Cartoon and Animation Festival: Chinese animation festival promotes domestic industry

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China's animation industry has long faced intense competition from foreign competitors. At the 14th edition of The China Cartoon and Animation Festival, which opened today in the eastern city of Hangzhou, industry experts called for more progress in technique and story-telling. CGTN's Cui Hui'ao has the story.

A feast of animation and cartoons. This year's CCIAF features an entire pavilion full of Chinese animators, including big names like Fantawild, Bilibili and Tencent.

MA AOFAN ANIMATION FAN "I majored in animation production in college, and I think there have been some improvements in terms of quality of production by Chinese animators. Movies like Dahufa and "Big fish and Begonia" have very good content and color rendering.

Last year, fantasy film Dahufa - which combines Japanese animation style with Chinese ink-painting techniques - generated 13 million dollars at the box office. However, experts say that success doesn't mean Chinese animation has caught up to its international rivals.

HAN XIAOFEI, OPERATIONS DIRECTOR SHANGHAI HUAN MA CULTURE MEDIA CO., LTD "High quality works are still just the tip of the iceberg. The average production level is nowhere near Hollywood or Pixar. Especially in the area of computer animation, we are still at the stage of learning foreign techniques and borrowing their software programs."

While technique seems to be the key factor in cartoon production, story-telling seems to be another area that is lagging behind.

JON RENNIE, MANAGING DIRECTOR CLOTHCAT ANIMATION "I don't think it's just technique. What I've been most impressed by is the quality of the animation visuals. There is no lack of talent here for creative visuals. What it actually comes down to is story, a plot, a character."

In Jon's opinion, most Chinese animations are too plot-driven, based around actions or mythologies that don't really relate to audiences outside China. He says there needs to be more character-building. One example, he says: The Monkey King.

JON RENNIE, MANAGING DIRECTOR CLOTHCAT ANIMATION "A hero goes on a journey, faces adversaries, overcomes his inner conflict, and eventually saves the day and defeats the monster. It's those kind of easy visuals that really make a difference. In the end, you gotta find what resonates with everybody and make that character relatable, believable."

CUI HUI'AO HANGZHOU, ZHEJIANG PROVINCE "According to a recent report, Chinese animation now reaches an audience of 230 million. That means one out of every seven people in China is a fan of cartoon and anime. To meet that demand, experts say the domestic industry needs to step up its production, learn from rivals, and come up with better-quality products. Cui Hui'ao, CGTN, Hangzhou."