Shanghai Hippo Animation Co., Ltd. () is the largest computer animation film studio in China.Screen Producers Australia Profile: Kerr Xu , 2013 Founded in Shanghai in 2003, Hippo Animation specializes in the creation of original content, as well as software development and the development of CG animation technologies.Parinama Foundation , official website The company has also built a nationwide distribution infrastructure. The studio's first animated feature film, Animen, was released in China in 2010, and internationally in 2011.IMDb Animen Since this release, the studio has released four animated films in theaters across China and internationally.

History Kerr Xu founded Hippo Animation in 2003 with five people and ¥35,000.Screen Producers Australia Profile: Kerr Xu , 2013 The company was issued a Certificate of Video Production by the People's Republic of China State Administration of Radio, Film and Television,"Boxin Capital Investments" and is supported by the Shanghai government.Shanghai Aims to Support Animation, China Screen News, 07/27/2012

As of October 2014, the studio's growing workforce is approaching 1,000 employees,Kim Macdonald Asian Hollywood in Bunbury, The West Australian Newspaper, 10/29/2014 and the studio has the capacity to produce 4-5 films annually.Screen Producers Australia Profile: Kerr Xu , 2013

Xu also is the founder and CEO of Hippo's parent company, SJS Computer Science and Technology, a solutions and tool development company for CG film making. SJS's proprietary patents and plug-ins for commercial CGI platforms, including Autodesk Maya and Nuke, are used in-house at Hippo. Animators at Hippo are able to complete 6–7 seconds of quality facial animation per day, versus the industry standard of 1–2 seconds per day.Screen Producers Australia Profile: Kerr Xu , 2013

In 2013, Hippo struck feature film co-production deals with two Australian companies, announcing that almost $90 million worth of animated films will be produced in Western Australia as part of the deal,Jillian McHugh, WA Strikes $90 Million Deal with China's New Walt Disney, Sydney Morning Herald, 12/12/2013 including plans to launch a $50 million China-Australia co-production film fund.Patrick Frater, China’s Hippo Munches up Pair of Australian Animation Deals, Variety, 12/12/2013 One of the partnerships saw Australia's VUE Group, including VFX supervisor Gyuri Kiss (Matrix Reloaded, Watchmen),IMDb Gyuri Kiss collaborate on Farmhouse II and Kung Fu Style.Don Groves Oz VFX House Readies 3D Chinese Animated Features, Inside Film, 08/19/2014]Don Groves, Wide Release for Chinese-Australian Animated Co-pro,Inside Film, 05/30/2014 In 2014, Xu announced plans to build the Asian Hollywood, complete with a training facility for Chinese students, in Western Australia.Kim Macdonald Asian Hollywood in Bunbury, The West Australian Newspaper, 10/29/2014

Hippo has also licensed its content to Netflix, the first deal of its kind between Netflix and a Chinese studio.Netflix Buys Chinese Sci-fi Cartoon's Online Copyright, China Daily, 01/11/2013

Key personnel Kerr Xu,IMDb Kerr Xu founder, CEO, and General Manager. Xu is the son of top aerospace engineers in China. After gaining extensive experience in the business management, investment, and entrepreneurial sectors in the US, where he founded successful startup companies in industries ranging from medical equipment to IT, Xu returned to China, where he became the investment controller for the Fosun International prior to starting Hippo.Screen Producers Australia Profile: Kerr Xu , 2013 Xu has been referred to as the Walt Disney of China.Jillian McHugh, WA Strikes $90 Million Deal with China's New Walt Disney, Sydney Morning Herald, 12/12/2013 Yang Wen Yan,News Release, VUE Group, 2014 Company President, appointed May, 2014. Yang is the former president of Toonmax Media, a part of Shanghai Media Group, and broadcaster to 60 million children across China. She is also a venture capital investor in film and TV, with expertise in movie merchandising and distribution.

Filmography

Film Year Format Territories Animen 2010 2D & 3D China, USA, Russia, Turkey, Thailand Animen 2 2012 2D & 3D China Jungle Master 2013 2D & 3D China, USA, South Korea Farm House 2013 2D & 3D China, USA Farm House II 2014 2D & 3D China, Australia, ongoing international release Kung Fu Style 2015 2D & 3D China, Australia, ongoing international release Water Planet 2016 2D & 3D In production for worldwide release

Gaming and interactive cinema In 2013, Hippo was invited by the Publicity Ministry of the Shanghai Municipal Committee to attend the 9th China (Shenzhen) International Cultural Industry Fair, and exhibit its simulation game system, intelligent cinema experience, and interactive movie technologies.9th China (Shenzhen) International Cultural Industry Fair These technologies were also exhibited at the Second Shanghai Pudong Cultural Creative Industry Exhibition.

Community engagement In partnership with the Parinama Cultural Development Foundation, a non-profit organization based in Shanghai, Hippo has organized free screenings of 3D films across hundreds of schools, villages, orphanages, and remote areas throughout China. Over the past two years, approximately 40,000 children have had their first 3D film experience.Hippo 3D Show , Parinama Foundation

Awards Kerr Xu has been honored by the national government of China with two of the highest official awards China bestows upon citizens for their contributions and achievements, being named as one of the “Top One Thousand Talents in China” and one of the “Top One Hundred Talented Entrepreneurs of Shanghai.”Screen Producers Australia Profile: Kerr Xu , 2013 MOCA honorable mention in the 5th Chinese Original Mobile Phone Animation Game competition (2011). AniMen - Silver Award at the 2012 Xingyun Awards. This is the only international prize for Chinese-language sci-fi writers and movie makers.Netflix Buys Chinese Sci-fi Cartoon's Online Copyright, China Daily, 01/11/2013 Jungle Master - Silver Golden Dolphins award at the 2013 Xiamen International Animation Festival.2013 Xiamen International Animation Festival hands out Gold Dolphin Awards , Xiamen Municipal Government, 2013

References

External links Shanghai Hippo Animation, Official website