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.