Shanghai Animation Film Studio
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Shanghai Animation Film Studio (Chinese: 上海美術電影製片廠) is the animation division of the Shanghai Film Group Corporation in Shanghai, China. It is responsible for the production of Chinese animations.
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[edit] History
On October 1, 1946 a northeast motion picture studio was established in the Nenjiang province (龙江省兴山), known today as the Heilongjiang province. It is the first known studio established by a communist party. In 1948 the Northeast studio would change name to "Shanghai picture studio group". On October 1, 1949, China would enter a new communist era led by Mao Zedong. In February 1950 the northeast group would combine with other divisions to become the predecessor of the early stages of the studio. The Wan brothers, Central Academy of Fine Arts, the Art Institute of Suzhou and many other big name artists would all be concentrated in this studio for the first time[1].
In April 1957 the central government would begin sponsoring the studio making it the nation's first and official animation factory. In 1961 and 1964 the Wan brothers would receive the most recognition for their film Havoc in Heaven[2]. China would be at the height of the animation golden era, becoming well respected internationally.
In 1965 the studio was closed by a government declaration under Mao Zedong's order. This was part of the Cultural Revolution that affected China for several years. The studio's staff was sent to serve on collective farms as laborers. During these years almost no animation was allowed to be shown anywhere. By the reform period in 1978 the studio was running again.
In 1992 one of the first western company to come in contact with the studio is "Prrfect Animation" in San Francisco, US. They attempted to bring efficiency, dependability and quality control into the program.[3]
[edit] Present
Since then, the studio has been a key component in revitalizing the nation's animation industry. In 2001 it became part of the Shanghai Film Group Corporation.
