Beijing’s Light Chaser Animation has unveiled a trailer for its first feature film Little Door Gods, which will open in mainland China cinemas on January 1, 2016, preceded by a 36-city roadshow starting on October 3.
The film asks: What happens to good luck “door god” decorations when no one in contemporary society believes in their spiritual powers anymore? Written and directed by Light Chaser founder Gary Wang, the Chinese web entrepreneur who started the video sharing site Tudou, Little Door Gods aims to boost the standards of locally-produced Chinese feature animation and match the standards of American studio theatrical features.
While the jury is still out on whether it’s up to Western standards, the trailer suggests that it’s one of China’s most technically sophisticated CG features to date, comparing favorably to this summer’s smash hit Monkey King: Hero is Back, which banked over $150 million to become the highest-grossing animated film ever released in China.