Prolific Animation Producer's Light Has Dimmed

After losing its way, an industry looks to get back on track

In his apartment in downtown Shanghai the animated-film director Qian Yunda carefully takes out a folder filled with thousands of drafts of scripts and plans of sets for the 1983 animated movie Secrets of the Heavenly Book.

Tens of millions of Chinese have become well acquainted to many of the film's long cast of characters, but Qian begins reeling off behind-the-scenes tales about them that few would know.