The Walt Disney Company has taken three Chinese firms to court over concerns regarding local animation in "The Autobots" which allegedly copied elements from Disney's own hit movie "Cars".

A court in Shanghai held a hearing for "copyright infringement" and "unfair competition" raised by Disney against "The Autobots", according to a notice on the Shanghai Pudong New Area People's Court website.

“The Autobots” drew attention from netizens in China when it was released in 2015, with some pointing out similarities with Disney’s 2006 film “Cars” starring Owen Wilson and its sequel in 2011.

Zuo Jianlong, Director of "The Autobots" for production company Blue MTV, said in an interview on Wednesday he was "relaxed" about a potential ruling. “Lots of people online have talked about plagiarism, but it seems from the legal side that the matter is quite clear at root and that there is no plagiaristic behavior”.

"If you put the two films side-by-side to compare them, then you will know they are completely different," he added.

The Chinese film is about animated racing cars including main heroes K1 and K2, while Disney's offering follows the story of legendary racing car Lightning McQueen.

The three Chinese firms involved in the suit are the production companies Blue MTV, media company Beijing G-Point, and the online content platform PPLive Inc.