We begin today at the on-going Shanghai International Film Festival. Entertainment executives say ANIMATION will be the best platform for cross-border cooperation between Chinese and overseas film producers. During a forum at the Shanghai International Film Festival this afternoon, industry professionals gathered to discuss how to better go about this. Here's our reporter Xu Mengqi to tell us more.

XU MENGQI SHANGHAI "Hi, there. This afternoon's forum has just concluded and we had quite a diverse panel, including French, Japanese, and Chinese animators. The visual effects director of the hit US film "Toy Story" was there, as well as a Ukrainian distributor and producer. These speakers brought their diverse perspectives to the discussion.

They say the fast development of China's film industry has generated a lot of interest in co-financing and co-producing movies among Chinese and foreign filmmakers. Animated feature films are believed to have a natural advantage over other movie genres, mainly because animators can easily re-voice their works in different languages. Experts say this will overcome cultural barriers to reach different markets.

In fact, co-production in animation has already become more common than we perhaps realized. The third and latest installment of the "Kung Fu Panda" franchise is a great example. Not only were the movie scenes set in China -- every other detail, such as the inclusion of traditional Chinese music elements and in particular the dubbing, all provided audiences with a local and original experience.

But not all co-productions are as successful as this one. French animator Jacques-Rémy Girerd, who also chairs the Jury of the Golden Goblet Award for Animation this year, said it's not always easy to tell stories in a way that will resonate with a global audience. Perhaps as "Kung Fu Panda 3" has demonstrated, success requires all parties to closely coordinate from the very beginning. I'm XMQ, reporting from SH, for CGTN."