THE Monkey King, the enduring superhero of classic Chinese literature, has returned, and the nation is abuzz with his latest incarnation.

The original animated film “Monkey King: Hero Is Back” has been breaking box office records since its release on July 10, raking in nearly 500 million yuan (US$80.6 million) so far. That surpasses the former record holder “Boonie Bears: Mystical Winter” and popular Hollywood animated movies such as “Frozen,” “The Croods” and “How to Train Your Dragon.”

The film became a hot topic this summer in Chinese media and on social networks like Weibo and WeChat.

In some cinemas, audiences have stood up and applauded at the end. For many, the Monkey King is a “national hero” and for adults, a sweet childhood memory.

The character is the chief protagonist in the 16th-century Chinese novel “Journey to the West” by Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) author Wu Cheng’en (1500-1582). It is considered one of the “four great classic novels” of China.

“Monkey King: Hero is Back” tells of the story of the Monkey King’s encounters with his future master, Monk Tang, also known as Xuanzang, before they embark on a pilgrimage to India, defeating monsters along the way.

However, the frenzy surrounding the film has prompted some critics to call it a new “cultural phenomenon.”

Producers of the film have declined to reveal its budget, but industry insiders estimate it must have cost about 100 million yuan.

That would be a considerable investment for a domestically made animation film.

But will “Monkey King” be a turning point in the Chinese animation industry, which has long been derided for “childish, low-quality, preachy” films?

Director Tian Xiaopeng is banking it will.

Tian credited the movie’s popularity to the special story, which revolves around Chinese hero the Monkey King, who is forbidden from using his all-mighty powers in the new film.

He said unlike superheroes in Hollywood movies such as Captain America, the latest rendition of the Monkey King simply looks like a close friend with a bit of heroic spirit, which includes helping strangers in danger.

“Chinese people have their own values, which means we don’t need to follow the mindset of the West, especially that of the Hollywood,” the director told Xinhua.

The values conveyed in the animation include perseverance and courage, according to the directorß.

The main character of Dreamworks’ “Kung Fu Panda” franchise was not purely East, as low-profile is appreciated in the culture of the East. As for Disney’s “Mu Lan” series, while people were impressed by the beautiful landscape depicted in the film, some of the film’s elements, such as the coming-of-age ceremony, are not authentically oriental.

He believed he was making an animated film with distinct Chinese style, though he admitted he blended the advantages of both Japanese anime and Hollywood cartoons into it.

“We used our own traditional stories to resonate with our audiences’ emotions, and technically we tell the story by means of the West,” said Tian.

Lu Wei, who was in charge of the operation and planning of the animation, also attributed the film’s success to the timing of releasing, Xinhua reported.

“If it were two years ago, the film would have little chance to take in that much money,” Lu said, noting that the producers were able to rise more than 7 million yuan using online finance platforms in one instance.

Those who contributed 100,000 yuan through Internet finance were able to see their children’s names shown on screen when the film ended. The move not only helped fund the film, which took 8 years to make, but also worked as good advertising, according to Lu, founder of Beijing-based Skyfilm Capital.

Online advertising featuring celebrity endorsements from names like Ma Yun, founder and chairman of China’s e-commerce giant Alibaba, and Huang Xiaoming, a famed actor, also made it easier for the film to reach audiences.

Fans of the Monkey King also shared reviews and posters of the film on WeChat, a mobile messaging app, which has about 500 million users.

In traditional marketing, most advertising is done on paper, in the streets and theaters.

This is part of the reason most Chinese animated films find it hard to reach the 100 million yuan box office benchmark, according to Lu. One recent animation, “Dragon Nest: Warriors’ Dawn”, received great reviews from the audience, but only earned about 55 million yuan.

The majority of current Chinese animation fans, if not all of them, have grown up with foreign cartoons, including Doraemon from Japan and Iron Man from America.

That is the predicament for China, now the second largest movie market in the world, which has produced numerous animation films but few characters that have global influence, Xinhua said.

“Monkey King: Hero is Back” might change that.

Chinese animation enjoyed an earlier but brief golden age in the 1950s and 60s, when several cartoon films were produced, including the old Monkey King film “Uproar in Heaven,” “Buffalo Boy and the Flute” and “Baby Tadpoles Look for Their Mother.”

Many of these works featured traditional Chinese brush-painting scenes and backdrops. They were inspired by Chinese folk arts like paper-folding and puppetry.

Success didn’t last long, however. In subsequent decades, Chinese animation was criticized for being too doctrinaire and superficial, and for plagiarizing successful foreign films.

The movies were made under the theory that animation was a tool to educate rather than entertain children.

Zhang Qing, chairman of Mili Pictures, said the new “Monkey King” film will go a long way in restoring public interest in the genre.

“It has become a phenomenal movie,” Zhang said. “It will arouse public’s awareness of domestic cartoon films and encourage more Chinese animators to produce more compelling works. I worry only that shoddy imitations will emerge soon trying to duplicate its success.”

Despite the current kudos, industry experts say China’s animated film industry still lags those of the US and Japan in aspects such as originality, scripting and distribution.

Shi Chuan, vice president of the Shanghai Film Association, said the domestic industry needs to invest more money in the early phases of production, especially in scriptwriting.

“In the movie business, content is king,” said Shi. “‘Monkey King’ is not perfect. It still needs to improve its storytelling skills. But it will give domestic animators new inspiration in drawing on China’s own cultural roots and telling Chinese stories.”