Chinese Manhua Animations (and Short Animated Features)

Starting this thread for must-see modern Chinese animations:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqVRpnb_vYI


Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems that manhua was invented in China before it became popular in Japan in the form of manga. So, a lots of these animations may look very Japanese anime-like, but the story coming out of China are always more sophisticated and mature than the latter.

Anyways the list:

The King's Avatar (also called Quanzhi Gaoshou)

Sword Art Online Has A Chinese Knockoff That Does Things RIGHT

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAGqV6Ho32s

(Lol, Westerners thinking r very stuck in the 90's where China made cheap knock-offs just to gain industrial experience, but no longer the case...)


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https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/thu...865/ye-xiu.jpg


The Beginner's Guide to The King's Avatar

It seems fair to say that every country has its own basic style or flavor of animation. When we think of Asian animated works, most of us go immediately to anime, the Japanese variant, and it certainly is among the most prevalent and accessible serialized animation out there. But this season, Spring 2017, has brought a surprise in the form of a Chinese animated TV series - The King's Avatar. Like many of its anime counterparts, the series is based on a series of web-turned-print novels and is set in a gaming world, although not in the isekai sense. Protagonist Ye Xiu is a professional gamer when the series starts, and while almost all of the action takes place in the online game Glory, it's not a VR game, giving the series a grounding in the real world that anime has largely done away with. With a second season slated for 2018, rumors of a live action film, and a growing fanbase – as well as the availability of legal English translations of both the novels and streaming episodes – it's worth giving this show a second look.

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While The King's Avatar may be the first animated Chinese production for some viewers, it's hardly the first. It is, however, one of the few to make waves outside of China. In 2004, China decided to focus on communicating traditional Chinese values in their animation in an attempt to woo viewers away from anime, and not a lot of it has been released outside of the country. In his 2013 study Nationalism and Preferences for Domestic and Foreign Animation Programmes in China, Kenichi Ishii notes that this has largely been successful only with children's shows; older viewers prefer the variety offered by anime. A survey of YouTube reveals that a decent amount of what's available for foreigners to watch is very much focused on Chinese culture and history, such as this wordless film retelling the Chinese folktale of the Spring of Butterflies, posted by the Yunan Visitor Center. Clips of a more recent cartoon musical of the story can also be found scattered around under the title “Chinese Romeo and Juliet,” and it does appear to be aimed at a younger audience than The King's Avatar. The cultural significance of the tale, which is extant throughout China, and the fact that the linked video was posted by a tourism bureau, says a lot about why the piece was released to YouTube in the first place.

So how does this work with the popularity of The King's Avatar? There's a chance that there's a political component to its release in keeping with the “One Belt, One Road” initiative in an intellectual sense, but the fact is that the story has a lot of components that are appealing to anime fans while also touching on some issues of online gaming that have been the subject of academic studies all over the world since at least 2006. While parts of the story are firmly linked to Chinese MMORPG culture, others are more universal, making this a show that not only fulfills the stated goals for Chinese animation, but also could spark international interest in a new source for animated TV series.

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But all of this is somewhat incidental to the question of whether or not the show, and its underlying story, are actually any good. As was said above, The King's Avatar began its life as a web novel, which, if you're not familiar with the term, is a work of serialized fiction published online by amateur authors. It's been collected into nine paperbacks thus far, and an English translation of decent quality is available at Qidian International's website, for free as of this writing. (Qidian International is also responsible for the show's subtitles.) While not perfect, the translation does a good job of getting across the vibe of the story, which is largely free of the tropes we're used to seeing in Japanese light novels. (This doesn't mean that it isn't chock full of Chinese tropes, but that's beyond the scope of this article!) The hero of the story is Ye Xiu, although most people know him as Ye Qiu. (It's explained in the novels that Ye Xiu is his real name, but he ran off with his twin brother's passport.) He's a twenty-five-year-old professional gamer, having risen to fame as a member of the team Excellent Era in the game Glory. For reasons that aren't entirely clear in the show (his performance is definitely a part of it), he's forced not only to retire, but also to hand over his avatar, the supremely powerful One Autumn Leaf, so that a new player can take over his place. Jobless, Ye Xiu winds up at a web café and gets a job as a night manager. Since he has constant access to the game (if not his cigarettes), Ye Xiu logs on to Glory's newly opened tenth server and creates a new avatar, Lord Grim. Assembling a new team, he begins a new climb to the top of the game, which does not sit well with his former teammates…or some of the other pros.

The story is mostly told in-game, with Ye Xiu's Lord Grim showing off his awesomeness with nonchalance and quickly becoming the most talked about new player on the server. His new team is made up of veteran players with new avatars, like his childhood friend Su Mucheng (as Cleansing Mist), and total newbies, like the outspoken Bao Rongxing (who plays Steamed Bun Invasion). When the characters are playing we see them as if they were in the game, à la SAO, but Glory is actually a plain old MMORPG, and there are frequent shots of the characters typing and using their mice. As the season progresses, we see Ye Xiu getting more and more invested in the new game he's playing, which corresponds with the building ire of the pros, specifically Sun Xiang, who “inherited” One Autumn Leaf and Ye Xiu's position.

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Because this is so firmly based in gaming, and Chinese gaming culture, parts of the story can be difficult to understand. Personally, the difference in gaming terms was the biggest barrier to entry for me, specifically the fact that the characters us PK the way that American gamers use PvP – to signify a one-on-one battle between players as opposed to indiscriminate player killing. Also worth being aware of is the difference in virtual property in Chinese gaming culture, as described by Matthew Ming-Tak Chew in his 2011 paper Virtual Property in China: The Emergence of Gamer Rights Awareness. Chew says that there's a much more hostile virtual property environment in China that in Europe or North America, with more frequent thefts of personally crafted items and few to no repercussions. Even though Ye Xiu signed a paper giving Excellent Era the rights to his One Autumn Leaf avatar, it's still a character he created and built to his own specifications, something he “owned” in a virtual sense. By forcing him to give the character up, Excellent Era is taking away his in-game identity, and no one can do a thing about it. (There have been studies about the psychological effect of having your virtual self stolen; let's just say the effects are not good.) Chew's paper implies that this isn't entirely unusual, although it more typically happens with weapons, giving the story a firm point to launch from, grounded in a specific cultural reality. The idea of internet cafés is also likely to be a point of interest or slight confusion for viewers, as one of Ye Xiu's duties as a manager is to go buy customers food if they ask him to – I'm hard-put to think of any internet establishments that would allow you to eat while using their computers, much less make a McDonald's run for you.

McDonald's is a surprisingly huge part of the series, contrasting humorously with characters drinking from conspicuously unlabeled cans. Their name is prominently listed as a sponsor of the show, which dovetails nicely into a detail from the first novel that is omitted from the TV series – part of what professional gamers do is sponsorships, and Ye Xiu has consistently refused to put his face on anything. Doubtless this fed into Excellent Era's annoyance with him, but watching the show you can't blame him – Su Mucheng has to go out in disguise lest she be mobbed by fans, whereas Ye Xiu can just swan into a net café and get a job without anyone the wiser.

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The animation and storytelling here are definitely a cut above recent co-productions with Japan, such as Spirit Pact or Bloodivores. While The King's Avatar doesn't truly take off until about episode five, the pacing is still well-considered, and later episodes, such as eleven, when Ye Xiu is trying to balance work with a major in-game event, do a very nice job with tension. The animation itself can be smooth and fluid when it needs to be, and there are some beautiful shots of Lord Grim sliding or Steamed Bun Invasion hopping around that give a good sense of speed and dexterity. CG isn't terrific, but it also isn't horrific. The biggest issue may be one that once again goes back to Chinese gaming versus Western: when Ye Xiu or one of the other characters is shown tapping away at their keys to control their avatars, it looks as if too many keys are being used, even when considering macros. Typically an RPG uses the W-A-D-S keys to move an avatar; Ye Xiu's fingers are all over the left side of the keyboard. (As a note, keyboards are shown to have English letters on the keys.) The background music gets a little too tinky at times, but the theme songs are catchy, albeit a bit slow for the story they bookend.

The art looks largely like any anime production at first glance, which is what makes the differences worth noting. Much more time is spent in close-ups of male bodies, covered or in open shirts, and while the female avatars are uniformly buxom, there's nary a jiggle to be seen. All of the real women are conservatively dressed, even Chen Guo, the owner of the Internet café, who in a Japanese production would likely be played as the oversexed, big-breasted female who hangs all over Ye Xiu – her obsession with Ye Qiu (whom she steadfastly refuses to believe Ye Xiu is) is treated as a part of her life rather than the center of her character, and while she is hands-down the most irritating person in the franchise, she's also much more modestly portrayed than her similar sisters in anime. Also worth noting is that Ye Xiu is firmly focused on the game – and so are the women he games with. Although it is apparently that Su Mucheng is someone he feels extremely close to (and that the feeling is mutual), neither of them feels the need to harp on that fact, and the show allows us to put our own interpretation on their relationship. Chen Guo and Tang Rou, the other female cast members, just treat Ye Xiu as a person, not a potential romantic interest, and there's no romantic jealousy to be found.

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Ye Xiu certainly gets the most time of any of the characters, although that doesn't always feel like character development. We do see him slowly begin to enjoy playing again – when he first logs on to Glory's new server, it feels like he's doing initially to shut Chen Guo up and then to avenge himself, but by episode five he seems to have remembered that he genuinely enjoys playing. His preternatural skills aren't all that surprising when you contexualize them, either: he's been a pro player for ten years, so he's not so much gifted as well-versed. He does come off as a bit cold, but again, we can see him warming up, and by the end he appears to have actually made friends with a few of his fellow players, even those who were Excellent Era's enemies when he was One Autumn Leaf. Bao Rongxing is the closest we really come to a recognizable anime trope, with his outgoing banter and leap-before-you-look manner. All of the characters are at least in their very late teens, which we rarely see.

As always, there is a temptation to tout this series simply because it features adult protagonists in a more serious, real-world setting. That can be part of the appeal, and the implications of Sun Xiang not being as proficient with Ye Xiu's old avatar plays into some interesting findings about self-designed avatars and the whole virtual theft issue, but the ultimate question has to be whether The King's Avatar is worthwhile on its own merits. I have to say that I enjoyed it, and definitely moreso after I spent a day reading the first hundred-odd chapters of the novels. Having the more detailed information in the books makes the TV series better, if only because you understand the background details more, but as I said, around episode five the show does begin to expand upon its world better. The King's Avatar isn't the most amazing series ever, but it is just different enough to catch you, and its focus on a different aspect of gaming – the specifically competitive angle – is interesting. (More specifically, if you've enjoyed J-Novel Club's release of Paying to Win in a VRMMO, you'll probably like The King's Avatar.)

Despite what we sometimes like to think, no one country has a monopoly on good animated storytelling. If you enjoy Sailor Moon, you'll probably like the French series loliRock, and if you like gaming series where the technology isn't VR and the wronged prove themselves better than their would-be oppressors, it's worth checking out The King's Avatar. Tencent has made the entire series available in English, legally, on YouTube. It isn't perfect, but it's a new direction for Chinese animation, breaking some of the boundaries China has imposed on its creative work. For that alone it's almost worth watching this; the fact that it's actually enjoyable is the icing on the cake.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/culture...t_29140667.htm


Animation 'Monkey King', 'Song of the Sea' winners at China festival

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Monkey King: Hero is Back. [Photo/Mtime]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJDKWeHCtHI

The 3D adventure "Monkey King: Hero is Back" won the gold prize for animated film at the China International Cartoon and Animation Festival on Wednesday.

The Chinese movie was an adaptation based on the classic novel "Journey to the West." After it was released in July 2015, it became the highest-grossing animated film in the country, holding that rank until Zootopia came out the following year.

The Golden Monkey King Award, bestowed by the 13th China International Cartoon and Animation Festival in Hangzhou, was co-presented by China Radio International and some leading academic institutions. It is the highest recognition in the animation industry in China.

The awards jury gave the silver prize to Oscar shortlisted film "Song of the Sea" co-produced by Ireland, Belgium, Denmark, France, and Luxembourg.

The story follows a 10-year-old Irish boy who discovers that his mute sister is a selkie who has to free faerie creatures from a Celtic goddess.

Producer Paul Young said the film is about family love and healing.

"All human beings are the same. We are the same as brothers and sisters. The story is we are trying to keep that very root in the authentic place of human emotions and use mythologies to help the story. And mainly it's about let it go when somebody left you; let it go when somebody died. We think that is universal theme."

The bronze honor in the category of animated film went to Chinese-made "Big Fish Begonia."

As for the animation series category, "Panda and Little Mole," a co-production by China and the Czech Republic, won the top award, while the first season of "Chicky Rainbow" and "Little Stubborn Red Army Soldier" grabbed silver and bronze respectively.

The festival received over a thousand entries from home and abroad for the competition, which basically included all animated films with ticket sales exceeding 50 million yuan, or about seven million USD, from the past two years. Some entries are cartoon serials published online and clicked more than 100 million times.

The festival kicked off on Wednesday and will run through May 1. Nearly 60 activities such as forums, fairs, and business events will be highlighted.

https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cultur...t_28581355.htm


Five popular new Chinese animation series

Editor's note:

Speaking of animation, post-80s and 90s Chinese people would automatically think about the Japanese animations or Disney's classic works they watched in their childhood. Yet those animations made in China, say, the series adapted from traditional Chinese folk stories and modern writer Zheng Yuanjie's fairy tales from 1950 to 1994 by Shanghai Animation Film Studio, are also etched in their memories.

In recent years, Chinese animation films and series are trying to break new ground. The 2015 animation film Monkey King: Hero Is Back and 2016 Big Fish & Begonia are two highly praised works. Yet compared to foreign counterparts, Chinese animation still has a long way to go. Here are five new series made in China that are currently popular among young audiences.


Lingjian Mountain

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Animation series Lingjian Mountain was adapted from an online Chinese novel of the same name. The writer, Guo Wang Bi Xia, started working on martial arts fantasies in 2013, and this is his third novel.

The series tell the story of a boy named Wang Lu and his adventures on his way to be a powerful prince.

Bearing a strong resemblance to Japanese animation, the series was adapted by two companies from China and Japan and was also broadcast in both countries from January 2016.

The animation series got 7.1 points out of 10 on Douban, one of China's most popular movie review sites.

"I thought this was a Japanese work and only after I finished the episode 5 did I discover it was produced in China. As a homemade animation, it is very interesting, far beyond my expectation. But Chinese producers take too much from their Japanese counterparts and don't create their own work. It is like all the people received the same cosmetic surgery and became beautiful. They all look the same," a Douban user Yiyiaixiaoshuo commented online.

(Continued)


Fights Break Sphere (aka Doupo Cangqiong)

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyAMQp1SLns

Broadcast in January from 2017, the new series was also an adaptation of an online martial arts fantasy by Tian Can Tu Dou.

Resembling other kung fu series, the animation is about a young genius' journey on his way to becoming a martial arts master.

Although it only got 5.4 points out of 10 on Douban, the series still attracted a large number of followers. According to the statistics on iQIYI, the first season was viewed more than 700 million times.

This kind of adapted series is always based on a popular online novel that often has had a large readership. The faithful readers often become the audiences of the TV adaptation. Compared to those who never read the original work, the formers are more critical of the animation version.

"I have no idea how many fans of the novel have been hurt by the adaption. The atmosphere of the beginning is nice, yet the animation did not catch the essential characters of the protagonists," user Linglan commented on Douban.

(continued)

Year Hare Affair

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Year Hare Affair, or Na Nian Na Tu Na Xie Shi, was adapted from namesake comic series by cartoonist Lin Chao. Since 2011, the comic about the contemporary Chinese history has been popular on many BBS and social media.

The author tells the history through a group of cute rabbits in uniforms who symbolize the People's Liberation Army, and images of other animals. Sometimes, these animals would talk with a dialect that sounds funnier than simply using Mandarin.

The first season was broadcast in March 2015 and the third one concluded on March 8, 2017. The second and third season got 8.6 and 8.4 points out of 10 on Douban.

"This is a really funny yet heart-warming work. I became more patriotic after watching the series," Shaosiming, a Douban user, commented online.

(Continued)


Little Monk Yichan

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This is another touching series about a seven-year old monk Yichan, and his master Adou's daily lives.

Premiered in 2016, the series had its episode 35 broadcast recently. Each episode focuses on a certain topic, including family, romance and friendship.

Despite telling stories from the perspective of a child, the series targets adults and aims to provide some "chicken soup" to let audiences learn to be tolerant and give more love to others.

The animation got 9.5 points out of 10 on Douban.

"I did not expect it is so interesting. I watched 26 episodes at one go," user Carolsv commented on Douban.

(Continued)


Hua Jiang Hu

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Premiered in 2014, the series Hua Jiang Hu has had four seasons. The story is based on Chinese history during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (907-960), when there were continuous wars and fights among many small kingdoms.

The series got an average of 7.9 points out of 10 on Douban.

To those who fancy historical stories, the animation provides another way to learn Chinese history. Yet the series doesn't pay too much attention to historical details.

Some audiences complained about goofs in the series.

"I like the story, but the producer should be more careful with the history. How can you imagine an ancient Chinese girl hanging around in short pants and sweaters exposing her shoulders?" Yanyumimanxumijing remarked online.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/culture...t_29569235.htm


Animating the world

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Chinese animated productions, such as Rainbow Chicks and The Floating Planet, which have sold their distribution rights to overseas markets, show improved quality and are more popular in the West than before. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Lei Tao remembers the time he promoted the animated series Rainbow Chicks in Cannes and how a French distributor mistook it for a Japanese work because of its high quality. Now, the Chinese tale of seven fluffy chicks living on a floating island in the sky is set to fly to more foreign territories.

During the recently concluded MIP China Hangzhou International Content Summit, which was held in the capital of Zhejiang province between May 23 and 25, Lei's studio TThunder Animation signed a deal with French animation company Millimages.

The contract gives Millimages, one of the top European animation companies, Rainbow Chicks's global distribution rights.

MIP－or Marche International des Programmes－is the world's largest marketplace for television and digital content. It holds events in Cannes twice a year－MIPTV in spring and MIPCOM in autumn.

The Hangzhou event marks MIP's first foray into Asia.

(Continued)


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Chinese animated productions, such as Rainbow Chicks and The Floating Planet, which have sold their distribution rights to overseas markets, show improved quality and are more popular in the West than before. [Photo provided to China Daily]

The Rainbow Chicks deal testifies to rising interest from international players in China, one of the key producers of entertainment content and also an important market.

In 2016, China produced 334 television dramas, 21,000 minutes of animated content and more than 700 feature-length movies.

The three-day Hangzhou event saw more than 250 participants from more than 130 movie and television companies from 19 countries and regions, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Russia, Italy, Japan and Singapore.

During the one-to-one meetings－a major part of the event, joined by 80 companies-up to 300 potential deals worth a total of 480 million yuan ($70 million) were discussed.

"The worldis eager to know about China. This is a good time for Chinese content to go abroad," says Chen Ying, general manager of Zhejiang Megamedia, one of the event's organizers.

(Continued)


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Chinese animated productions, such as Rainbow Chicks and The Floating Planet, which have sold their distribution rights to overseas markets, show improved quality and are more popular in the West than before. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Chinese animators have been at the forefront when it comes to international coproductions, with a history going back to the late 1970s.

Anke Redl, strategy and business development director of Beijing-based China Media Management Inc, says China's animated productions have made waves in Europe in recent years, a view also echoed by Grace Lee, marketing director of Millimages.

Lee says that Chinese animated content, especially that with educational themes, has seen a great improvement in quality and is more popular in the West than before.

Lee says Rainbow Chicks' blend of the ink-and-brush painting style and a Western storytelling approach, provide a fascinating package to viewers.

So far, the series tailored for preschool children has dominated ratings on its Chinese broadcaster, China Cental Television, among all animated productions aired at the same time. It has been viewed more than 100 million times on major video-streaming sites, such as iQiyi, LeTV and Tencent.

(Continued)


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Chinese animated productions, such as Rainbow Chicks and The Floating Planet, which have sold their distribution rights to overseas markets, show improved quality and are more popular in the West than before. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Josh Selig, founder of the New York-based TV-program producer Little Airplane Productions, says the content has a unique characteristic in that it can cross borders easily.

"Animation is a very visual medium and is typically based on characters that any culture can identify with. It has a much better chance of traveling from one country to another."

As for Little Airplane's work in China, the company has two animated series－Super Wing and P. King Duckling－coproduced with Guangzhou-based Alpha Animation & Culture Co Ltd and Suzhou-based Uyoung Culture & Media Co Ltd, respectively.

Selig says the scriptwriting and voice-overs of the two works were done in the US, while the animation work was done in China.

He says China is yet to mature when it comes to scriptwriters, but the quality of design and animation is very high in the country.

(Continued)


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Chinese animated productions, such as Rainbow Chicks and The Floating Planet, which have sold their distribution rights to overseas markets, show improved quality and are more popular in the West than before. [Photo provided to China Daily]

"Also, in China, you often have directors in charge of the writing. That is very uncommon outside," he adds.

The 53-year-old, who first visited China around 20 years ago and has close business links with Chinese animators, says: "Many Chinese animated series are beautifully done, but unfortunately the stories do not work."

Selig says that language barriers are not a challenge when it comes to working with the Chinese, but the time difference between the two regions is.

"We often have production meetings lasting two hours, early in the morning or late at night. Usually when one side wakes up, the other side falls asleep," he says, laughing.

Selig also says that humor can often be a sticking point in coproductions as the Chinese like slapstick comedy, something the US producers shun.

(Continued)


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Chinese animated productions, such as Rainbow Chicks and The Floating Planet, which have sold their distribution rights to overseas markets, show improved quality and are more popular in the West than before. [Photo provided to China Daily]

But despite these differences, Chinese industry sources say China has enough appeal to lure foreign producers and storytellers.

Li Lian, founder of the Hangzhou company Versatile Media Co Ltd, says the country's huge market is a major attraction.

At the Hangzhou event, Versatile, which has been taking part in the Cannes' MIP events since 2008, established links with companies from the UK, France, India and Italy.

Li says: "Earlier, Chinese animated productions were criticized for their quality and stories. I'm happy to see the improvements."

Versatile's The Floating Planet, an animated movie about three teen heroes on an alien planet, sold its distribution rights to two countries in Cannes earlier this year.

As for the future, China's market is more than just television and theater screens.

(Continued)


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Chinese animated productions, such as Rainbow Chicks and The Floating Planet, which have sold their distribution rights to overseas markets, show improved quality and are more popular in the West than before. [Photo/Mtime]

More than half of its population－or 700 million people－use the internet, and the number is expected to grow.

The potential in China is great as the younger generation gets used to watching content on the internet, says Geng Danhao, vice-president of iQiyi.

Ben Silverman, head of the Los Angeles-based studio Propagate Content and an award-winning producer, says China's traditional culture can be a good place to find appealing stories.

He also says the fast-changing country is fond of programs about women's struggles, dating and consumer behavior, which also work with Western audiences.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/culture...t_27935657.htm


Animated 3-D film Bicycle Boy to hit screens on Jan 13

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A scene from Bicycle Boy. [Photo provided to China Daily]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQaiwPXFzfw

Film Bicycle Boy, an animated 3-D feature based on a namesake CCTV series, will hit Chinese theaters on Jan 13.

The film, which is centered on a teenager with a transformer bicycle, follows his journey to rescue a group of water elves.

Liu Kexin, the film's director, says that the crew, including more than 200 animators, spent three years on the movie.

"The film is about love and communication. I want this film to make every young viewer sense the power of love and caring," she said before the preview of the film in Beijing recently.

The series on which the film is based won the Golden Monkey Award, the highest honor for domestic animated productions, in 2013.

Dragon Nest: Warrior's Dawn tech demo:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZ_fLPUQ0bA

Dragon Nest: Warrior's Dawn MV Trailer (CN):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLn3UAtQ7lI

Dragon Nest: Warrior's Dawn MV (ENG):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZReRzEERZo

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/culture...t_30073682.htm


Film based on animated series set for release

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlNNjQZ7sgY

Six years after the animated series Rainbow Sea created a sensation online, a feature-length animated movie based on the series is to hit internet in August.

The film, which is a blend of science fiction and fantasy, is about a place filled with diamonds and gold.

The movie will see the return of the teenager protagonists Maidang and Diya alongside Gudong, an alien planet ruler.

The 26-episode animated series, which won the best originality award at the 15th Seoul International Cartoon and Animation Festival in 2011, has been watched more than 150 million times online.

Director Hu Yibo says the upcoming movie will be released on the video-streaming site iQiyi.com on Aug 11.

Sequels are in pipeline with two scripts ready.