Beijing and Richmond-based Canada Film and Television Media Group (CCGM) and Vancouver’s Movie Plus Canada have inked a long-term coproduction agreement that will see the finance and production of three theatrical releases each year.

The first project to go into production as part of the new agreement is 3D animated feature The Monkey King, based on the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West. The $25 million production is being directed by the Zondag brothers, Ralph and Dick (Kung Fu Panda, Reboot, Chicken Little) of Movie Plus Canada and coproduced by Guangzhou, China-based ECPG Studio.

With production set to begin this fall, Ralph Zondag said the film would be completed in approximately two years. Principal storyboarding and key lighting setups will all be handled by Movie Plus and then animation work will be done in ECPG’s animation facilities. A team of artists are already working on the project in the Chinese facilities, and by late fall the Canadian team will have joined up with a team of between 40 and 50 artists to commence full production of the film.

The coproduction deal aims to provide opportunities to both Canadian and Chinese crews, with the goal of telling Chinese stories for a global market. “Our intent is not to change the story [of The Monkey King], but to refocus and reframe it in a western style of storytelling,” said Brough in a statement.

CCGM’s president Xiao Min Zhang will serve as executive producer on the The Monkey King alongside Brough and Ralph Zondag. 

With more than 100 follow-up stories in the original Chinese tale of The Monkey King, Zondag added that there is the chance the project may become the first in a series of films.