Poster for Hello Babies Photo: CFP

With more than 30 domestic and imported films being scheduled for release in the first month of 2014, this coming January is destined to be one movie feast that will rival the grandness of the Chinese lunar new year dinner.

New year laughter 

Chinese viewers crave to see films with happiness and laughter entwined within their story lines, and to meet with this demand, several comedy films have already put themselves onto the screen schedule of theaters across the nation.

Released on January 1 is the romantic comedy Forever Love, which recounts the stories of three couples and how they differently deal with their love lives in the city. Starring a collection of new actors and directed by two newcomers, its critical reception has not been looking good.

Yet, the choosing of a good time to release the movie may bring it extra attention. With minimal investment, there are still supporters of the film, who hope that it can still surprise audiences with a good performance like the 2011 film Love is not Blind.

Hello Babies, directed by Vincent Kok, is a very typical Hong Kong-style new year comedy, which has a family-orientated story and comic actors Wong Bak-Ming, Eric Tsang, Sandra Ng and Ronald Cheng. 

One thing that is special about this comedy is that it does not only focus on love and family relationships, it also touches on the topic of birth, which has been regarded as one of the most important issues for Chinese families for thousands of years.

In a promotional video clip for the film, director Kok explained that the idea came from the year of dragon (last in 2012), when many couples wish to start conceiving during the previous year so that their child can have the honor of having the dragon as their zodiac sign.

Another family oriented film for January is Dad, Where Are We Going?, a film version of Hunan satellite TV's variety show of the same name.

Aired since October of this year, this imported variety show originally from South Korea quickly became one of the most popular shows at the end of 2013, as it reminds people of the happy times spent with their families.

Last Friday, when the show came to the end of its first season, many fans felt sad to say goodbye.

But there have been diversified opinions on the release of this film version: While some are excited to see the five celebrity families reunite and cannot wait to spend another happy moment with families in the theater, some doubted whether it is appropriate to make money from fans by borrowing the popularity of the TV show.

Poster for Xiong Chu Mo Photo: CFP

Doing it for the kids

Besides comedies for adults, this January also see a large amount of animation releases aimed at children, who are to have their hanjia, or winter holiday.

To name a few, Despicable Me 2, Meet the Pegasus, I Am a Wolf, Saving Santa and Ikkyû san, are only some of them.   

Though Despicable Me did not have the chance to be screened in the Chinese mainland, audience here won't miss Despicable Me 2 this time around, which has the same directorial duo of Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud.

Following the story of the previous film, when Gru, a former criminal mastermind, finally decides to do right and live a peaceful life with his three adopted daughters, is recruited by the Anti-Villain League. The stealing of a secret laboratory made the league look for an "insider" for their investigation.

Saving Santa is another imported animation that tells the story of a lowly stable elf, who after stirring up continuous trouble, discovers that he is the only one who can stop the scheme of the impending invasion of the North Pole and save Santa Claus.

Though Christmas has already passed, the film's release date in the Chinese mainland is on January 25. With a voice cast lead by Martin Freeman (The Hobbit) and Ashley Tisdale (High School Musical), the animation will still have an appeal for both kids and adults.

Ever since the Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf TV series franchise caused a stir in the domestic animation circle six years ago, each new year will see a new film that features a traditional Chinese zodiac sign being released. There are no exceptions this year, as the latest film, titled Meet the Pegasus, includes two horse characters - a horse prince and a horse princess, leaving the new adventures of the goats and wolves a possibility in the near future.

Set for release on January 18 is another Chinese animation named Xiong Chu Mo, or "watch out for the bear." Like the Pleasant Goat series, Xiong Chu Mo is a derivative of a popular TV animation that has aired on China Central Television since 2012, and has since become a firm favorite of young audiences and their families.

Featuring the two bear figures, Xiong Da and Xiong Er, Xiong Chu Mo tells the story of how the two bears protect their forest against the human logger Guangtou Qiang (Qiang, the bareheaded man). In the film version, the old enemies may have to unite for … let's wait and see.

For most people born in the 1980s, the stories of Ikkyû, a child monk character from a Japanese TV animation, have been a fond childhood memory. Now celebrating its 30th anniversary, it brings a film for all of the die-hard Ikkyû fans to enjoy. 

Compared to imported animations, most of the domestic-made animations are sequels of already popular animated TV series, which may benefit from the fame achieved by previous works, but loses the feeling of freshness and originality.

Poster for Ender's Game Photo: CFP

Bring on the popcorn

Animations are not the only imported films released this coming January, as the month also sees a certain number of action, adventure and horror flicks from the US and Russia.

Adapted from the The Mortal Instruments series of books penned by young adult fiction writer Cassandra Clare, Harald Zwart's The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones tells the story of a teenage girl named Clary Fray (played by Lily Collins) and takes place in contemporary urban New York.

One day, as Fray discovers her secret identity - as a descendant of half-angel warriors named Shadowhunters, she is destined to join the group and protect the human world from the Downworld, which is the home of demons, vampires and other evil creatures. 

Ender's Game, another sci-fi action movie that is based on a best-selling novel of the same name and written by Orson Scott Card.

Containing a similar world-saving theme, the director, Gavin Hood, may have added extra points to an old-fashioned topic.

The South African filmmaker and producer was awarded an Oscar for the best foreign language film with Tsotsi (2005) at the 78th Academy Awards in 2006, and his later works, Rendition (2007) and X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) did not let audiences down.

As the only Russian film, Metro tells a disaster story that is mixed with emotion and dilemmas: Due to construction problems, water leaks into a subway tunnel in Moscow, which later leads to a flood. Facing the disaster, a doctor has to not only face his duty of saving lives, but also the inner struggle of whether to save his wife's lover.