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Asian American Exportation: “Chineseness” and Representation in Sino-US Animated Co-Venture Films

  • Benjamin Ruilin Fong

    Benjamin Ruilin Fong is a PhD Candidate in Comparative Literature with a DE in Critical Theory at UC Davis. He received his BA in East Asian Studies and English from Brandeis and his MSt in English Literature (1550-1700) from Oxford. His research engages with modern “Chinese picture cultures” spanning illustrated fiction, lianhuanhua, and film. His research reconsiders how pictures are adapted, appropriated, and circulated for domestic and Sino-American audiences.

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Published/Copyright: September 4, 2025
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Journal of Chinese Film Studies
From the journal Journal of Chinese Film Studies Volume 5 Issue 2

Abstract

This article finds that a subset of animated films produced in mainland China are interpreted as Chinese, diasporic Chinese, and Asian American films. It explores how Sino-US animated co-venture films are produced in mainland China for domestic and international consumption. This builds upon scholarship on Chinese film and Sino-US co-productions in three ways. First, it explores an emerging strategy that uses co-ventures, defined as mainland registered companies that are oftentimes 51 % mainland owned and 49 % foreign owned, to produce animated films. The Sino-US animated films studied in this article include White Snake (2019), Over the Moon (2020), and Wish Dragon (2021). Each film offers a unique approach that is shaped by narrative, aesthetics, and distribution. Second, I explore the tension between the construction of “Chineseness” by Sino-US co-venture animated films and the “Chineseness” theorized in Asian American Studies. Third, a close reading of these films highlights differing representations of “Chineseness” rooted in Chinese and diasporic Chinese identities. I find that China’s fashioning of “Chineseness” for both domestic and international audiences has coincided with an increase in Asian American representation in Hollywood. By examining Sino-US animated co-venture films, this article studies the evolving dynamics of transborder flows in Chinese cinemas and their impact on representation.

Keywords: Chineseness; Asian American identity; Chinese animated films; Sino-US co-productions; joint venture films
Corresponding author: Benjamin Ruilin Fong, Department of Comparative Literature, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, 95616, USA, E-mail:

About the author

Benjamin Ruilin Fong

Benjamin Ruilin Fong is a PhD Candidate in Comparative Literature with a DE in Critical Theory at UC Davis. He received his BA in East Asian Studies and English from Brandeis and his MSt in English Literature (1550-1700) from Oxford. His research engages with modern “Chinese picture cultures” spanning illustrated fiction, lianhuanhua, and film. His research reconsiders how pictures are adapted, appropriated, and circulated for domestic and Sino-American audiences.

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Received: 2025-02-28
Accepted: 2025-07-31
Published Online: 2025-09-04
Published in Print: 2025-08-26

© 2025 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Research Articles
  3. Realistic Mirror, Public Discourse, and Temporal Markers: Chinese Cinema in 2024
  4. 2024 Analysis Report on Chinese Film Industry Development
  5. Chinese Civilizational Symbols and the Artistic Practice of Chinese Western Films
  6. Chinese Mythology and the Reconstruction of Contemporary Chinese Film Aesthetics
  7. Asian American Exportation: “Chineseness” and Representation in Sino-US Animated Co-Venture Films
  8. Local Culture and National Identity: The Conflict and Convergence of Mandarin Films and Cantonese Films in Nanyang in the 1930s
  9. Desta Kyi and the Question of Collective Emotional Labour: Who Sustains Visibility in Chinese Film Festival
  10. Chinese Dubbed Film Fans and “Iconic Voices”: Bridging Global and Local Identities Through Voice Actors, 1950s–1980s
  11. Film Reviews
  12. Contemporary Reinterpretation of Mythology and National Aesthetics in Cinematic Imagery: A Case Study of Ne Zha 2
  13. New Explorations in War Film Creation: Reflections on The Volunteers: The Battle of Life and Death
  14. Corrigendum
  15. Corrigendum to: 48 articles published in JCFS from Vol. 1, Issue 1 (2021) – Vol. 4, Issue 1 (2024)
https://doi.org/10.1515/jcfs-2025-0010
Keywords for this article
Chineseness; Asian American identity; Chinese animated films; Sino-US co-productions; joint venture films

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Research Articles
  3. Realistic Mirror, Public Discourse, and Temporal Markers: Chinese Cinema in 2024
  4. 2024 Analysis Report on Chinese Film Industry Development
  5. Chinese Civilizational Symbols and the Artistic Practice of Chinese Western Films
  6. Chinese Mythology and the Reconstruction of Contemporary Chinese Film Aesthetics
  7. Asian American Exportation: “Chineseness” and Representation in Sino-US Animated Co-Venture Films
  8. Local Culture and National Identity: The Conflict and Convergence of Mandarin Films and Cantonese Films in Nanyang in the 1930s
  9. Desta Kyi and the Question of Collective Emotional Labour: Who Sustains Visibility in Chinese Film Festival
  10. Chinese Dubbed Film Fans and “Iconic Voices”: Bridging Global and Local Identities Through Voice Actors, 1950s–1980s
  11. Film Reviews
  12. Contemporary Reinterpretation of Mythology and National Aesthetics in Cinematic Imagery: A Case Study of Ne Zha 2
  13. New Explorations in War Film Creation: Reflections on The Volunteers: The Battle of Life and Death
  14. Corrigendum
  15. Corrigendum to: 48 articles published in JCFS from Vol. 1, Issue 1 (2021) – Vol. 4, Issue 1 (2024)
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