Movies
China cracks down on animated characters
Published Wednesday, Feb 22 2006, 10:02 GMT | By Daniel Saney
China's State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) has issued a new order whereby films and TV shows featuring a mix of humans and animated characters will be banned.
The effect of the order will be that "human live-action, so-called animation pieces will not receive distribution or distribution licenses," affecting films such as Space Jam and Who Framed Roger Rabbit, state-run Xinhua News Agency reports.
The move will only affect future projects, however - features already granted licences will continue to be aired.
This order comes in a period in which China is keen to restrict competition from abroad, favouring promotion of home-grown Mandarin-language features. David Wolf, CEO of Wolf Group Asia, told Variety: "SARFT's notice is a clear indicator that, despite government support, the local animation industry is still struggling. Unfortunately, simply clearing more airtime isn't going to make the product any better or more competitive."
Chinese regulators have a history of taking exception to films featuring talking animals - Babe, an Oscar-winning film about a talking pig, was banned in case viewers were confused by the pig's vocal prowess.
The effect of the order will be that "human live-action, so-called animation pieces will not receive distribution or distribution licenses," affecting films such as Space Jam and Who Framed Roger Rabbit, state-run Xinhua News Agency reports.
The move will only affect future projects, however - features already granted licences will continue to be aired.
This order comes in a period in which China is keen to restrict competition from abroad, favouring promotion of home-grown Mandarin-language features. David Wolf, CEO of Wolf Group Asia, told Variety: "SARFT's notice is a clear indicator that, despite government support, the local animation industry is still struggling. Unfortunately, simply clearing more airtime isn't going to make the product any better or more competitive."
Chinese regulators have a history of taking exception to films featuring talking animals - Babe, an Oscar-winning film about a talking pig, was banned in case viewers were confused by the pig's vocal prowess.
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