Chinese film industry embraces fantasy

A poster of the fantasy animation Monkey King: Hero is Back [File photo]

Adaptations still the most popular

The adaptation of the original literature, animations or film has become one of the most popular forms of fantasy movie in China. This is widely called "IP adaptation", referring to the Intellectual Property that the original work holds.

IP adaptation is red hot and saw many examples in China last year. Many fantasy TV series and films based on traditional Chinese culture were adapted from ancient Chinese classic novels, such as Journey to the West (Xi You Ji) and Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio (Liao Zhai Zhi Yi). For example, the Monkey King series was from the former. Rich fantasy elements in the traditional culture provide fertile soil for movie creation.

Meanwhile, online novels are another major resource for IP adaptation. For example, the screen hit Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe(2015) and the upcoming The Ghouls are both from popular online story The Adventures of Three Tomb Raiders (Gui Chui Deng).

However, the imbalance between IP adaptation and original film creation has become a new problem for the industry.

"Adaptation of celebrated works is important, yet the film industry cannot truly develop without creativity and originality," said Jiang Zhiqiang, the producer of Monster Hunt.

While an over reliance on adaptation can lead to reduced creativity, producing more original stories and plays is a field that Chinese filmmakers need to work on.