Eight Immortals wins Best Animated Feature of the Year award

The film Eight Immortals won the Best Animated Feature of the Year award at the fifth edition of the China Film Art Direction Society awards. The announcement was made on October 25, and the prize was accepted by Wang Guoping, vice president of Oriental DreamWorks and visual effects supervisor for the film.

The movie directed and written by Mou Zhengyang takes the classic myth of the Eight Immortals and reimagines it with a guofeng aesthetic, a visual style rooted in traditional Chinese art. The story follows eight ordinary people who end up becoming heroes, with comedy, action, and a message of loyalty and mutual support.

The numbers back the award. At the Chinese box office it surpassed 2 billion yuan, and audience ratings are high: 9.7 on Maoyan, 9.6 on Taopiaopiao, and 8.2 on Douban. It is not common for a Chinese animated film to achieve that balance between critical reception and box office revenue.

Recognition for visual effects work

During the ceremony, Wang Guoping took part in an academic dialogue where he explained the film's visual creation process. In his words, the team worked with the idea of rebuilding the story of the Eight Immortals using a modern audiovisual language, making sure the Eastern aesthetic was reflected in every frame.

The award also comes as a boost for Oriental DreamWorks, which has been betting on adapting local myths to animated cinema for some time. Wang Guoping said they will continue exploring traditional Chinese culture to create more works with that visual signature.

The film also went beyond the Chinese market. The news confirms it was released abroad, though it does not specify in which countries or with what distribution. That said, the stated intention is clear: to bring stories rooted in Chinese mythology to audiences in other regions.

With this award, Eight Immortals closes out a strong run. We will have to see if Oriental DreamWorks soon announces its next animation project based on traditional legends.