山寨卡通 (shanzhai katong): Copycat cartoon

A recently released domestic animated movie The Autobots has provoked controversy as it has been accused of copying the Disney animation Cars.

Netizens say that the Chinese name of the cartoon film is similar to the Chinese name of Disney's movie. And from the poster it is clear that the major characters of the two movies are both red cars. Many netizens criticized the movie fiercely, and one of them said "even a blind person could tell The Autobots feels like a copy of Cars."

The Chinese production company has responded by saying their new film is independently produced and has nothing to do with the Disney movie. The director of the Chinese movie also denied copying the Disney film during a recent media interview, saying The Autobots had a totally different story and it only "learned from" the Disney movie.

The Autobots' "copycat scandal" has provoked public discussion about the importance of intellectual property protection. To develop the domestic cartoon industry, professionals should be more creative and innovative in the creation of scripts and characters, rather than copying or "learning from" foreign works.