Popular Chinese animation hits British, Irish screens

Chinese animation Boonie Bears: Guardian Code is about to hit big screens across Britain, and for the first time, in Ireland, starting Friday, said its distributor in the United Kingdom.

The animation is being distributed to more than 200 movie theaters through cinema chains, including Cineworld, Showcase, Vue, Odeon in the UK, and IMC and Omniflex in Ireland, according to The Media Pioneers, a London-based media group.

"It so happened that the Boonie Bears will be vying with Disney's The Little Mermaid for slots during the same schedule, but we will do our best," said Maggie Liang, managing director of The Media Pioneers, adding that she is trying to secure six weeks screening time for the Chinese animation.

Liang said the UK's box office take for the previous installment, Boonie Bears: Back to Earth, which screened last year, reached around 180,000 pounds ($224,000), and she predicts similar revenue this year.

"We are also very excited and eager to see a good response from movie goers in Ireland, which is going to be their first time watching the Boonie Bears series," she said.

The Boonie Bears children's television series has been produced by Chinese entertainment group Fantawild Animation Inc since 2012. It tells the story of two cute bears, Briar and Bramble, fighting to protect their forest home from wood logger Vick.

The series gradually became one of the most popular cartoon brands among children in China and was expanded into theatrical films.

Boonie Bears: Guardian Code is the ninth film in the franchise, and earned 1.27 billion yuan ($181 million) in China during the Lunar New Year holiday in January, ranking third after Zhang Yimou's Full River Red, and the sci-fi sequel The Wandering Earth 2.

Daisy Shang, chief executive of Fantawild, told The Hollywood Reporter website that concentrating on themes that are universal has led to the franchise's success.

"We use our recognizable aesthetic and large public platform to examine these important universal topics in an enjoyable way," Shang said. "We do not only consider if a story works well in the current climate, we also aim to produce content which can travel the globe and withstand the test of time."