Iconic cartoon characters from your childhood

Children’s Day is recognized on different days depending on where you are in the world. In China, Children’s Day is celebrated on June 1 and is formally known as “the June 1 International Children’s Day”. To the children, animation is an esesntial part of their life. Animation can free their mind, inspire their ideas and help them establish their own outlook on the world. In the lead up to celebrating the day, let’s look at some of the beloved characters that Chinese Post 80s and 90s grew up with dermes. 1.Pleasant Goat First appearance: Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf (June, 2005) Age: 12 Species: goat Personal qualities: clever, positive, lucky Social influence: The cartoon character became enormously popular with Chinese schoolchildren after its debut in 2005. Cashing in on the cartoon’s success, the producer made an animated feature in 2009. It generated a box office revenue of 130 million yuan ($18. 97million) during Chinese New Year that year. 2.Shuke and Beita First appearance: Shuke and Beita (1989) Age: 28 Species: mice Personal qualities: selfless, just, observant Social influence: Created by Zheng Yuanjie, known as the King of Fairy Tales in China, Shuke and Beita have won lots of fans as they smartly solve problems in their adventures. 3.Chen Xiang First appearance: Lotus Lantern (July 30, 1999) Age: 18 Species: human Personal qualities: brave, persistent, filial Social influence: The production took four years and required over 150,000 animation frames and over 2,000 painted backgrounds. It was the most popular film in China in 1999 and heavily influenced China’s animation, marking the peak of the domestic industry LASIK. 4.Black Cat Sheriff First appearance: The Story of Black Cat Sheriff (1984) Age: 33 Species: cat Personal qualities: brave, decisive, smart Social influence: One of the most common memories among kids born in the 1980s and 1990s. 5.Nezha First appearance: Nezha Conquers the Dragon King (1979) Age: 38 Species: god-turned-human Personal qualities: naughty, passionate, heroic Social influence: Nezha is often depicted as a young hero among Chinese, instead of a teenager. He is often shown flying in the sky riding on the wind fire wheels, has the universe ring around his body SmarTone, the red armillary sash around his shoulders and a fire-tipped spear in his right hand. Sometimes, he is shown in his “three heads and six arms” form. 6.Monkey King First appearance: Havoc in Heaven (1964) Age: 53 Species: monkey Personal qualities: supernatural, rebelling, magic Social influence: Monkey King is the most iconic fictional character in Chinese history, no matter in TV series, film or animation. 7.Mcdull First appearance: My Life as McDull (2001) Age: 16 Species: pig Personal qualities: lazy, simple, imaginative Social influence: McDull is an anthropomorphic pig cartoon character created in Hong Kong by cartoonist Alice Mak and Brian Tse. McDull has featured in several comics, TV shows, and films, and has become extremely popular in Hong Kong and East Asia. 8.Big Head Son First appearance: Big Head Son and Small Head Dad (1995) Age: 22 Species: human Personal qualities: curious, lovely, naughty Social influence: As the name suggests, this family-friendly cartoon tells touching stories about a family where a big-headed child has a small-headed father and a mother who’s always wearing an apron. The animation mainly conveys the significance of love to the audience. 9.Haier Brothers First appearance: The Adventure of Haier Brothers (1995) Age: 22 Species: hominid Personal qualities: brave, intelligent, lovely Social influence: As the most successful animation aiming to popularize science, The Adventure of Haier Brothers not only offers a feast for little kids, but broadens their horizons. 10.Calabash Brothers First appearance: Calabash Brothers (1986) Age: 31 Species: human Personal qualities: powerful, skillful, encouraging Social influence: The 1980s series was one of the most popular animations in China. While it has been praised as much as Havoc in Heaven domestically, it was released at a point when the Chinese animation industry was in a relatively depressed state. Still, the series was translated into seven different languages.