Good stories can always find their audience, former Walt Disney Company CEO Robert Iger said in a recent interview with the China Media Group, as the animated franchise "Toy Story 5" continues to draw audiences in China.
In the interview with China Media Group, Iger noted that China's film industry has made steady progress over the years, with storytelling quality on the rise.
Stories that emphasize the values of friendship and family, he said, can easily emerge from China and resonate with audiences around the world.
"So I think I've watched over time the Chinese movie industry evolve and improve in terms of its ability to tell higher-quality stories. Stories that emphasize the value of friendship and the value of family would easily come from China and resonate in different parts of the world," he said.
This same philosophy, he said, guides Disney's own productions.
"We tell stories for everyone. Whenever we make a film, whether it's 'Toy Story 5', I've seen adults watch that movie and they all relate to it in some form. Performance, special effects, and even how a director directs a film are all secondary to whether the story itself has to resonate," said Iger.
During the promotional campaign for "Toy Story 5," Pixar Animation Studios, in collaboration with Shanghai Animation Film Studio, produced a Chinese-style short film titled "Zhuazhou" (The One-Year-Old Catch), based on the traditional Chinese ritual of predicting a child's future by what they pick from a set of objects. The short film uses this cultural touchstone to tell the story of an ordinary person's lifelong bond with Buzz Lightyear, bringing the franchise closer to Chinese audiences.
"We would welcome the opportunity to work with talent here in China, whether they're writers, directors, or certainly performers. If you look at the number of movie screens that have been constructed here over the last 10 to 15 years, it has exploded in terms of possibilities. Being successful in what is really the biggest movie market in the world, China, is very, very important," said Iger.
Good stories can always find their audience: Former Disney CEO
