A CG-animated feature film LITTLE HAPPY SUBMARINES set the first example in China on how the animation industry can give back to their audiences. This film, co-produced by U.S. and U.K.-based Mike Young Productions and China-based Global Digital Creations Holdings Limited was released in over 260 Digital Cinema Multiplexes across China during the June 1 Children's Day weekend, and received overwhelming box office response.
More than 113,000 admissions were tallied during the three-day opening weekend, with 100 percent of the film's box office proceeds from the weekend donated by GDC towards the effort of rebuilding elementary schools damaged by the recent earthquakes in Sichuan, China.
"There is a huge amount of rebuilding that needs to happen in these damaged areas," explains Catherine Xu, Deputy Managing Director at GDC. "We felt it was appropriate for us to apply the gains from this children's film to help benefit kids in dire needs, like rebuilding their schools. With our employees' donations and our opening weekend box office proceeds, we have raised enough money to rebuild one or two elementary schools in the earthquake devastated Sichuan region of China. This will be one of our continuing efforts to give back to our audiences."
"The scale of the disaster in China and the effect on many young children's lives is hard to comprehend," said Mike Young, Co-founder and Partner at MYP. "We experienced the terrible Northridge earthquake in California in 1994 and it is difficult to grasp that the Chinese quake was more than ten times greater. We're just happy to be a part of the relief effort and doubly thrilled that our 'little submarine that could,' Olly, created by Liverpool's Andrew and Ian Ross in Wales, could bring some good to kids in China at this difficult time."
The film is inspired by the kids' property DIVE OLLY DIVE! which follows the fun-filled underwater escapades of Olly and Beth, two young research submarines-in-training. The two live in a deep-sea research center known as SURF (Special Underwater Research Facility), where they experience the joys and challenges of life in their underwater world, much in the same way that children experience life in their world.
Created using the latest advances in 3-D CG animation, the film features an incredibly lifelike underwater world, along with storylines that educate children on the delicate nature of the ecosystems that exist beneath the oceans.
LITTLE HAPPY SUBMARINES and DIVE OLLY DIVE! are a co-production of MYP, GDC, Flying Bark Productions of Australia, KI.KA, ARD of Germany and Telegael of Ireland. It is also produced with the support of the MEDIA Plus Programme of the European Community.
