Once the cradle of China's animation industry, Shanghai is witnessing a revival of its golden era of cartooning. Local and foreign studios have scores of projects in the pipeline including a new, 3D-version of the 1960's classic "The Monkey King" set for release in early 2012.

For Chen Zhihong and Su Da it's time to review their work over the last two years.

As leading filmmakers at China's longest running animation studio, they were assigned with a challenging task: to bring alive one of the country's greatest cartoon classics using the latest 3D technology.

For the revamp, the format is enlarged to fit modern panoramic screens, which requires filling up empty edges with new drawings.

Su Da, 3D version dir. of The Monkey King, said, "Development has always been accompanied by technology improvements. And after the public has seen so many Western movies, the aesthetic references have also changed. We need to make the movie fit the taste of today's audience."

"The Monkey King: Uproar in Heaven", the so-called founding father of China's animation industry, was released for the first time in 1961.

The revamped soundtrack, a new theme song and the upgraded credit titles have been part of the work to adapt the classic to the tastes of the 21st century.

The 3D version of "Uproar in Heaven" which will hit cinemas in January, is part of the effort of the state owned Shanghai Animation Film Studios to face competition and adapt to the market.

DreamWorks Animation, the Los Angeles-based company behind Kung Fu Panda, Madagascar and Shrek and their numerous sequels, could soon start creating products for the Chinese market if talks succeed to set up a production venture in Shanghai.

Facing the challenge, some private Chinese studios have begun exploiting markets abroad.

Shanghai Cartoon, like many others, is already on the way. Creations such as Momo Island, Happy Xing Xing and The Bund, a 3D series released last year, have gained not only good reviews, but also several awards.

Hairy Scary is a popular comedy series in Europe geared for kids under ten. But many ignore the fact that behind the French directors, the fantastic adventures of Willow and Constance are drawn and engineered in China.

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