When Daisy Shang first came to Cannes in 2008, the Chinese animation industry was still really just starting to find its feet, and billion-dollar franchises must have seemed like a dream.

China's "Ne Zha 2" has dominated the first quarter of 2025 at the global box office ... but there were plenty of clues that a box office boom for Chinese animation was in the cards. Before "Ne Zha," ...