CATDOLL: MiLi Pictures to produce 9 new films combining Chinese and Western elements, with top directors such as Kung Fu Panda joining the cast

Recently, at the Toronto Film Festival, which is known as the vane of the Oscars, MiLi Pictures announced a shocking list of films and multiple trailers. In addition to the animation "Invincible Ping Pong Rabbit" we introduced to you before, there are also: "Avanti" in 2017; "The Monkey King: The True and False Monkey King", "Nezha Conquers the Dragon King", and "The Sheep King" in 2018; "Monster Girl" (Arkie), "Three Heroes and Five Gallants", and "Nie Xiaoqian" in 2019; "Tig tiger" in 2020. It can be seen that the future direction of the works of this Chinese animation special effects company, which has been engaged in global distribution and international creation, will be two styles with great market appeal - one is the Chinese style that is very suitable for the tastes of Chinese audiences; the other is the authentic international style that is aimed at the global box office.

Behind the diverse family-friendly film list, what is particularly noteworthy is the gorgeous creative team that this company has assembled in just four years. The producer of "Monster Girl" is John Stevenson, the director of "Kung Fu Panda 1" that we are very familiar with and love, and the producer Sophie Byrne won the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film in 2011 with "Lost and Found". The director of "Tig tiger" is Alexandre Heboyan, the director of the most popular French animation "Moon Guardian".

If we take a look at this gorgeous list, we will realize that the strength of Chinese animation cannot be underestimated today.

2017 "Avanti" - a classic remake of an animated film, revisits the stories and characters of the heyday of Chinese animation films, produced by Shanghai Animation Film Studio and co-produced by MiLi Pictures. Avanti has accompanied several generations through their childhood, with wisdom, humor, and justice. In the new era, animation will give it a more contemporary expression and meaning, and the Western customs will reappear on the big screen next year.

2017 "Ping Pong Rabbit" - directed by "Corpse Bride" director Mike Johnson, former Pixar animator Andrew Cadelago served as storyboard supervisor, he has participated in "Ratatouille", "Wall E", "Toy Story 3", "Up". "The Hollywood Reporter" said that this ping-pong rabbit "has the potential to become one of the most amusing and adored rabbits on the big screen".

The lovable rabbit released a new trailer at the Toronto Film Festival. It is a Chinese animation production, and its exquisiteness has impressed foreign film producers and filmmakers. The story is about "growth", "love" and "courage", and the cute and funny ideas also adopt universal values ​​​​used in the world.

Invincible Ping Pong Rabbit trailer:

2018's "The Monkey King: The True and False Monkey King" - this is the most familiar screen monkey image to Chinese audiences. It is a different story from "The Return of the Great Sage". It is a wonderful creation based on the traditional Chinese hero, directed by a well-known animation director who has experienced the development of Chinese animation for more than 20 years. What kind of Monkey King will be in "The Monkey King: The True and False Monkey King" is exciting.

2018 "Nezha Conquers the Dragon King" - The animated character that is as famous as the Monkey King is Nezha. In this well-known story of Nezha Conquers the Dragon King, MiLi Pictures will not only move in the direction of the genre pioneered by Chinese classical literature and explore the deep core of national culture, but also make a heart-wrenching portrayal of character emotions such as father-son affection.

"The Sheep King" in 2018 - directed by the only young Chinese director who graduated from the Gobelins Animation Academy in France and returned to China, the protagonist is the argali, a rare protected animal living under the Tianshan Mountains in my country. In this animated mysterious animal kingdom, the argali boy has to lead the tribe to fight against the wolf tribe. The cute and exaggerated characters and animation design give this story vitality and comedy elements.

2019 "Arkie" - The first Chinese-Australian co-production of the animated film "Arkie". The world of the little girl Arkie is shrouded in darkness. She must overcome her fear and bravely embark on a journey to another bright and mysterious world. She has to rescue her father and prevent her planet from being destroyed.

The film was jointly produced by MiLi Pictures from China and PPA (PASSION PICTURES AUSTRALIA) and LUMA PICTURES from Australia. LUMA PICTURES is a world-renowned visual effects company that has produced blockbusters such as "Iron Man 3", "X-Men: First Class", "Captain America", and "The Avengers". As we mentioned earlier, the main creators of "Arkie" (Monster Girl) also include John Stevenson, the director of "Kung Fu Panda 1", and Sophie Byrne, the winner of the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film. When Chinese animation cooperates deeply with international first-line filmmakers in the form of co-production, in addition to rapid improvement in production and animation industry processes, it will also develop more rapidly in storytelling methods and creative innovation concepts.

Trailer for Arkie:

2019 "Three Heroes and Five Gallants" - adapted from the storytelling version of "Three Heroes and Five Gallants" by Shan Tianfang, it is based on a story about five rats in the capital, a legendary story about rats and cats in the Northern Song Dynasty, both of whom were chivalrous, and set off a battle of wits and courage in the capital. It is a bold attempt to interpret the ancient chivalrous story with animation. China's "Three Heroes and Five Gallants" is comparable to the costume version of "Zootopia".

2019 "Nie Xiaoqian" - This is an adaptation of a classic novel that is praised as a Chinese-style "Hotel Transylvania". The story is based on "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio". This is a world where humans and demons coexist. Ning Caichen and Nie Xiaoqian met by accident, and thus offended the Rakshasa Grandma. Between advance and retreat, Ning Caichen teamed up with Yan Chixia to bravely break into the grandma's hiding place and fight for love.

2020 "Tig tiger" - Alexandre Heboyan, the director of the famous French animation "Moon Guardian", joined the directorship. "Tig tiger" tells the story of a tiger detective who has to find a secret that has been hidden for many years with his partner. In the process of searching, the mystery is gradually solved, and more importantly, the protagonist finds himself.

As Zhang Qing, chairman of MiLi Pictures, said when releasing the film list at the Toronto Film Festival, "Animation is the most borderless film genre. It is very easy to make films that suit the tastes of global audiences." When Hollywood's success is not to tell American stories, but only to tell world stories, if our Chinese films want to go abroad, they need to have an international perspective and the ability to structure stories. MiLi Pictures is using the method of "Western learning as the body, Chinese learning as the application" and "combining Chinese and Western" to allow Chinese animated films to be screened in theaters around the world.

We are very much looking forward to these high-quality Chinese animations bringing us huge surprises in the next one or two years.