An animated vision for the future

Working with foreign companies especially taught her about the risks in making animated works.

"For example, some countries prohibit scenes of children playing alone near lakes in animation for fear of endangering children viewers," she says.

"It reminded me to give greater consideration to young audiences. Some plots seem OK for adults but may include potential risks for children, which we must avoid."

Yu's efforts paid off. In 2014, her company's original cartoon, Emmy& Gooroo, won the MIP Junior International Pitch prize.

The judges said, "The happiness and courage shown in this work is meaningful in any cultural background."

The cartoon has since aired in over 40 countries.

"We worked very hard when making its first season, and we made dozens of adjustments to the final version, visually and plot-wise, to make it a work with Chinese features that can be appreciated by viewers abroad," Yu says.