Mulan, a well-known Chinese folk heroine who once inspired the
Disney to make an animated blockbuster, will resume her original
image in China's homemade cartoon series.
Jiang Tong Animation Co. Ltd. (JTAC), producer of the new
animation, said Thursday that the 52-episode cartoon series titled
Hua Mulan attempts to re-create a heroic image of Mulan
based on the Chinese ancient poem called Mu Lan Ci, which
dates back to the Northern and Southern Dynasties (420-581).
Mu Lan Ci is widely regarded as a literary work that
best portrays the image of Hua Mulan. It tells the story of a brave
Chinese girl who disguises herself as a man to substitute her aged
father to fight against invasion of the nomads.
Based on the story, the Disney Picture produced a carton movie
Mulan in 1998, which made the character world renowned.
The animal characters and the clownish soldiers and Mulan herself
tickled many viewers' funny bones.
To date, the Disney cartoon has been translated into six
languages and attracted worldwide attention, making Mulan one of
the most famous world figures like Cinderella and Aladdin.
However, the Chinese producer JTAC stressed that their portrayal
of Mulan is different from the Disney version.
Zhu Youlan, chief executive officer of the JTAC, said Disney's
Mulan targets the individual heroism from the American perspective,
while the homemade animation tries to re-create a legendary grow-up
story of a heroine against the Chinese background.
With the theme of "determination, growth and dedication to the
nation", the homemade animation aims to set up a courageous and
patriotic image for the Chinese youth, Zhu said.
The company has already started filming the Hua Mulan
in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province.
Zhu said the length of each episode is about 22 minutes and the
whole series is expected to be completed at the end of next
year.
Founded in 2000, JTAC is one of the four major animation
producers in China with a yearly production of 3,000 to 5,000
minutes of cartoons.
(Xinhua News Agency December 21, 2006)