A 3D animated feature film with an estimated budget of 100
million yuan (US$12.7 million) is to be produced jointly by Chinese
and Canadian film companies, sources with the Wuhan Digital Media
Tech Engineering Co. Ltd. said on Monday.
Canadian partner, Joee Studios in Vancouver, will take main
responsibility for marketing the movie, called Seven Degrees
Celsius, said Tan Huoxin, vice general manager of the Wuhan
company. Both are financing the film, said Tan, who wouldn't reveal
how the budget would be split.
The comedy tale tells the story of two different colonies of
bacteria who work together to overcome various threats in a
refrigerator with a temperature of seven degrees Celsius. The
cartoon would borrow styles from two dimensional digital cartoon
classics -- Finding Nemo and Toy Story, Tan said.
Cliff Garbutt will be the film's director and screenwriter. The
Emmy-Award winner was involved in the Finding Nemo production and
has been ranked among the top 10 figures in the North American
cartoon industry. The movie will open in 2009.
Founded in May this year Wuhan is a joint venture between Donghu
New-and High-tech Development Zone and Central China Normal
University.
(Xinhua News Agency October 31, 2006)