China's superhero factory

The quest for originality

During the forum in Shanghai, Zheng encouraged the studio to continue abiding to the principle of "not copying others, nor repeating ourselves," and to work with the same dedication as the studio's predecessors.

"We'd rather spend four years of hard work on a masterpiece, which will be remembered in 40, maybe even 400 years, than produce a film in four months and have it played in the cinema for no more than four days and then forgotten," he said.

"We have seen how American cartoon characters are paraded in Disneyland and how children cheer at the sight of their favorite superheroes. We are determined to revive past glories of Chinese animation and have more children grow up watching our cartoons," he added, referring to how SAFS still has much to do to make their characters more prominent to consumers in China.

The studio recently announced a series of new film projects for the coming three years. Among them is The Girl from the French Fort, which is based on a book series for children by Chinese writer Hong Ying, who is best known for her novel K: the Art of Love and her autobiography Daughter of the River.

At the forum, Hong Ying introduced The Girl from the French Fort as "a story about a child's growth that is rooted in China's ancient culture," and a "collision between two civilizations". Davide Bianca, an Italian creative director, has been appointed as the visual designer for the animation.

"China's youngsters don't need Toy Story or Harry Potter," Hong Ying said. "Rather, we have our own stories, and with adequate investment, China's animation studios will create our own Harry Potter and superheroes."

Bianca recalled how he would watch the Chinese cartoon Sheriff Black Cat on television and said he hopes that The Girl from the French Fort, which will feature a combination of the latest technologies available in Europe with his extensive experience in Hollywood filmmaking, will win popularity with Chinese audiences and achieve success in the international film scene.

In the past decade, a large number of private animation studios have emerged in China, with many being commissioned by established film studios in Hollywood or Japan. Han Meilin, an internationally acclaimed artist who used to work at SAFS, said that this was a good sign for the Chinese industry.

"China used to be good at processing other people's creations. But it is time we started to created our own cartoon images - forget about globalization, art is all about individuality and independence," said Han.

"SAFS has created countless iconic characters that have been loved by generations of Chinese audiences. By sticking to the predecessors' principle of not copying others, we can once again create new masterpieces and showcase our national identity."

zhangkun@chinadaily.com.cn