Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf
Product brand
UnclaimedA Chinese animated entertainment franchise centered on the adventures of Pleasant Goat, Big Big Wolf, and the communities of the Green Grassland.
Last updated October 14, 2026
Overview
Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf is a Chinese children’s animation and character franchise created for television and expanded into films, publishing, licensing, live entertainment, digital content, and branded partnerships. The central premise places a group of resourceful sheep in the Green Grassland opposite Big Big Wolf, whose repeated attempts to capture them usually end in comic failure. The rivalry provides a durable episodic structure, while the characters’ friendships, family relationships, teamwork, curiosity, and problem-solving support its appeal to younger viewers and nostalgic older audiences. The franchise originated with Guangdong Original Power Culture Communication, a company established in 2004. Its television series began airing in 2005 and adopted a high-volume production and distribution model designed to keep the characters continuously visible on Chinese television. The series was carried by many mainland broadcasters and accumulated hundreds of episodes. Contemporary media reports described exceptionally strong domestic recognition, including reported peak ratings of 17.3 percent in some markets, although such figures belong to the period in which they were reported and should not be treated as current performance data. A key feature of the brand’s early development was the integration of storytelling and commercialization. Rather than treating television as the only product, the rights holders developed books, audio-visual releases, toys, plush figures, stationery, clothing, food, household goods, mobile wallpapers, messaging stickers, games, stage shows, character appearances, and themed events. The franchise also operated through licensing and co-branding, allowing consumer brands and retailers to use its characters in limited products and promotional campaigns. This made it one of the most visible examples of an integrated Chinese animation-property model during the late 2000s. The property expanded theatrically through a series of animated films. The early films achieved notable box-office visibility, and the film program helped establish a recurring holiday-release pattern. Television animation remained the foundation, while cinema, publishing, merchandise, and live events broadened the audience and created additional points of contact. The characters were also used in public-facing cultural and promotional activities, including association with Guangzhou, whose nickname is the City of Goats; the initial group of five sheep was reported to have drawn inspiration from Guangzhou’s Five Goats statue. In 2010, Pleasant Goat was involved in promotional work connected with the Guangzhou Asian Games. Ownership and commercialization changed significantly during the franchise’s first decade. In 2011, Hong Kong-listed animation company IMAGI International acquired the Toon Express-related business responsible for consumer-product licensing and brand commercialization. The transaction gave the franchise an international commercial structure and was accompanied by arrangements involving Disney for distribution and licensing in overseas markets. In 2013, Alpha Group acquired full control of the relevant licensing and intellectual-property holding structure, as well as Guangdong Original Power. The acquisition brought the property into a larger Chinese animation, toy, and family-entertainment group and was intended to support expansion into games, education, stage productions, carnivals, mobile media, and overseas markets. In later years, the franchise continued through new television seasons, films, online distribution, anniversary programs, platform-based fan activities, and commercial collaborations. A more recent creative direction has been associated with stories in which the goats and the wolf cooperate or confront larger adventure and science-fiction challenges, rather than relying exclusively on the original predator-versus-prey formula. Streaming platforms have used interactive tests, fan art, the…
History
Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf emerged from Guangdong Original Power Culture Communication, established in 2004, and first reached television audiences in 2005. Its early production strategy emphasized regular, high-volume episodic output. This approach matched the Chinese television market’s appetite for frequent programming and kept the characters present throughout the year. The narrative framework was deliberately repeatable: Pleasant Goat and the other sheep defended their community while Big Big Wolf devised increasingly elaborate schemes. Comic reversals, simple moral framing, and a large ensemble enabled the creators to produce many short episodes without abandoning the core identity of the property. The franchise’s first major growth phase occurred in the second half of the 2000s. It spread through numerous television channels and became a recognizable domestic children’s property. Contemporary reports referred to hundreds of episodes, strong reported ratings in major cities, and substantial recognition among Chinese children. Books and audio-visual products extended the property beyond television. The creators and commercial partners also developed plush toys, toys, stationery, clothing, food, household products, digital wallpapers, messaging stickers, and other licensed goods. A character-performance troupe and mobile carnival activities provided physical experiences and gave licensees additional promotional opportunities. The theatrical program strengthened the brand’s profile. An initial animated film followed the television success, and subsequent films became recurring holiday releases. Reports on the early film cycle described strong box-office performance, although the benefit to the original content producer was constrained by production costs, broadcaster economics, and the bargaining power of cinemas and television stations. The property therefore illustrates a common feature of children’s media: broad audience recognition does not automatically translate into equivalent profits for the content studio. Licensing and derivative products were essential to the commercial model. The franchise also developed an international licensing structure. In 2010, Toon Express and China-based production interests entered a joint brand-management arrangement that separated elements of production and licensing. Disney-related agreements supported distribution and merchandising, and contemporary reports said the animation was scheduled for broadcast through Disney channels in multiple countries and languages. These arrangements provided international visibility, although they did not turn the property into a globally dominant brand on the scale of Disney or Sanrio. Corporate ownership changed again in 2011. IMAGI International acquired the Toon Express-related business responsible for consumer-product licensing and commercialization. The deal was widely reported as a major Hong Kong transaction involving a Chinese animation property. The acquisition did not simply transfer the television production company; it primarily brought the licensing and rights-management infrastructure into IMAGI’s group, while leaving room for cooperation with Original Power. Later reporting connected IMAGI’s financial difficulties and the uneven economics of animation production with the eventual sale of the assets. In 2013, Alpha Group acquired 100 percent of the relevant holding company from IMAGI International for approximately HK$634.2 million and separately agreed to acquire all of Guangdong Original Power for RMB36.396 million. These figures describe transaction consideration reported at the time and are not current brand valuation or revenue figures. The combined acquisition gave Alpha control over the licensing operation and the principal production company. Alpha presented the transaction as a way to extend its existing capabilities in toys, animation, publishing, games, education, stage productions, carnivals, mobile media, and international business. After the ownership transition, the property continued through television seasons, theatrical titles, online programs, and licensing. Its later creative development broadened the world beyond the original pursuit plot. Stories increasingly used adventure, fantasy, science-fiction, sports, and cooperative narratives, including situations in which the goats and Big Big Wolf work together. This helped refresh the property for children while preserving familiar characters for older viewers. Digital platforms became increasingly important to distribution and promotion. Streaming services used platform recommendations, interactive comment features, character quizzes, anniversary campaigns, fan-art submissions, themed viewing events, and shopping or offline activations. These methods supported a dual audience: children consuming new stories and young adults revisiting a major part of their childhood media environment. Brand marketing has repeatedly relied on cultural timing and character adaptability. The 2015 Sheep Year “Mie” campaign turned the sheep sound into a wordplay device for New Year greetings and spread it through social media, digital cards, stickers, celebrity participation, licensed products, exhibitions, and cinema events. Later partnerships with Meituan Waimai and Tastien placed service and food products inside the franchise’s narrative or visual world. Such campaigns show how the property functions as a flexible communications platform as well as an entertainment series. The characters also have a regional cultural association with Guangzhou. The reported inspiration for the original five sheep came from the city’s Five Goats statue and Guangzhou’s traditional nickname, the City of Goats. In 2010, Pleasant Goat participated in promotional work related to the Guangzhou Asian Games. This local connection complements the franchise’s national reach and contributes to its identity as a domestically created Chinese animation property. The franchise remains active under Alpha Group’s ownership. Publicly available material supplied for this dossier does not establish current annual revenue, current ratings, a definitive global market list, or the precise legal ownership of every individual character and adaptation. Its documented legacy, however, is clear: it helped demonstrate that Chinese children’s animation could be built as an integrated IP business spanning television, film, publishing, licensing, live entertainment, digital platforms, and commercial partnerships.
- 2023
New season and anniversary platform campaign
[10]iQIYI Children promotes a new adventure season and anniversary programming through interactive digital and offline activities.
- 2015
Sheep Year “Mie” campaign
[5]A social-media campaign uses sheep-related wordplay in New Year greetings and combines online content with licensed merchandise and offline events.
- 2013
Alpha Group acquires the franchise businesses
[3]Alpha acquires the relevant holding company and Guangdong Original Power, bringing licensing and production into its broader animation and toy group.
- 2011
IMAGI acquires the licensing structure
[9]IMAGI International acquires Toon Express-related rights-management and consumer-product licensing operations associated with the property.
- 2010
International licensing and Guangzhou Asian Games promotion
[8]Disney-related distribution and licensing arrangements increase overseas visibility, while Pleasant Goat participates in Guangzhou Asian Games promotional activity.
- 2009
Theatrical and merchandise expansion accelerates
[2]Reports describe hundreds of television episodes, widespread broadcasting, book sales, and a broad licensing program covering toys, apparel, stationery, food, and digital goods.
- 2005
Television series begins
[2]Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf begins television distribution in mainland China.
- 2004
Original Power is established
[4]Guangdong Original Power Culture Communication is established and becomes the principal production company associated with the franchise.
Products and positioning
A mass-market Chinese family-entertainment IP combining humorous children’s animation with character licensing, theatrical releases, digital engagement, and offline experiences.
Animated television · 2005
Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf television series
The core episodic product follows Pleasant Goat, Big Big Wolf, and their surrounding families and friends in the Green Grassland. Early episodes use a comic chase structure, while later seasons add adventure, fantasy, science-fiction, sports, and cooperative storylines. The series has been distributed through mainland television and, through licensing arrangements, selected overseas channels and digital platforms.
Animated film · 2009
Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf theatrical films
The film line adapts the characters for longer-form stories and has historically been associated with holiday theatrical releases in China. Early films attracted substantial public attention and helped turn the television characters into a broader family-entertainment property. Titles and performance varied across the series, and the supplied sources do not establish a complete current filmography.
Character merchandise · 2005
Licensed consumer products
The licensing program has covered plush toys, toys, stationery, clothing, food, household products, books, audio-visual goods, digital wallpapers, messaging stickers, and promotional merchandise. Partnerships have included major consumer brands and retailers, with products often timed to holidays, films, anniversaries, or themed offline events.
Live entertainment · 2008
Live entertainment and themed experiences
The franchise has supported a character-performance troupe, mobile carnivals, exhibitions, themed venues, store activations, cinema events, and family workshops. These experiences translate the animated characters into physical encounters and provide licensing partners with additional promotional channels.
Digital content · 2010
Streaming and digital engagement
Digital distribution includes online seasons, special episodes, stickers, wallpapers, interactive viewing tools, character tests, fan-art activities, and anniversary campaigns. Streaming platforms have used these features to connect new children’s programming with older fans who return to the franchise through nostalgia and social sharing.
Marketing campaigns
- 2025Tastien “Return to the Grassland” collaboration
China
Tastien partnered with the franchise around Children’s Day and a character birthday theme. The activation included limited packaging and merchandise, themed stores, social hashtags, CGI creative, user-generated displays, and a customized birthday hamburger.
Outcome. The campaign was positioned as nostalgia marketing for younger consumers and generated reported trending-topic visibility. The supplied report does not provide independently audited exposure or sales data.
- 2023Meituan Waimai Mid-Autumn Festival special
China
Meituan Waimai produced a Mid-Autumn Festival animated short in which a delivery-rider character helps transport people’s wishes and resolves a crisis involving the moon and accumulated homesickness.
Outcome. The collaboration communicated Meituan Waimai’s seasonal delivery proposition through a familiar family-animation narrative.
- 2015Sheep Year “Mie” campaign
China
The campaign used the sound of a sheep and its wordplay association with “what” to create New Year phrases such as “there is everything” and “whatever you want.” It combined social posts, greeting graphics, digital cards, mobile stickers, dialect audio, celebrity participation, licensed products, exhibitions, and cinema previews.
Outcome. The campaign generated broad online discussion and linked seasonal social engagement with licensing and offline experiences. The supplied source is a trade-style retrospective rather than an audited campaign report, so no verified reach or sales figure is recorded.
Brand decisions
2023
Release and promotion of an adventure-focused new seasonProduct launchBackground
The franchise used a streaming platform to refresh its audience during the summer animation season and connect a new story arc with an anniversary program.
Action taken
iQIYI Children launched the season with platform recommendations, interactive features, character testing, fan-art collection, and an offline anniversary event.
Aftermath
The campaign was reported to achieve strong platform rankings and participation in its interactive activities, though the supplied source does not independently verify audience or revenue figures.
2013
Alpha Group acquires licensing rights and Original PowerM&ABackground
Alpha sought to combine its existing animation, toy, and family-entertainment capabilities with a nationally recognized Chinese animation IP and its production team.
Action taken
Alpha acquired 100 percent of the relevant holding company from IMAGI for approximately HKD 634.2 million and agreed to acquire 100 percent of Guangdong Original Power for RMB 36.396 million.
Aftermath
The property became part of Alpha’s broader IP portfolio, supporting intended expansion into games, education, stage productions, carnivals, mobile media, licensing, and overseas distribution.
Reported acquisition consideration. HKD 634.2 million for the holding company and RMB 36.396 million for Original Power (September 2013 announcement)
2011
Transfer of licensing and commercialization operations to IMAGI InternationalM&ABackground
The franchise’s consumer-products licensing business was separated from the direct television-production function and brought into IMAGI International through its acquisition of the Toon Express-related structure.
Action taken
IMAGI acquired the relevant licensing and rights-management operations and established arrangements for brand management and possible cooperation with Original Power.
Aftermath
The transaction increased the property’s corporate and international commercialization capacity, but IMAGI’s later financial difficulties contributed to another ownership change.
Reported maximum transaction consideration. HKD 1.047 billion (2011 transaction announcement)
Recent events
- 2025
Tastien launches a Pleasant Goat nostalgia collaboration[7]
Campaign · Product launch
The restaurant brand used a “return to the grassland” theme for Children’s Day, combining limited merchandise, themed stores, commemorative materials, social hashtags, CGI creative, and a birthday-themed hamburger activation.
- 2023
iQIYI promotes a new season and the franchise’s 18th anniversary[10]
Campaign · Product launch
iQIYI Children supported the release of an adventure-focused season with interactive viewing features, character tests, fan-art collection, anniversary activities, and an offline event in Shanghai.
- 2023
Meituan Waimai partners on a Mid-Autumn Festival special[6]
Campaign
A branded animated short incorporated a delivery-rider character into a Green Grassland story about delivering people’s Mid-Autumn wishes and positioned the delivery service around speed and convenience.
- 2015
Pleasant Goat launches the Sheep Year “Mie” social-media campaign[5]
Campaign
The campaign connected the sheep sound “mie” with a colloquial meaning of “what,” using greeting images, digital cards, messaging stickers, celebrity participation, licensed products, exhibitions, and offline film previews.
- 2013
Alpha Group acquires the franchise’s licensing structure and Original Power[3]
M&A
Alpha announced the acquisition of the relevant intellectual-property and licensing holding company from IMAGI International and the purchase of all equity in Guangdong Original Power.
- 2011
IMAGI International acquires Toon Express-related licensing business[9]
M&A
The transaction transferred the franchise’s consumer-products licensing and commercialization business into the Hong Kong-listed animation group’s corporate structure.
- 2010
Disney enters overseas distribution and licensing arrangements[8]
Other
Reports described Disney-related distribution and merchandising arrangements that increased the franchise’s visibility across Asia-Pacific television markets.
- 2009
Original Power animation becomes a major domestic television success[2]
Other
Contemporary reports described the television series as having aired on nearly 50 Chinese stations, with hundreds of episodes and strong reported audience recognition. The same period also saw the expansion of books, merchandise, and theatrical plans.
Sources10 sources
- 1Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf series reference articlezh.wikipedia.org
- 2China News report on the franchise’s integrated animation businesschinanews.com.cn
- 3People’s Daily report on the 2013 ownership transferfinance.people.com.cn
- 4National Business Daily report on Alpha’s acquisitionnbd.com.cn
- 5Campaign retrospective on the Sheep Year social-media marketingzhuanlan.zhihu.com
- 6SocialBeta case study of the Meituan Mid-Autumn Festival specialsocialbeta.com
- 7CFSN report on the Tastien collaborationcfsn.cn
- 8International licensing and Guangzhou Asian Games promotionfinance.ifeng.com
- 9IMAGI acquires the licensing structurenews.sina.com.cn
- 10New season and anniversary platform campaignzhuanlan.zhihu.com
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