Chinese studio debuts ‘P.King Ducking’ character on Disney Junior in US

(Poster of P.King Duckling. Photo/Courtesy of Uyoung Media)

It seems the time has finally come for Chinese-made cartoons, with Disney Junior recently picking one up for several territories including the U.S. When the new cartoon debuted, it became the first Chinese animation ever to air on U.S. channels.

The cartoon, titled P.King Duckling, targets audiences aged between 4 and 7. P.King Duckling is produced by Beijing-based UYoung Media and U.S. studio Little Airplane. It began to air on some channels on Nov. 7, and is expected to air in China in 2017.

The cartoon features a duck, P.King, and his friends – a pig named Chumpkins and a wombat named Wombat – who live in a suburban town called Hilly Hole and have adventures all over the world.

(Photo/Courtesy of Uyoung Media)

“We first agreed to create a preschool cartoon for children across the globe to enjoy. With this in mind, we decided to use animals as the main characters, but with human personalities so that the cartoon would support children’s development,” said Gu Chen, general manager of UYoung Animation, to People’s Daily Online.

Gu, together with Josh Selig from Little Airplane, also acts as the showrunner of P.King Duckling, while the cartoon is directed by Fan Bo, the creative director of UYoung Animation. Inspiration struck the creative group during dinner at a restaurant in Beijing, when roast duck was brought to the table.

“Josh suddenly said, what about a duck? It was like, at that moment, everyone’s inspirations were awakened … and P.King Duckling was discovered, by us, on that particular evening of Oct. 22, 2013,” Gu said.

(A manuscript of P.King Duckling. Photo/Courtesy of Uyoung Media)

According to Gu, the show tries to encourage children to be brave, think big and be themselves, which, in his eyes, is critically important for children from all countries.

“We hope to plant a seed in their childhoods to encourage them to be brave and speak up for themselves, to practice what they believe and stick to their own judgments. I think Disney Junior chose us because of the value in our stories,” Gu speculated. “Of course, P.King Duckling is also funny enough as a comedy.”

While small children between 4 and 7 share similar aesthetics and entertainment options across the world, producers still wanted to create a fresh look for the show and make use of physical comedy to create fun and action, Gu explained. The China-U.S. cooperation also helped to balance cultural differences and minimize the language barrier, creating a more universal experience for kids all over the world.

“P.King Duckling is the first step toward the global market for UYoung. International cooperation is one of the most effective ways to produce the finest work, but in this process we are also making ourselves better,” he said.