Editing Cinema of China (section)

== Animation ==
{{Main|Animation in China|History of animation in China}}

=== Before the 1950s ===
Inspired by the success of [[Disney]] animation, the self-taught pioneers [[Wan brothers]], Wan Laiming and [[Wan Guchan]], made the first Chinese [[animated short]] in the 1920s, thus inaugurating the history of Chinese animation. (Chen Yuanyuan 175)<ref name="Chen, Yuanyuan 2017, pp. 175-188">Chen, Yuanyuan. "Old Or New Art? Rethinking Classical Chinese Animation." Journal of Chinese Cinemas, vol. 11, no. 2, 2017, pp. 175-188.</ref> Many live-action films of the Republican era also included animated sequences.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://chinesefilmclassics.org/animation-and-cartoons/| title = Animation and Cartoons 卡通與漫畫 - Chinese Film Classics| date = 23 April 2021}}</ref>

In 1937, the Wan brothers decided to produce 《铁扇公主》'' [[Princess Iron Fan (1941 film)|Princess Iron Fan]]'', which was the first Chinese animated feature film and the fourth, after the American feature films ''[[Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937 film)|Snow White]]'', ''[[Gulliver's Travels (1939 film)|Gulliver's Travels]]'', and ''[[The Adventures of Pinocchio (unfinished film)|The Adventures of Pinocchio]]''. It was at this time that Chinese animation as an art form had risen to prominence on the world stage. Completed in 1941, the film was released under China United Pictures and aroused a great response in Asia. Japanese animator Shigeru Tezuka once said that he gave up medicine after watching the cartoon and decided to pursue animation.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}}

=== 1950s–1980s ===
During this golden era, Chinese animation had developed a variety of styles, including ink animation, shadow play animation, puppet animation, and so on. Some of the most representative works are 《大闹天宫》'' [[Uproar in Heaven]]'', 《哪吒闹海》 ''[[Nezha]]'s Rebellion in the Sea'' and《天书奇谈》 ''Heavenly Book'', which have also won lofty praise and numerous awards in the world.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}}

=== 1980s–1990s ===
After Deng Xiaoping's Reform Period and the "opening up" of China, the movies《葫芦兄弟》 ''Calabash Brothers'', 《黑猫警长》''Black Cat Sheriff'', 《阿凡提》''Avanti Story'' and other impressive animated movies were released. However, at this time, China still favored the Japanese's more unique, American and European-influenced animated works over the less-advanced domestic ones.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}}

=== 1990s–2010s ===
In the 1990s, digital production methods replaced manual hand-drawing methods; however, even with the use of advanced technology, none of the animated works were considered to be a breakthrough film. Animated films that tried to cater to all age groups, such as ''Lotus Lantern'' and ''Storm Resolution'', did not attract much attention. The only animated works that seemed to achieve popularity were the ones for catered for children, such as ''[[Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf]]''《喜羊羊与灰太狼》.

=== 2010s–present ===
{{Unreferenced section|date=July 2023}}
During this period, the technical level of Chinese domestic animation production has been established comprehensively, and 3D animation films have become the mainstream. However, as more and more foreign films (such as ones from Japan, Europe, and the United States) are being imported into China, Chinese animated works is left in the shadows of these animated foreign films.

It was only with the release of 《西游记之大圣归来》''[[Monkey King: Hero is Back]]'' in 2015, a computer-animated film, that Chinese animated works took back the rein. The film was a huge hit and broke the record for Chinese domestic animated movies with CN¥956 million at China's box office. After the success of ''Journey to the West'', several other high-quality animated films were released, such as《大鱼海棠》 ''[[Big Fish and Begonia]]'' and 《白蛇缘起》 [[White Snake (film)|''White Snake'']]. Though none of these movies made headway in regards to the box office, they did make filmmakers more and more interested in animated works.

This all changed with the breakthrough animated film, 《哪吒之魔童降世》[[Ne Zha (2019 film)|''Ne Zha'']]. Released in 2019, it became the second highest-grossing film of all time in China, the highest-grossing animated non-English film, and the highest-grossing animated film in a single territory. It was with this film that Chinese animated films, as a medium, finally broke the notion in China that domestic animated films are only for children. With ''Nezha'', and a spinoff, [[Jiang Ziya (film)|''Jiang Ziya'']], Chinese animation has now come to be known as a veritable source of entertainment for all ages.