Josh Selig, founder and president of China Bridge Content and former CEO of Little Airplane Productions, recently attended this year’s edition of the China International Cartoon & Animation Festival (June 20 to June 24). This week, we’re running his key takeaways from the event in a series that looks at the state of China’s TV market, its growing hunger for YA animation, and the general outlook of its kids content industry. 

I’m on a bullet train between Hangzhou and Shanghai trying to make sense of China—not the China of the ’90s, when I first cut my teeth on Zhima Jie, the Chinese version of Sesame Street; and not the China of a decade ago, when Little Airplane in its salad days co-produced Super Wings! and P. King Duckling; but the post-COVID China that finds itself locked in an awkward and unwanted geopolitical arm-wrestling match with reigning world champion, team USA.

In other words, I’m trying to make sense of China now. 

I’ve just attended the China International Cartoon and Animation Festival, better known as CICAF, which is China’s largest annual gathering of indies, broadcasters, streamers, investors, cosplay kids and government media types all bundled into one lakeside conference center in Hangzhou—think Kidscreen Summit meets Comic-Con meets the National People’s Congress. (Last year, due to travel-related issues, I had to attend virtually as a cute avatar, eliminating the main reason I like to come to China, which is to eat dinner.)

What struck me most at this year’s CICAF was how upbeat everyone was. Unlike in the West, where the industry has just ridden the streaming roller coaster up and down (with an audible thump), the Chinese ride has stayed remarkably smooth. There was no streaming bubble here—Tencent, iQiyi, YouKu, Mango and Bilibili have all been going strong for years—so no bubble popped. Yes, the Chinese economy has slowed from the roaring 8% annual growth of the Obama years to a more modest 5% growth projected for 2023, but this is still strong compared to the 1% growth expected in the US and the EU. Regulations have dinged the Chinese gaming industry—and the edtech business is toast—but animation continues to thrive there.

The big focus at CICAF was on animated films and shows for teens and young adults. Due to shifting demographics, the number of younger kids is in decline, and that audience is already well-served by an abundance of high-quality domestic and international offerings. I was told that as of June 1 there is an additional license that foreign shows must apply for, and this application process is very hard for new IPs. This additional hurdle won’t impact any of the linear channels, but foreign IPs still cannot air during prime time on linear as this “golden hour” is reserved for China’s most popular homegrown kids series. Fair enough.

There were more than 120 Chinese and international animation studios in attendance at CICAF, and the hottest one was Shenzhen-based Fantawild Animation, whose most recent film, Boonie Bears: Guardian Code, grossed US$136 million in the first eight days of its theatrical run. (By comparison, Elemental from Pixar—which sent a storyboard artist to CICAF to train the locals—took in just US$65 million in its first 10 days.) 

I sat down with Daisy Shang, GM of Fantawild Animation, who explained that their secret to success is going after a co-viewing audience. Fantawild was already promoting its next feature here at CICAF, Miraculous: Ladybug & Cat Noir, The Movie, presented with The Awakening Production. Their film will be released theatrically in July and then stream on Netflix. “We are always happy to collaborate with international companies to bring our content to the global market, and also to create more exciting content for global audiences,” Shang said.

Companies like Fantawild have inspired other successful domestic companies to look for growth in the international market. Orlando Shen, GM and CEO of Yangzhou Kingstone Toys, a leading toy manufacturer, was at CICAF to make the leap into animation. “Our company has been making toys for overseas brands, and we’ve manufactured for Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. Personally speaking, I’m not satisfied with just being like this, so I started to think, ‘Why not make my own IPs?’ If a company wants to grow, especially on the international level, you must work with the American and Japanese companies.” 

I asked Orlando if he had any concerns about working with the US? He smiled broadly and took a sip of tea. 

“China has an open attitude,” he said. “The communication, the deals and the travel between our two countries is non-stop. I read some news about the opening of a new Wuhan Disneyland. Where does this new Disneyland come from if the arguments are so bad, or if China is shutting off?”

Writer and producer Josh Selig (P.King Duckling, Wonder Pets) is the founder and president of China Bridge Content, a company committed to building bridges of friendship and cooperation between China and the world. 

Check in tomorrow for Part Two in this series, in which Selig will explore Disney’s commitment to China and the struggle some local producers are having as they try to sign deals with the Western world.  

Photo of a lake near CICAF, courtesy of Josh Selig.