Hulu Xiongdi (Movie)

Hulu Xiongdi, or Calabash Brothers, was produced by the Shanghai Animation Film Studio and released in 1986 as a thirteen-episode series, later re-edited into a feature film format. It emerged during a creative renaissance in Chinese animation, drawing heavily on the traditional paper-cut puppet style—a technique that required animators to manually manipulate jointed paper figures against intricate backgrounds. This labor-intensive approach gave the film a distinct, rhythmic visual language that stood apart from the cel-animation styles dominating global markets at the time.

The narrative follows seven brothers, each endowed with a unique supernatural ability, born from magical gourds to defeat mountain spirits. The character designs were led by animator Hu Jinqing, who sought to blend folk-tale aesthetics with accessible morality plays for a young audience. Upon its release, the film became a cultural touchstone in China, celebrated for its technical ingenuity and its role in defining the golden age of the Shanghai Animation Film Studio.