in domestic theaters, Yu reveals that, like most of Light Chaser Animation's previous works, Curious Tales of a Temple is set for international release. Dubbed versions are currently being negotiated for several markets, including Southeast Asia and North America, he adds.

Reflecting the maturity and growth of the Chinese film industry, the movie has also scheduled to produce a range of merchandise. Plans are also underway to collaborate with tourist destinations — such as Zibo in Shandong province, the hometown of novelist Pu Songling — to promote local tourism through the film.

"It's no doubt that short videos have become a major form of entertainment — and they've shaken things up for the traditional film industry. But we also see it as a wake-up call. It pushes us filmmakers to step up our game, get more creative, and make better, higher-quality movies that really bring audiences back to the big screen," says Yu.