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Animation festival draws crowds
By Xu Wenwen |
May 3, 2011, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THE 2011 China International Animation & Cartoon Festival which draws to a close today has once again successfully put Hangzhou's animation industry on the global stage. Xu Wenwen looks at some of the highlights.
When Master Shi Yongxin, the abbot of the Shaolin Temple, appeared in a master class at the 2011 China International Animation & Cartoon Festival last Friday in Hangzhou, the audience were stirred and strained to listen to his speech.
"The Shaolin Temple has several derivatives, like Shaolin kung fu, Shaolin traditional medicine, Shaolin cuisine, and now, the Shaolin cartoon," he told the audience.
Shi, along with Tsai Chih-Chung, the celebrated caricaturist who presents the Chinese classics in the form of modern-day comics, was there to publicize a forthcoming animated movie about the Shaolin Temple. At present, it has no title but will be about Bodhidharma and Shaolin Temple.
Tsai will direct the movie, while musician Tan Dun and martial arts choreographer Yuen Woo-Ping will also cooperate.
Fitting appropriately with the festival's theme "Animate your city, animate your life," now even a Buddhist temple boasts its own cartoon.
It is only one of the many highlights during the six-day festival which closes today.
The appearance of Spider-Man on a float at the parade signaled Disney's coming to the festival.
It is the first time that Disney has joined the cartoon festival, as "the exhibition is international and influential," said Roger Chan, director of Disney Consumer Products in China.
The Walt Disney Company completed its acquisition of renowned comic book company Marvel Entertainment in December 2009, so now superheroes such as Spider-Man, Iron Man and the Hulk are members of the Disney family. At the festival Marvel announced its landing in China with the Chinese name "Man Wei."
Another animation industry leader, Shueisha Inc from Japan, also came and displayed products related to its most popular works such as "One Piece" and "Naruto."
The company took part in the festival last year and this time Japanese manga artist Eiichiro Oda, creator of "One Piece," drew a picture especially for the festival, featuring a bust of Monkey D Luffy, the hero of "One Piece" and Chinese characters reading "To Chinese friends" and "Wish China International Animation & Cartoon Festival a success!"
The drawing will be held in the China Comic and Animation Museum that is being established in Hangzhou.
Exhibitors from Taiwan showed great charm to lure visitors to their stands.
Books, jigsaws, bags, dolls and all kinds of spin-off products of renowned Japanese cartoons, such as "One Piece," "Kuroshitsuji" and "Hitman Reborn," attracted an endless stream of people to the booths of Muse Communication Company and Mighty Media Company. Both of them are from Taiwan and are authorized to sell spin-off merchandise.
Meanwhile, the booth of local Taiwan animation enterprise Pyi Pyi Family Gifts Company was so popular that its entrance and exit were almost blocked by crowd of visitors who fancied its products themed with mantou (Chinese steamed bun) and bread.
The company took part in last year's fair mainly for brand promotion, but this year it is ready to expand its market in the Chinese mainland.
"We authorized six companies to produce derivatives in the past year, two of them are from Taiwan, and three of the others were companies we met at the last fair," said Peter Huang, director of Pyi Pyi.
"The first Pyi Pyi store in the Chinese mainland opened on Sunday in Hangzhou," he added. "We plan to open 1,000 branches in the Chinese mainland in three years."
Pyi Pyi's authorization to sell products in the Chinese mainland is not an individual case. Animation enterprises in the Chinese mainland are getting more and more active in official merchandise.
Hangzhou FanFan Comic Culture and Art Company has cooperated with Japan to authorize "One Piece" and some Japanese cellphone novels in the Chinese mainland. Meanwhile, the local company has introduced China's picture serials such as "Thirty-Six Strategies" and "Ghost Blows out the Light" to Japan as cellphone animations.
During the festival, the company had an authorization exchange conference with Mighty Media Company. Mighty authorized "Girl Arms" to FanFan, while FanFan authorized its original cartoon "Yanshi" to Mighty.
The company will release "Yanshi" this summer in China and overseas, and it is contacting Shueisha Inc for more authorization opportunities.
Furthermore, a Pili (a traditional puppet show from Taiwan) movie "Butterfly Dream at the West Lake" had its first screening during the festival. The movie is a collaboration between Pili International Multimedia from Taiwan and Fanfan.
Due to these local exhibitors gaining an increasingly international presence, the festival which has been running for seven years is becoming more and more influential on a global scale.
"I've seen hundreds of animation exhibitions worldwide and I would say this festival is first-class among its peers in the world," evaluated exhibitor Summer Hsia, a senior curator and CEO of Auspicious Century Creative Art Center in Taiwan.
"On one hand, it involves matters of industry, academic study and government, and on the other hand, it is public-oriented," she explained.
When Master Shi Yongxin, the abbot of the Shaolin Temple, appeared in a master class at the 2011 China International Animation & Cartoon Festival last Friday in Hangzhou, the audience were stirred and strained to listen to his speech.
"The Shaolin Temple has several derivatives, like Shaolin kung fu, Shaolin traditional medicine, Shaolin cuisine, and now, the Shaolin cartoon," he told the audience.
Shi, along with Tsai Chih-Chung, the celebrated caricaturist who presents the Chinese classics in the form of modern-day comics, was there to publicize a forthcoming animated movie about the Shaolin Temple. At present, it has no title but will be about Bodhidharma and Shaolin Temple.
Tsai will direct the movie, while musician Tan Dun and martial arts choreographer Yuen Woo-Ping will also cooperate.
Fitting appropriately with the festival's theme "Animate your city, animate your life," now even a Buddhist temple boasts its own cartoon.
It is only one of the many highlights during the six-day festival which closes today.
The appearance of Spider-Man on a float at the parade signaled Disney's coming to the festival.
It is the first time that Disney has joined the cartoon festival, as "the exhibition is international and influential," said Roger Chan, director of Disney Consumer Products in China.
The Walt Disney Company completed its acquisition of renowned comic book company Marvel Entertainment in December 2009, so now superheroes such as Spider-Man, Iron Man and the Hulk are members of the Disney family. At the festival Marvel announced its landing in China with the Chinese name "Man Wei."
Another animation industry leader, Shueisha Inc from Japan, also came and displayed products related to its most popular works such as "One Piece" and "Naruto."
The company took part in the festival last year and this time Japanese manga artist Eiichiro Oda, creator of "One Piece," drew a picture especially for the festival, featuring a bust of Monkey D Luffy, the hero of "One Piece" and Chinese characters reading "To Chinese friends" and "Wish China International Animation & Cartoon Festival a success!"
The drawing will be held in the China Comic and Animation Museum that is being established in Hangzhou.
Exhibitors from Taiwan showed great charm to lure visitors to their stands.
Books, jigsaws, bags, dolls and all kinds of spin-off products of renowned Japanese cartoons, such as "One Piece," "Kuroshitsuji" and "Hitman Reborn," attracted an endless stream of people to the booths of Muse Communication Company and Mighty Media Company. Both of them are from Taiwan and are authorized to sell spin-off merchandise.
Meanwhile, the booth of local Taiwan animation enterprise Pyi Pyi Family Gifts Company was so popular that its entrance and exit were almost blocked by crowd of visitors who fancied its products themed with mantou (Chinese steamed bun) and bread.
The company took part in last year's fair mainly for brand promotion, but this year it is ready to expand its market in the Chinese mainland.
"We authorized six companies to produce derivatives in the past year, two of them are from Taiwan, and three of the others were companies we met at the last fair," said Peter Huang, director of Pyi Pyi.
"The first Pyi Pyi store in the Chinese mainland opened on Sunday in Hangzhou," he added. "We plan to open 1,000 branches in the Chinese mainland in three years."
Pyi Pyi's authorization to sell products in the Chinese mainland is not an individual case. Animation enterprises in the Chinese mainland are getting more and more active in official merchandise.
Hangzhou FanFan Comic Culture and Art Company has cooperated with Japan to authorize "One Piece" and some Japanese cellphone novels in the Chinese mainland. Meanwhile, the local company has introduced China's picture serials such as "Thirty-Six Strategies" and "Ghost Blows out the Light" to Japan as cellphone animations.
During the festival, the company had an authorization exchange conference with Mighty Media Company. Mighty authorized "Girl Arms" to FanFan, while FanFan authorized its original cartoon "Yanshi" to Mighty.
The company will release "Yanshi" this summer in China and overseas, and it is contacting Shueisha Inc for more authorization opportunities.
Furthermore, a Pili (a traditional puppet show from Taiwan) movie "Butterfly Dream at the West Lake" had its first screening during the festival. The movie is a collaboration between Pili International Multimedia from Taiwan and Fanfan.
Due to these local exhibitors gaining an increasingly international presence, the festival which has been running for seven years is becoming more and more influential on a global scale.
"I've seen hundreds of animation exhibitions worldwide and I would say this festival is first-class among its peers in the world," evaluated exhibitor Summer Hsia, a senior curator and CEO of Auspicious Century Creative Art Center in Taiwan.
"On one hand, it involves matters of industry, academic study and government, and on the other hand, it is public-oriented," she explained.
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