Although some cartoon movies featuring Chinese stories or characters have achieved global success in recent years, such as Kungfu Panda and Mulan, these were all produced by American studios, and were sometimes criticized by Chinese audiences for not having an authentic flavor.
"This can be easily solved by having more Chinese in the creative team," says Pietro Ventani, co-founder of Tiger 62 Media, who has been supervising the marketing of The Forbidden Kingdom starring Jackie Chan and Jet Li.
"You can create stories that you feel are authentic, but at the end of the day it has to find an audience that will respond to the story emotionally," says Ventani. Encouraged by the successful experience of working with Chinese partners on The Forbidden Kingdom, Ventani is once collaborating on a new movie titled Chinese Odyssey.
Although SARFT encourages international collaboration in making cartoons, SMG's Chen says it was very difficult to get its clearance.
A spokesman surnamed Fan with the Huanwei Animation Company under SMG, meanwhile, says the protective policies have helped domestic companies. "We surely can't afford to pay our cartoon makers the same as Pixar or Disney," he says. "Without the subsidy and protective regulations, nobody in China will be making cartoons - the industry will simply die out."
By Zhang Kun
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