In Shanghai, filmmakers and animators discuss how to build stories that cross borders

Chinese animator Yu Shui, Indian producer and animator Gitanjali Rao, and Will Becher of Aardman met in Shanghai to discuss the practical craft behind cross-cultural storytelling and the international reach of animated films, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The conversation took place against the backdrop of heightened attention on China’s animation industry, where recent commercially successful titles have drawn overseas interest, The Hollywood Reporter reported. Within that environment, the panelists focused on what producers learn when they try to make films that local audiences connect with while still playing clearly to viewers abroad.

Yu Shui’s remarks centered on how visual language and character design can carry cultural specificity without becoming opaque to outside audiences. He also addressed the production reality that animation is built in teams and pipelines, meaning decisions about story structure, pacing and imagery often require early alignment when a project expects international distribution.

Gitanjali Rao’s comments, as described by The Hollywood Reporter, highlighted the challenges of translating humor, emotional beats and everyday cultural references. In her view, the work requires more than subtitles or dubbing, because the audience reading of a scene can change depending on context, genre expectations and viewing norms across countries.

Becher of Aardman, one of the best-known British animation studios, discussed how the studio balances a distinctive look with storytelling choices meant to remain accessible to audiences outside the United Kingdom. The Hollywood Reporter reported that he and the other panelists compared notes on how teams test and refine material so it lands beyond its home market.

Across the discussion, the speakers also returned to the question of who gets to see a story and where. With animation increasingly international in financing and distribution, they described cross-border collaboration as an ongoing process that can involve creative development, language adaptation and expectations from distributors and platforms.

The event also underscored a wider cultural-business shift in which animation is treated less like a purely local product and more like a global format with variable audience norms. For filmmakers and studios, the practical takeaway is that early creative decisions can affect later costs and timelines, including the amount of revision needed for release in multiple markets.

No immediate announcements about new projects or specific release dates were reported in the account, but the exchange mapped the areas creators say they must get right if they want animated features to travel successfully across language and culture.