Behind the title of "World's No.1 Animation Producer"
China has listed domestic animation as a key industry to develop in the 21st century. In February, 2008, the State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television (SARFT) released a notice to ban foreign animated works shown between the hours of 17:00 and 21:00 every day, a period that now only allows domestic animation or animated television programs to air.
In such an environment supporting domestic animation and banning foreign works on television, statistics on the publishing of domestic animated television series released by SARFT in 2010 showed that the circulation of domestic animated works had sustained a steady growth. A total of 385 domestic animated television shows (totaling 220,530 minutes) were produced in 2010, up 28% compared to 2009.
With such a large amount of production, China has already replaced Japan and become the world's No.1 animation producer. However, the title has trapped the domestic animation industry in the shadow of plagiarism.
In an online post about the Chinese animated television series that copied their Japanese counterparts, works such as Big Mouth Dudu and Windows to the Soul were suspected to have committed plagiarism from classic Japanese animations such as Crayon Shin-chan and A Chain of Short Stories about Their Distance.
Using volume of production to apply for subsidies
On the issue of High-speed Rail Hero, a former staff member from the Creative Animation Company revealed that an animation company has to ensure their volume of production in order to get subsidies from the government. According to what he remembered, without a volume of production up to 2,000 minutes, no company can get the governmental subsidy of 1,000 yuan ($154.6) per minute.
As for Creative Animation, the government sets a base line of output every year. For example, to ensure the subsidy, the company had to produce animated television series of more than 5,000 minutes in 2009, 8,000 minutes in 2010, and 10,000 minutes in 2011.
However, this is not easy. In order to achieve the goal of output, animation companies have to find as many classic television series as possible to simplify their work. High-speed Rail Hero is a conspicuous example.
The companies will call it localization. However, the striking similarities such as those in High-speed Rail Hero and Lightning Attack Express will gradually undercut public trust and ruin creativity.
Without a doubt, the domestic animation industry is still in its infancy. There is a long way ahead in arousing genuine passion for Chinese animated television series.
