Lacking publicity
Although many do not plan to see these cartoons, it is a comfort for cartoon producers that most of the audience who have seen these films spoke highly of them. "It is really beyond my expectation and the story moved me," said an audience member after watching "Kuiba."
"The 3D digital visual effects were good and could compete with American 3D technology," said another audience member who gave high marks to "Legend of a Rabbit." "Besides the music and the story itself were also excellent," added the audience member.
According to the feedback from the audience, the two films are of comparatively high qualities, but because they were lacking publicity, many people did not have a fair idea of these cartoons. "We may have paid too much attention to the content and ignored the importance of publicity," said Wu Hanqing, who was on the production team of "Kuiba."
"Failure to properly publicize the movie resulted in the current situation," said Sun who also thinks that his 3D work was not advertised widely, as the poster for the film was rarely seen in many theaters.
Criticized by some in the audience
The traces of imitation were too apparent for some audience members who refused to watch these two movies. The "Legend of a Rabbit" is being criticized for being too similar to the movie "Kung Fu Panda." The main character reminds people of "Po," the hero in that movie, while Manji from “Kuiba" reminds people of the Japanese monkey character in "Dragon Ball."
Although the 3D-cartoon director denied that the story is a copy of the "Kung Fu Panda," he still feels speechless. "'Kung Fu Panda' impressed the audience and as movies both covered Chinese elements, it is inevitable for audiences to associate both films together."
Japanese and American cartoons have been in China for over 20 years, and many cartoon producers and Chinese young people have accepted and learned about their styles. "But the story of these cartoons are original and were created by the Chinese producers," said Sun.
"It is a problem in the entire industry, and if we continue to use the old traditional style, like in the cartoon 'The Monkey King,' and do not learn some new things from others, we may fail in the market," said Sun.
Sun appealed to the audience to be more tolerant of them and give them more time and support to let them make Chinese cartoons better.
