Pleasant Goat boosts China's animation industry

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By Song Hongmei (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-05-03 19:44

Osborne said "there is no secret ingredient" to Kung Fu Panda's success. His production team loved the plump cuddly panda and martial arts and they just tried to make the two extremities interestingly and harmoniously combine together during the five-year planning, according to Osborne.

A lot of what he said is of interest to those, hoping to one day be a big part of the animation or computer effects field, like up-and-coming animators Zhu Yuqi and Wu Zheng.

Unemployed for over half a year, Wu, a 26-year-old playwright, said at the CICAF, "With government support in independent innovation, there will be a rosy future for China's animation industry, which will belong to us young animators."

Last year, Wu quit his job at a Shanghai-based animation company as a production line worker for foreign animation and returned to his hometown of Hangzhou to write his script.

This was the second time that Wu attended the CICAF to keep abreast of the latest developments and seek job opportunties for his animation dream.

"You just need to believe in the development potential of China's animation industry," said Wu.

The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) set a limit in 2006 on broadcasting imported cartoon programs in prime time television. The move not only lent a hand to domestic animators, but also called for more well-qualified cartoons to fill in the gap.

"In just a few years, both the quantity and quality of domestic animation has improved greatly," said Jin Delong, deputy editor-in-chief of the SARFT.

Total domestic animation output reached 130,000 minutes in 2008, up from 81,000 minutes in 2007, 42,000 minutes in 2006.

In addition, following the establishment of the first national animation production center in Shanghai in 2004, 78 other centers have been set up. Hangzhou has five national animation production centers and 135 animation companies.

The CICAF, running from April 28 to May 3, is the only State-level and international cartoon and animation industrial festival, co-sponsored by the SARFT and Zhejiang provincial government. It has been held in the scenic city famed for its legendary West Lake four times since 2005.

The total exhibition area covers about 60,000 square meters. A cartoon transaction zone with an area of 1,500 square meters was added to the festival this year, as the transaction value of the CICAF has been on a steady rise over the past four years.

The fifth CICAF, wrapped up in Hangzhou today, registering trade deals worth a record 6.5 billion yuan, compared to 5.05 billion yuan last year.

More than 320 institutions and enterprises from 38 countries and regions attended the event this year. It attracted 780,000 visitors all together during the six days.

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