Chinese and British companies join forces to introduce Asian giant's superheroes to audiences around the world

A 1 billion yuan ($159.8 million; 127.6 million euros; ￡112.5 million) deal to coproduce animated films, signed between companies from China and the United Kingdom, will introduce Chinese superheroes to Western audiences.

The agreement, which was signed on Feb 1, during British Prime Minister Theresa May's visit to China, is between Chinese animation production company DeZerlin and London-based Zycon Media.

Zhang Lin (right), CEO and founder of DeZerlin, and Mohammed Khalid (left), CEO of Zycon media, signed a 1 billion yuan deal for animation cooperation on Feb 1 during British Prime Minister Theresa May's visit to China. Provided to China Daily

Twenty animation films and TV series are set to be made over a period of eight years in a deal worth 1 billion yuan. The companies say that all the productions are expected to be distributed through mainstream studios and distribution companies globally.

The stories will all be "made in China", according to Zhang Lin, founder and CEO of DeZerlin, who says his company owns all intellectual property - or IP - rights and the UK partner will be engaged in cofinancing and coproduction.

"Traditionally in the animation industry, for many years, IP has been created in the West, and Chinese companies have been sought out for finance and production services," says Zhang, adding that this cooperation with the UK is seen as a "breakthrough", since "all the stories are told by us".

The 10 stories created by DeZerlin in this deal include a quirky comedy-fantasy called Wanhoo, inspired by Chinese Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) fictional character Wan Hu, who has been described as the "world's first astronaut" for being lifted by rockets into outer space. Another of the stories is Thor and the Monkey King, telling the anecdotes of teenage hammer-wielding god of thunder Thor and the mythological figure Sun Wukong, from the classic Chinese tale Journey to the West. All are scripted by the Chinese partners and will be further developed by the two sides into movies, TV series and games.

Zhang, who founded DeZerlin in 2010 in his hometown of Qingdao, Shandong province, says he has been an "animation maniac" since he was a child.

"When I was a kid, I read a lot of Japanese manga as well as Detective Comics and Marvel superhero stories," he says.

Although the company started out with only one employee in a 52-square-meter flat, from the very beginning Zhang had the European and US markets in his sights.

"People told me the market in Europe and America was already a 'red ocean' (a saturated market), where a small startup company from China could merely strive to survive. But I think few of the Western production companies can produce stories that not only attract audiences but also convey the real essence of Chinese culture," Zhang says.

Zhang's view is echoed by Mark Byers, an American Emmy-nominated producer and scriptwriter who has committed himself to communicating between the Chinese and international communities. Byers believes many animations featuring China have failed to attract Western audiences because of poor storytelling.

"It's not the story you tell, it's how you tell it," Byers says. He stresses that to win audiences' hearts, no matter where the they come from, the key is to build up a "story structure" that suits the local culture.

With the goal of making Chinese stories known to Western audiences, Zhang and Byers decided to work together. Their first superhero story, Dragon Resurrection, was released in the United States in 2013 by Dark Horse Comics, the third-largest comics and animation company in the United States. It was the first time a Chinese superhero tale had been launched by the Chinese animation company.

Like most superhero stories, Dragon Resurrection has its main character as the savior, but this time the heroes are from Qingdao, Shandong province, and the fictional enemy is the US Army. The story also involves a Chinese dragon, DNA codes and Hulk-like transformation.

Mohammed Khalid, who is the CEO of Zycon media, thinks that DeZerlin is always forward thinking, saying: "Their philosophy of developing internal IP to reach a wider global market is refreshing to me. Their core competency is their ability to create fresh, innovative, original stories that appeal to family audiences everywhere."

Khalid adds that the design work and strong story structure of their work hold "universal appeal".

As a content creator as well as an animation fan, Zhang says he wants non-Chinese audiences to read Chinese comics and watch Chinese animation. However, he admits that this might not happen soon and has to be achieved by learning from previous successful examples.

"For example, all our works are united in the same cinematic universe, in exactly the same way as Marvel found success. In our products we have a world named 'DeVerse', which makes all our stories cohesive."

According to China's National Bureau of Statistics, animation exports from the country were worth 36 million yuan in 2016. In Japan, 1.9 billion yuan was earned from selling animations to foreign markets, according to the Association of Japanese Animation, which says the Chinese market accounts for more than half of the Japanese animation exports.

Fu Xiaoguang, associate professor of media studies at Communication University of China, says that about 70 percent of the movies with the highest box office in the world are intellectual properties adapted from animation. Each year, Hollywood-made superhero movie series account for only 10 percent of film releases but create 80 percent of the profits.

"In these circumstances, Chinese animation companies must have the ability ito create their own IPs to be capable of competing with Japan, Europe, the US and other companies on the same stage," Fu says.

Zhang says that, though DeZerlin has stepped into the Western market, there is still "a long way to go" for Chinese animation companies.

"The Belt and Road Initiative is catalyzing international cooperation in culture and helping startup companies like DeZerlin to look further," Zhang says, adding that "going out" in cultural sectors is important, since it enables mutual communication and learning.

Khalid agrees with Zhang, saying that since the "golden era" between China and the UK kicked off, more co-operation between the two countries in innovative industries has been accomplished.

During Theresa May's first visit to China since she took office as prime minister in 2016, China and Britain signed deals in areas including trade, finance, healthcare and culture, pledging to further promote strategic partnership

According to a Xinhua report, a total package for cultural cooperation worth 2.1 billion yuan was signed.

May said during the visit that China and the UK had achieved a great deal in enhancing people and trade links.

President Xi Jinping said China would like to make joint efforts with the UK to push bilateral relations to develop in a healthy and steady way in the new era, thus bringing happiness to people on both sides and peace to the world.

panmengqi@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily European Weekly 02/09/2018 page20)