Monkey King vs Kung Fu Panda?

By Xu Wei  |   2009-7-8  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

CHINA'S animation industry, though highly creative, is struggling to come up with a cartoon superhero beloved worldwide. Like Hollywood's Kung Fu Panda. Xu Wei sketches the scene.

Pleasant Goat and Mcdull Pig - the next superheroes?

China's 12 animals of the zodiac are a natural for animators, and a recent competition has enshrined a dozen of cartoon beasts in hopes of promoting animation and traditional culture.

It is also hoped that the cartoon zodiac animals - publicized nationwide and printed on postage stamps - will charm Chinese children who seem to be taken with Western astrology and its 12 signs.

Last Friday awards were given to the top 12 images of captivating animals of the zodiac, chosen from among 27,850 entries. The winning designs will be issued as a special postage stamp series.

The competition was launched a year ago by the China Folklore Society and Shanghai Animation Film Studio. Their joint aim is to increase popular awareness of traditional culture and spur the domestic cartoon industry.

For years the Chinese animation industry has been trying to reestablish its popularity - with distinct Chinese characters - in the face of enormous international competition from Japan and Hollywood. The industry is more than 80 years old.

"Kung Fu Panda" (2008), a Hollywood sensation worldwide, was yet another wakeup call. And "Kung Fu Panda 2" is expected in 2011. Animators and industry experts have been asking themselves why foreigners were the first to so successfully animate the beloved panda.

People's Daily recently raised 10 questions about Chinese animation, including: "Can Pleasant Goat (a domestic cartoon character) beat Kung Fu Panda?" "Why is the 700-year-old Monkey King so lonely?" and "How far is China from becoming an animation power?"

Industry experts say there's no lack of creative ideas and characters in China, but the problem is an immature animation industry and lack of resources.

The Monkey King, the Black Cat Detective and Calabash Brothers were enormously popular some two decades ago and the Monkey King, of course, is known worldwide and perhaps ripe for reinvention. They were part of the so-called golden age of Chinese animation from the 1950s to the 1980s, excluding the "cultural revolution" (1966-1976).

The most successful recent animations include "Mcdull," a kung fu piggie that's been made into four movies, and "Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf," also around for some years but just made into a successful film.

Still, while these are popular in China, there are not many of them and they don't shine internationally. They're no match for Japan's Doraemon and Astro Boy, to say nothing of Kung Fu Panda.

It is hoped that the zodiac cartoon competition will generate some fresh ideas.

"The long history and rich legends behind the Chinese zodiac signs are good inspiration for really eye-catching and original Chinese cartoon characters," says Wang Qingyue, an organizer of the event.

Chinese zodiac culture has been included on the list of Shanghai's intangible cultural heritage, according to Liu Kuili, director of China Folklore Society and a judge of the competition. The winning works are infused with auspicious meaning and strong local flavor.

Chinese mainland sculptor Liu Yajun whose zodiac "tiger" design won the top prize says he was inspired by images from classic cartoon films, such as "Ne Zha Conquers the Dragon King" and "Uproar in Heaven."

"The tiger's eyebrows are inspired by the propitious clouds in these films," he says. "And its nose and eyes are based on the vivid figure of the embroidered Chinese folk fabric tiger."

These top 12 winning designs will be marketed globally in a series of by-products including toys, comic books, animation films and theme park figures. The latest information will be posted on www.kisssun.com.cn.