Chinese cartoons not that fast on the draw
- Source: Global Times
- [11:09 July 15 2010]
- Comments
Setting an example
There have been some attempts to use fresh ideas in Chinese cartoons. Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf tells the story of a group of goats and two wolves and was broadcast on more than 50 television channels nationwide, with ratings reaching 17.3 percent.
With over 500 episodes, this series is considered one of the longest running cartoon series in China and is popular with children and adults.
Hoping for further potential business opportunities for the cartoon, the Shanghai Media Group (SMG) acquired the rights and produced two animated films in 2009 and 2010.
The box office for each surpassed 100 million yuan ($14.76 million) making itself a legend in the industry.
Birth of an industry
This is far from enough for SMG.
Learning from the business models in the West like The Walt Disney Company, one of the leading animation, filmmaking and entertainment companies in the world, SMG has concentrated its sales: on air, online and on the ground.
As well as screenings and distribution, products from Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf, such as toys and novelties, are another major source of profit, generating long-term economic return.
As well as SMG, many companies are looking to grab their pieces of what they hope will be a booming market.
The opening of the Shanghai Animation and Comics Museum in Zhangjiang High- Tech Park has created another animation haven in the city.
Zhangjiang has a high-tech label, but it has been striving to turn itself into a creative, cultural and technological giant, especially after being named the "National Online Games and Animation Industry Base" by the General Administration of Press and Publication.
Another animation cradle in the city is the Shanghai Animation Film Studio, which is famous for generating cartoon characters such as the Calabash Brothers, Avantis, Sanmao, Sloppy King, Black Cat and Shuke and Beita since 1950.
The studio has become an innovation center for animated films and has set up an extensive distribution system.
Many of the homemade animated films at Shanghai Animation Film Studio have been successfully promoted in foreign countries that are not always keen on the Chinese mainstream.
With the booming industry, the government has also made a series of policies benefiting its development.
According to the Ministry of Finance, there is no industry in China that enjoys such preferential tax policies.
"The Ministry of Culture sponsored this year's event, showing its concern for the development of the animation industry," said Zeng Yi, the public relations manager of Toonmax Media, a subsidiary of SMG and the organizer of the CCG Expo.
