Promotional materials for Me and My Winter Games Photo: Courtesy of Douban

'Me and My Winter Games' carries on the Olympic spirit through creativity

Me and My Winter Games is a Chinese animated film featuring a sports theme that had never been seen in Chinese animation - the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. 

Taking inspiration from the 2022 Winter Olympic Games that were held in Beijing in February, the animated film features the Games' two highly popular mascots - Bing Dwen Dwen and Shuey Rhon Rhon as the leading "actors."

The film depicts across four chapters the wonderful journey the two had when attending the opening ceremony at the Olympic Village. Along their journey, they happen to meet some other friends such as the Monkey King and the clever boy Hu Tutu and celebrate the Beijing Games together. 

The clever film incorporated 50 beloved Chinese animated characters such as the Calabash Brothers, Havoc In Heaven's Monkey King and Hu Tutu from the 2004 educational animated series Big Ear Tutu.  

Zhong Ming, one of the animation's directors, said that the film's aim was to inherit the Olympic spirit shown at the Games.

"I felt apprehensive but excited when the project began since I knew this film was not only a movie for domestic audiences, but also a window exhibiting the spirit of Chinese sports and promoting Chinese culture to the world," Zhong said. 

The production crews for the various chapters explored the city of Beijing and thoroughly researched the history of the Olympic Games and interviewed sports insiders to find story inspiration for the film. The film's four chapters feature animation styles ranging from traditional 2D to CG animation and stop-motion animation. 

As a creative gift to the dual Olympic city of Beijing, the entire 200-person crew spent seven months to bring the production to the big screen. 

"I thought about watching this because my kids would like it, but it turned out to be exciting for adults too. I saw a lot of animated characters from my generation and it made me realize just how quickly Chinese animation is developing," wrote one netizen in a review on Chinese media review platform Douban. 


Global Times