MASTERS AT WORK: Staff of an animation company in Guangzhou work on the animated film Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf on December 21, 2010 (XINHUA)

The total box office takings of the very popular Chinese animated film Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf, co-invested by U'young Media, have surpassed 100 million yuan ($15.2 million). Other incomes from the movies and the TV series, such as income from derivative products, are also considerable. Hu forecasts the profit margins of Chinese animation's box office income, integrated market income and derivative product income will tend to be equal in five years. "This is what we are trying to achieve. It is the sign of a mature market," said Hu.

Because of the great market potential of animation, there are at least 20 cities in China setting up animation bases. The number of related enterprises has increased quickly nationwide, surpassing 10,000.

The Hangzhou Animation Festival, which is held in the early summer every year in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, is the epitome of the rapid development of the industry in the city. Statistics from the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television show the original animation production of Hangzhou ranked first in China for two consecutive years since 2009. Among its original products, The Dreams of Jinsha was even submitted to the Oscar Award Committee as a contender for the best animated picture of 2010, the first Chinese animation to be so close to the award.

Wuxi, a beautiful city in the southern part of Jiangsu Province, ranked second nationwide in original animation production in 2010.

"In the past two years, what impressed us most in Wuxi is the local government's substantial support for the cultural industry. The series of favorable policies for cultural industry has been of great help for the development of animation enterprises like ours," said Wang Yiqun, President of CIWENUNIS Digital Pictures, the largest private TV play producer in China. In 2009, the company made its first animation TV series Monkey, Monk and the Monsters Go West, which made a good profit, was shown in the Cannes Film Festival, creating a new record for Asian animation TV series. Last year, together with the China Film Group Corporation and Japanese animation producer MADHOUSE, the company shot the animated film Tibetan Dog, and the film will be released globally.

Cooperation

China's first 3D animated film Little Big Panda was released in cinemas on February 3 this year, the Chinese New Year's Day, which heated up the Chinese animated film market again. The animation tells a story of a little panda saving its whole species group. It is a work combining joint efforts from many countries. China offered the source material; Germany assumed pre-production, including figure design; an American director finalized the script; the Spanish team drew the paintings, and a Belgian team worked on 3D animation. Michael Schoemann, the movie's German producer, said the film was a gift for children worldwide from artists from different countries.

The world famous director Greg Manwaring, who was also one of the lead producers of the cartoon series The Lion King, said he had brought his own experience and practice to the shooting of the film. On one hand, the film reveals Chinese culture; On the other hand, it combines Chinese culture with world culture.

Little Big Panda is regarded as the world's first hand-painted 3D film. It employs techniques different from prevailing Hollywood animation technology, combining frames with Chinese ink and wash painting.

Creation

In 2010, the original Chinese animation image Tuzki, which has attracted wide attention, was bought by Time-Warner Inc..

Tuzki is a funny cartoon rabbit with long ears and soft arms. It is always in a thoughtful pose and expresses its feelings with exaggeration. It first appeared in instant messengers and quickly became popular, attracting large number of fans.

The image was created by Wang Maomao when she was still a student at Communication University of China (CUC) in 2006. At the end of 2007, Tuzki became the promotion ambassador for a line of Motorola cellphones. Wang joined Time Warner after graduation and became the first artist supported by the company's Asian young artist training program.

"The company is responsible for the promotion of the cartoon image and the marketing operation of the related products. I do the main creation work," she said.

However, there is still a large gap between Chinese animation and advanced animation elsewhere from the points of view both of subjects and marketing, said Liao Xiangzhong, Vice President of CUC. "Although Chinese animation work was reasonably well developed in technology and in other aspects, there is a lack of mechanisms for personnel training or the cultivation of talent in the field," Liao said.

Talents with creative ideas are probably the key factor for the development of the Chinese animation industry, experts said. For a long time, most of animation talent in China has been occupied in low-end work, causing them to lack creative thinking.

To this end, the CMC launched a high-end animation talent training program in 2008 and several professional colleges and universities now hold seminars for managers, technicians, creators and engineers in domestic animation enterprises. In 2009, an animation teaching material compilation committee was set up by the CMC and the Chinese Ministry of Education. In 2010, the two ministries held a competition of original animation work of Chinese students, to find creative talent for the industry.