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May 5, 2015

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Home » City specials » Hangzhou

Animation festival drums up big business

By Xu Wenwen and Wu Huixin | May 5, 2015, Tuesday | Print Edition

THE annual Chinese International Animation and Cartoon Festival in Hangzhou has come and gone once again and insiders from around the world remain pumped up about the industry’s prospects.

Attendance at this year’s festival reached more than 1.37 million and almost 15 billion yuan (US$2.4 billion) in contracts were signed during the six-day event, which attracted more than 600 companies.

On the commercial side, Zhejiang-based ZN Cartoon walked away as the big winner, signing 12 contracts worth more than 1 billion yuan for various TV cartoons and movies.

During the festival 54 screenings were held and a series of lectures were given by industry professionals.

The Hangzhou government is a key sponsor of the festival as it is keen to promote the city’s entertainment industry and move away from large-scale manufacturing.

The fifth annual Top 10 Rising Stars in Cartoon and Animation in China were handed out to animators, producers, screenwriters and entrepreneurs.

Shi Meijing, one of the winners this year, is from Hong Kong and came to the Chinese mainland due to its “great potential market” after working in Japan. He created “Babo Panmily,” the story of a panda family and the winner of an award organized by Phoenix Creative International.

Shi said the Chinese mainland is in need of professional agencies that deal with the business of derivatives, which is “one of the greatest profit generators.”

“One reason that the industry in the mainland is not mature is the lack of agencies that help animators and animation companies negotiate with manufacturers and TV stations,” he explained.

International insiders had positive things to say about the industry’s future.

French filmmaker Laurent Witz, who won the award for Best Animated Short Film last year for “Mr Hublot,” believes China will be one of the biggest markets for animation because of “proficient technologies” and a willingness to “work hard.”

Witz gave a presentation in the festival’s master class series.

Leslie Lee, executive director of The Walt Disney Company (Southeast Asia), said there is room to “fuse cultures” in stories and cites the new Disney feature “Miles from Tomorrowland” as an example. The film features an American father and a Chinese mother with two children.

He also suggested “Chinese animators be open to trying different things in order to go higher and higher.”

Kelly Neall, managing director of the Ottawa International Animation Festival, attended for the third time, and she said it’s clear “China is developing more content for its domestic market.”

“I see many graphics that look very accessible and popular and we would love to see more animation sent to our festival,” Neall said.

To develop a healthy industry, Wang Lei, dean of the School of Animation and Digital Arts of Communication University of China, believed the key is talents rather than investment.

“I see many talented young people in China, but what they need is time and the right environment,” he said. “As long as a sound environment is formed, the industry will grow organically.”

While many deals were signed during the festival, animation producers were also interested in inking agreements about spin-off products.

Wuhan Yindu Culture Media Company was at the festival for the third time promoting its cartoon “Little Jianghu.” This year, however, they also brought a bunch of “Little Jianghu” merchandise including brooches engraved with popular quotes from the show, masks in the shape of characters and fans with funny words.

Elite Media Culture and Communication Company showcased a series of dolls based on its cartoon “Ye Luoli.” The 3D cartoon was listed as one of the top 10 popular animation programs by Hunan Cartoon TV.

The dolls are made of silica gel and “move like a human being,” says one employee. The hair, eyes and clothes of each doll can be changed to suit a customer’s preference.

The dolls cost from 200 yuan to 600 yuan each, but that didn’t seem to deter sales as the booth was one of the most consistently crowded in the exhibition hall.

Professor Wang perhaps says it best when summing up the importance of the festival.

“The meaning of the festival,” he says, “is its function as a platform of both information and trade.”

Hangzhou


 

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