The Lost Magic of the Shanghai Art Studios

A film by Marie-Claire Quiquemelle and Julien Gaurichon

At the end of the 1950’s, the Shanghai Art Studios were among the most important in the world. They employed 500 workers and were acclaimed all over China. In "The Lost Magic of the Shanghai Art Studios," numerous beautiful film extracts, paintings and drawings illustrate that the Shanghai Studio’s creativity was comparable to the work of the Disney Studio, but reflected a more delicate sensibility. The studio chief, Wang Laiming, had begun working on a full-length animation, "The Monkey King," which was to become the masterpiece of Asian animation. A labor of love, it was finally completed after ten years, in 1965. But that was at the dawn of the Cultural Revolution. Wang Laiming and the film's director, Te Weï, were arrested by the Red Guards, along with many other designers, and imprisoned.

The studio fell silent for ten years, its films forgotten. Only a few propaganda films hailing President Mao were produced. In the mid-1980’s, the studio attempted to bring itself back to life and regain its former glory but the whole animation business had changed. Much of the work is now handled by computers and the business has had to adapt to the size needed for the television screen. In the film, many of Wang Laiming’s collaborators and Te Wei, now 88 years old, recall the golden age of the studio as well as the hard times they experienced during the Cultural Revolution. This film is a testimony to the former glory of the studio's achievement. A unique, important film for students of Chinese culture, film studies and animation.

56 min. Video or DVD. Sale $350. Video rental $85.