Netizens claim that the Zhuo Jianrong-helmed "The Autobots" has striking similarities with Pixar's "Cars." (Photo : https://twitter.com/MikeJMika)
Filmmaker Zhuo Jianrong, the director of "The Autobots," has been earning the ire of netizens who took to his personal Sina Weibo page to allege that the film he helmed is a plagiarized version of Pixar's "Cars."
The newly released animated film has alarmed critics, escalating the issue to the Internet with heated online statements between them and director Zhuo.
According to netizens, the Chinese film's characters, even its title and posters, have a striking similarity with those in the Pixar box-office hit.
Some of the critics also quoted Sukkri, a Japanese news program, which stated that "The Autobots" could indeed be a copycat.
After receiving hundreds of thousands of negative comments on his social media account, Zhuo posted: "Which part did you say I copied? Can you give me a report on the items I copied from?"
The director furthered that those netizens who quoted the Japanese program are "traitors."
In a CNN interview, the director remarked that did not even see the Pixar movie. Defending his film, he said: "Aren't the cars you see in the streets similar? If somebody else looks like you, does that person violate the law?"
As for the Fujian-based animation company that incepted the film, it stood firm that the movie was "produced independently" and "has no similarity to any likeness or trademark of any other film."
"The Autobots," aired on Friday last week, has gathered box-office receipts worth 4.6 million yuan.
Meanwhile, a Disney (Pixar's owner) spokeswoman told CNN that the firm shares "the same concerns as many netizens and movie fans in China but have no further comment at this stage."
