Shanghai Animation Film Studio

Shanghai Animation Film Studio (SAFS), also known as 美影厂 (Mei Ying Chang), is a Chinese animation studio based in Shanghai and part of the Shanghai Film Group Corporation. It was officially established in April 1957, led by pioneering animators and artists including Te Wei and the Wan Brothers. The studio has produced around 500 films with over 40,000 minutes of original animation, covering a significant share of China's domestic animation production. SAFS is known for producing animated films in various art forms with Chinese artistic characteristics, including jianzhi (paper-cut), shuimohua (ink-wash), puppetoon, zhezhi (origami), and shadow puppetry. It has also engaged in international collaborations with studios around the world. The studio's history traces back to 1949, when the Ministry of Culture sent young animators to Changchun Film Studio to start an animation team. In 1950 the team moved to Shanghai, and in 1957 SAFS was set up as an independent department under the Ministry of Culture. The period from 1957 to 1966 is regarded as a golden age, during which the studio developed innovative techniques and produced internationally acclaimed works such as Little Tadpoles Looking for Mama (1960), Buffalo Boy and the Flute (1963), and Havoc in Heaven (1961, 1964). SAFS also produced animated TV commercials beginning in 1958 for clients including Tsingtao Brewery, and resumed commercial production in 1979 after the Cultural Revolution. Today it remains a key institution in Chinese animation, with a legacy of artistic innovation and cultural influence.

Shanghai Animation Film Studio was established in 1957 in Shanghai, during the formative period of the People's Republic of China's planned film industry. Its creation consolidated animation talent and production capabilities that had developed in Shanghai before and after 1949. The studio became a principal national center for animated filmmaking and was particularly important in the development of styles based on Chinese artistic traditions. During its early decades, the studio produced animated shorts and features using cel animation, puppet animation, paper-cut techniques, and other methods. Its artists drew on Chinese painting, calligraphy, opera, folk crafts, shadow theatre, and classical literature. This approach was both an aesthetic program and a practical means of creating a recognizable national animation style. Rather than treating animation solely as a children's genre, the studio used it for artistic experimentation, cultural education, literary adaptation, and public communication. The 1960s saw the production and release of major works that later became central to the studio's reputation. The Little Tadpole Looking for Mummy is widely associated with the development of Chinese ink-wash animation. Its visual method translated the effects of traditional ink painting into moving images and demonstrated the studio's interest in forms that differed from standard industrial cel animation. Havoc in Heaven, directed by Wan Laiming and released in two parts in the 1960s, adapted the Monkey King's rebellion from Journey to the West. Its dynamic movement, stylized figures, and large-scale production made it one of the most celebrated Chinese animated films. Film production was disrupted during the Cultural Revolution, when cultural output was subject to political controls and many forms of artistic work were restricted. Animation production later resumed and the studio entered another productive period in the late 1970s and 1980s. Works such as Nezha Conquers the Dragon King and The Deer of Nine Colors combined familiar Chinese stories with ambitious character design and visual direction. The studio's films circulated at domestic and overseas festivals, helping introduce Chinese animation to international audiences and contributing to its critical reputation. The studio's role changed as Chinese television expanded and the domestic media economy became more commercial. In addition to theatrical films and shorts, it produced or became associated with television animation and serialized children's programming. Calabash Brothers, a puppet-animation television series from the 1980s, became one of the most recognizable properties in Chinese children's culture. Shuke and Beta, based on Zheng Yuanjie's children's stories, likewise became a durable television and publishing-related property. These series extended the studio's reach beyond cinema and created characters with continuing licensing, merchandising, and remake potential. From the 1990s onward, Chinese animation faced stronger competition from imported animation, new private studios, computer-generated production, and changing audience habits. Shanghai Animation Film Studio nevertheless retained an important institutional and archival role. Its historical catalogue continued to be broadcast, restored, repackaged, studied, and referenced by later Chinese creators. The studio's traditional techniques and visual heritage also became part of broader efforts to define a contemporary Chinese animation identity. In the twenty-first century, the studio has remained connected with Shanghai's film and cultural-production sector while the commercial environment around it has evolved. Its legacy properties have supported adaptations, reissues, collaborations, licensing activity, and renewed public attention. The studio is best understood not only as a producer of individual titles but also as a long-lived cultural brand whose catalogue helped shape Chinese perceptions of animated storytelling. Current corporate structure, leadership, production activity, and rights administration should be checked against up-to-date official records.

• 1989

  Shuke and Beta television adaptation released

  [7]Shuke and Betaen.wikipedia.org

  The television adaptation of Zheng Yuanjie's characters expanded the studio's association with serialized children's animation.

• 1986

  Calabash Brothers television series released

  [6]Calabash Brothersen.wikipedia.org

  The puppet-animation series introduced seven brothers with supernatural abilities and became a durable Chinese children's-media property.

• 1981

  The Deer of Nine Colors released

  [5]The Deer of Nine Colorsen.wikipedia.org

  The film adapted a Buddhist-influenced story and is noted for its use of visual ideas associated with Dunhuang art.

• 1979

  Nezha Conquers the Dragon King released

  [4]Nezha Conquers the Dragon Kingen.wikipedia.org

  The feature adapted a well-known Chinese myth and became a prominent example of the studio's post-Cultural Revolution animation output.

• 1964

  Havoc in Heaven completed

  [2]Havoc in Heavenen.wikipedia.org

  The second part completed one of the studio's defining animated features and strengthened its international artistic reputation.

• 1961

  Havoc in Heaven begins release

  [2]Havoc in Heavenen.wikipedia.org

  The first part of Havoc in Heaven, directed by Wan Laiming, brought the Monkey King story to the screen with an ambitious Chinese visual style.

• 1960

  Ink-wash animation breakthrough

  [3]The Little Tadpole Looking for Mummyen.wikipedia.org

  The release of The Little Tadpole Looking for Mummy demonstrated the studio's distinctive use of traditional Chinese ink-painting aesthetics in animation.

• 1957

  Studio established

  [1]Shanghai Animation Film Studio - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org

  Shanghai Animation Film Studio was established in Shanghai and became a major institutional base for Chinese animated film production.

A heritage Chinese animation studio positioned around nationally recognizable animated characters, adaptations of Chinese mythology and literature, traditional-art techniques, and a historically important film catalogue.

• Animated feature film · 1961

  Havoc in Heaven

  A landmark adaptation of the Monkey King's rebellion from Journey to the West. Directed by Wan Laiming and released in two parts, the film is known for its bold color design, stylized movement, theatrical scale, and engagement with Chinese opera and traditional painting. It is generally regarded as one of the most important works in Chinese animation history.

• Ink-wash animated short · 1960

  The Little Tadpole Looking for Mummy

  An influential short in which tadpoles search for their mother while the imagery evokes the appearance and movement of Chinese ink painting. The production helped demonstrate that traditional Chinese visual techniques could be translated into animation rather than merely used as static decoration.

• Animated feature film · 1979

  Nezha Conquers the Dragon King

  A feature-length retelling of the mythological hero Nezha's conflict with the Dragon King. The film reflects the studio's long-standing practice of adapting Chinese mythology through stylized character animation and elaborate fantasy environments.

• Animated feature film · 1981

  The Deer of Nine Colors

  An animated adaptation of a story connected with Buddhist narrative traditions. Its backgrounds and visual language were influenced by the murals and artistic heritage of Dunhuang, making it a notable example of the studio's use of historical Chinese art as a foundation for animation design.

• Puppet-animation television series · 1986

  Calabash Brothers

  A children's series about seven brothers, each associated with a different supernatural ability, who confront a group of demons. Its puppet-animation format, memorable character designs, and repeated television exposure made it one of the studio's most recognizable properties.

• Animated television series · 1989

  Shuke and Beta

  A children's series centered on two mice with contrasting personalities and adventurous lives. Based on characters created by Zheng Yuanjie, it became an important example of the studio's transition from theatrical animation toward serialized television storytelling.

• 2017

  Source 1Source 2Source 3

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• 1980

  Expand from theatrical animation into television seriesStrategy

  Background

  The growth of television created a large audience for serialized children's content in addition to cinema.

  Action taken

  The studio increased its involvement in television animation and serialized character properties, including productions that later became associated with Calabash Brothers and Shuke and Beta.

  Aftermath

  Television distribution broadened the studio's audience and helped its characters become part of everyday Chinese popular culture.

  Source

• 1957

  Build a dedicated national animation institutionStrategy

  Background

  China's post-1949 film system sought stable institutional capacity for animated films, and Shanghai already had important animation talent and production experience.

  Action taken

  A dedicated Shanghai animation studio was established to produce theatrical shorts and features and to develop animation drawing on Chinese cultural and artistic traditions.

  Aftermath

  The studio became one of the principal institutions shaping the development and international reputation of Chinese animation.

  Source

1. 1Shanghai Animation Film Studio - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Havoc in Heavenen.wikipedia.org
3. 3The Little Tadpole Looking for Mummyen.wikipedia.org
4. 4Nezha Conquers the Dragon Kingen.wikipedia.org
5. 5The Deer of Nine Colorsen.wikipedia.org
6. 6Calabash Brothersen.wikipedia.org
7. 7Shuke and Betaen.wikipedia.org
8. 8上海美影厂与原创作者就“葫芦娃”“阿凡提”造型著作权权属对簿公堂zgfllt.cn
9. 9上海美影厂与原创作者就“葫芦娃”“阿凡提”造型著作权权属对簿公堂cn.govopendata.com
10. 10上海美影厂与原创作者就“葫芦娃”“阿凡提”造型著作权权属对簿公堂shzcfy.gov.cn