Exporting Chinese Animation - an Unstoppable Trend
Founded in 1998, Shanghai Fantasia Animation Co, Ltd. ("Fantasia Animation") was the first private animation company to obtain the right to shoot, produce and publish animated cartoons and films in China.
Fantasia Animation created a brand new model for animation marketing, which helped advance the development of China's animation industry. Unlike the operating model of "post-production marketing" followed by 95% of Chinese animation companies, Fantasia Animation adopted a unique "international pre-sales model". The biggest advantage of the model is that it truly allows production to determine sales, based on customers' actual demand, so that companies can avoid the unknown risks of marketing and ensure the best use of resources.
One successful example of this model is the pre-sale of Shaolin Wuzang, an animation that is typical of the company's creations. The cartoon tells the story of three children reincarnated from three grand masters of Shaolin, who fight courageously with a scary demon called Heihu to save the lives of their people. With classic Chinese features such as the Guilin landscape and four distinctive scenes of the Yellow Mountain, the cartoon interprets Chinese culture from the perspective of "Greater China", showing the unique style of Chinese animation, and the mood and spirit of the Chinese people.
The film sample made its debut at the Global TV and Digital Content Market (MIPTV) in autumn 2003, and was the fifth most-viewed cartoon of 738 cartoons from the around the world. In spring 2004, clips of the cartoon also reached the top ten in terms of the number of views at MIPTV. It was the first time in the history of the festival that the same cartoon had entered the top ten twice, and its outstanding performance attracted the attention of global buyers. To date, the cartoon has been sold to more than 50 countries, including the US, Canada, France, the UK, Italy and Germany, and is now available in multiple languages such as English, French, German and Italian. The production costs of RMB 40 million for the official version of the film have been recovered by the studio through pre-sales.
In 2007, Shaolin Wuzang appeared on France 3, and achieved an audience rating of 45.6% among children aged 4 to 10, the highest in France in recent years, with a 10% lead over the second-placed cartoon, making it another highlight of Chinese cultural exports.
Fantasia Animation's Martin Morning is also a great hit. With an international look, Martin's character marks another key step for China's animation industry on its pathway to the international area. Martin Morning collected the "Best Animated TV Programme" award at the Festival de Luchon 2005, and appeared on the shortlists of The Annecy International Animated Film Festival, Cartoons on the Bay and Fantasporto.
Its sequel, Magic Martin, is due out in 2019 during China's Spring Festival. Today the cartoon has a huge budget and a transnational production team to produce an international classic. When it is released, Fantasia Animation, the legendary cultural and creative brand of the Chinese animation industry, will hit the big screen and meet a global audience. Powered by its original cartoon, the Magic Martin brand now plans to leverage animated TV series and films to drive the development of the entire industry chain behind this IP.
Picture: Poster of Magic Martin