Poster of "Monkey King: Hero is Back" (Photo/Xinhua)
Chinese animation blockbuster "Monkey King: Hero is back," which grossed 150 million U.S. dollars in China, has hit the Russian box office, as more and more Chinese films are testing water in overseas markets.
It is not easy for the movie, but Muscovite said it's an unforgettable picture, impressed by its technologies and techniques of storytelling.
"I like the animation very much. When I was a kid, I saw a similar Monkey King cartoon. I'm familiar with the story plots," said a middle-aged Moscow filmgoer.
"The cartoon is based on a Chinese fairy tale. My son likes it," said a mother outside the cinema with her five-year-old kid.
The animation has also gained thumb-ups from professionals. Olga Zinyakova, marketing director of Karo Cinema Chain, one of the fastest-growing operators in Russia, said she was stunned by the use of technologies.
"This is great and is a real masterpiece of Chinese production, which was made without any support from Western companies. And the animation technologies are so great," she said.
Zinyakova said the movie was unfolding within a rather dynamic plot and martial art scenes.
"This very cartoon is a kind of animated blockbuster which has a lot of action and humor. Heroes are sometimes funny and sometimes scary, mysterious and fantastic, and, to a great extent, they are folk heroes and are really interesting to our viewers," she said.
The movie has generated positive reviews by word of mouth. Nevertheless, it is still far behind Disney cartoon Zootopia and domestic production Smeshariki on the Russian box office list.
