“YOLO,” “Article 20,” “Pegasus 2,” these are the big names that caught the most attention in domestic film market during the Spring Festival holiday. However, apart from these eye-catching titles, young audience members were also greeted by two old friends: the bear brothers from the “Boonie Bears” animation series.

The box-office revenue of the latest “Boonie Bears” film, “Boonie Bears: Time Twist,” has surpassed 1.9 billion yuan (US$264 million), making it the highest-grossing “Boonie Bear” film ever. In total, the “Boonie Bears” films have so far generated a box-office revenue of more than 7 billion yuan. This is an unparalleled commercial success in Chinese animation.

The success of the series can be attributed to many factors: improvement in animation quality, more mature and complex story, and involvement of popular cultural elements. Suffice to say, the development of “Boonie Bears” is the epitome of the Chinese animation evolution.

In 2014, “Boonie Bears, to the Rescue!” the first full-length film of the series, hit cinemas and pocketed a total box-office revenue of 247 million yuan. Back then, the series was still considered by many to be an animation intended for children. As the fanbase of the series grew, the creators of “Boonie Bears” actively explored ways to further develop the series to cater to a wider audience.

One of these efforts is the improvement of visual quality. Compared to earlier installments, “Boonie Bears” films in recent years contain more detailed models and smoother movements.

This year, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of “Boonie Bears” films, more than 500 characters from the previous films appear in the new movie, said Shang Linlin, producer of the films. All the characters were remodeled in accordance with present day’s animation quality, said Shang, adding that the new flick consists of more than 1,300 scenes using special effects, two times as many as the previous film.

Different from the straightforward “good vs. bad” story in the past, the films aim to present audience members stories with more twist and turns, richer in connotation, and more closely associated with popular topics that capture people’s attention.

For instance, the plot of “Boonie Bears: Time Twist” involves fashionable sci-fi story elements like alternate universe and time travel. In last year’s “Boonie Bears: Guardian Code,” the story revolves around technological breakthroughs such as robots and artificial intelligence.

Also, the film also evokes thinking over some issues that grown-ups can resonate with. In the film, a protagonist faces the life decision of whether to live a life that is successful in the eyes of others or to pursue one’s own dreams.

“Many young viewers who had been fans of the series since a decade ago are now going to college or pursuing their own career,” said Shang. “Therefore, we feel the plot can somehow reflect their current state-of-mind and the environment they are in, and can produce emotional resonance.”

The traits of recent “Boonie Bears” films are also apparent in some other works of Chinese animation. In 2015, “Monkey King: Hero Is Back” amazed the audience with its superb quality and its realistic, slightly-grim story, and contributed greatly in breaking the public perception of “animation is for kids.”

In the years that followed, animated blockbusters like “Ne Zha” and “Chang An” continued the trend and offered viewers refreshing experience. Meanwhile, other long-lasting animation series originally intended for younger audience, such as “Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf,” are also embracing complex storylines and profound connotations in a bid to expand its audience from children to young adults.

Today, Chinese animation is gaining acceptance from audience members abroad as well. In 2023, the English-dubbed version of “Boonie Bears: Guardian Code” hit the theaters in the U.K. and Ireland and won applause.

“I think it’s action-packed, and it’s got a really good storyline to it,” said Emma Evans, brand licensing manager of the Media Pioneers, the company in charge of the film’s distribution.

From the perspective of Wang Lei, director of Communication University of China’s School of Animation and Digital Arts, Chinese animation is maintaining good momentum and it can become cultural icons that can influence generations of viewers. (Xinhua)