In a Guangdong village, scrawny left-behind teenager Ah Juan is handed a lion head by a confident girl who shares his name and dares to want more than his circumstances allow. With misfit friends Ah Mao and Ah Gou, he persuades the salted-fish seller Qiang, a retired lion dancer, to coach them, but family duty sends him to labor in the city just as the Guangzhou lion dance championship comes within reach.
Details & facts
- Chinese
- 雄狮少年
- Pinyin
- Xiongshi Shaonian
- Released
- December 17, 2021
- Format
- 3DCG animation
- Runtime
- 104 min
- Box office
- $39 million worldwide
- Studio
- YI Animation
- Director
- Sun Haipeng (孙海鹏)
- Source
- Original work
Sun Haipeng directed I Am What I Am for YI Animation, with Beijing Splendid Culture & Entertainment distributing, and the film stood apart from Chinese animation's mythology wave by telling a contemporary, realist story about migrant-worker families. Released on December 17, 2021, it drew strong reviews and word of mouth but a modest 249 million yuan, about $39 million, while its stylized character designs, particularly the characters' narrow eyes, ignited a lasting online controversy in China. Critics abroad, including Variety, praised its underdog story and its painterly Guangdong settings. A sequel, I Am What I Am 2, followed in Chinese theaters in 2024.
