boonie-bears.jpg (Photo : www.fangte.com)
Chinese moviegoers will soon enjoy the country's first 3D animated film when "Boonie Bears" hits the mainland screens before the Spring Festival.
"Boonie Bears," known in China as Xiong Chumo, is the first-ever 3D animated film made in China. The movie is jointly produced by Fantawild Animation, Mr Cartoon Pictures, LEVP and Zhujiang Film.
The film's storyline, however, is not something new in China because it is based on a Chinese animated series shown on China Central TV. "Boonie Bears" was first aired on CCTV in February 2012 and immediately became a hit among children.
The cartoon series features Vick, a logger and two huge but cute bears named Bramble and Briar. The story in the series dwells on the attempt of the bears to stop Vick from chopping down trees and preserve the forest. In the movie, the bears will again try to convince Vick that cutting trees is not a good idea. From enemies, the main characters turn into allies embarking together on a trail to win back lost treasure.
Expectations abound that the 3D animated movie will become a box office hit, especially because it targets children and families before the Spring Festival. Overall, China's box office is the world's second-biggest with ticket sales of U.S. $3.6 billion last year. The box office figures in China continued to grow, going up 27 percent last year from the previous year's record.
According to film consultant Artisan Gateway, Chinese moviegoers also preferred watching domestic movies over foreign films last year, resulting to U.S. $2.11 billion worth of tickets sold for local films. Also last year, seven of the top 10 movies in China were local films, led by Stephen Chow's "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons," which earned U.S. $207 million in box office sales.
The three Hollywood films that made it to last year's Top 10 movies in China had Chinese or Asian flavors in their themes.
