1In October 2025, a homemade, animated film made its debut
debut
(n.)
🔊
If it is a debut of something, it is the first formal public viewing of something.
on Hong Kong’s silver screen, taking the city by storm and becoming one of the highest grossing homemade films in 2025.
2Another World is a fantasy animated film directed by Tommy Ng. Originally made as only a 14-minute short film, it had been remade into a 111-minute full-length animated film after winning Best Animated Feature in the Taipei Golden Horse Reward and receiving funding from animation foundations and investors worldwide.
3Hong Kong’s animation industry has mostly been relatively undeveloped apart from some old works like McDull in the 2000s despite the popularity of Japanese anime. Another World’s success proves that there's market demand for animation, but what of the longevity that defines the legacy of a production?
4IP (Intellectual Property) in on itself is a complex issue, especially within the animation industry despite its essential nature to the business. Simply put, IP in animation comes in three main types. Other than copyrighting and patenting to prevent copycats, trademarking also allows productions to shape themselves into a brand, and with branding comes opportunities for development, marketing and expansion.
5Taking a look at Mainland China’s animation industry, there are cases where animated films or series have successfully capitalized on their success and fashioned itself into an IP-brand to extend the life of the production beyond its initial release, such as Ne Zha. These films pivoted from not merely being a standalone animated production, but into a series of commercial products developed with the original animated works in mind. Not only can this extend the relevance of the animated work through retaining audience interest but also allow more time for the brand to further develop overtime or even collaborate with other IPs.
6This strategy is especially effective on the younger generation as they are more likely to value the emotional value behind each product over its literal value. They are more likely to fork over money to buy merchandise related to the IP. This can be seen in the thriving fan merch industry in other similar brands too, especially that of in Japan. Developing Hong Kong’s own animated IP can therefore bring economic benefits such as attract more customers to spend money on products to do with the IP, or participants to exhibitions the IP may participate in, like Hong Kong Comic Con in May 2026.
7By developing animations and IP in tandem, brands can stay relevant continuously in the rapidly changing times.