Poster of the Chinese animated film Legend of a Rabbit (MTIME.COM)

When China-themed Hollywood blockbuster Kung Fu Panda swept Chinese box offices, many people wondered when Chinese filmmakers would produce an animated film of equal calibre. That day may not be far off: a homegrown kungfu rabbit is coming to cinemas.

The film is called Legend of a Rabbit (Tu Xia Chuan Qi), and it's due to hit Chinese cinemas on July 11.

With a budget of 120 million yuan ($18.53 million), this 3-D kungfu animated film was created by a team of 500 animators over more than three years.

It tells a tale about a humble farmhouse rabbit cook who takes on a ruthless panda in order to keep a promise to a dying kungfu master.

The film was directed by Sun Lijun, who is also the dean of the Animation College of the Beijing Film Academy. Comedic stars Fan Wei and Yan Ni lead the dubbing cast.

To create natural and vivid animated effects, the film invited leading taichi master Jing Jianjun to choreograph the film's fight scenes.

(CRIENGLISH.com June 28, 2011)