Wan Laiming(1900-1997)
- Director
- Animation Department
- Producer
Wan Lai-Ming and his brothers Wan Gu-Chan, Wan Chao-Chen and Wan
Di-Huan are the pioneers of the animation film industry in China. The
first short animation film of China was Wan brothers' "Uproard in the
Art Studio" (1928). Lai-Min, Gu-Chan and Chao-Chen are also responsible
of the first talkie animation short film in China, "The Camel's Dance"
(1935), and of the first animation long film in China, "Tieshan
Gongzhu" ("Princess Iron Fan", 1941), which is the Part I of the novel
"Journey to the West", the legend of the Monkey King Sun Wu-Kong/Son
Goku. But the most colossal film of Wan Lai-Ming was "Da no tien gu"
("Uproar in Heaven", 1961-65), released in two parts and co-directed
with Tang Cheng. It was the first animation film in color made in
China, and it's a remake of "Princess Iron Fan". This was his second
and last long feature film. Lai-Ming did a last short film with Yan
Ding-Xian in 1965, "The Shanghai Youth Revolutionizes the
Dance".
