Light Chaser Releases ‘Door Guardians’ First Trailer

Beijing — On its two-year anniversary, Beijing-based Light Chaser Animation Studios released the first trailer of Door Guardians, its first feature-length family entertainment animated movie.

Door Guardians are guardian spirits protecting households in the tradition of Chinese folklore. Written and directed by Gary Wang, Door Guardians is a modern-day story of two Door Guardians facing unemployment in the spirit world, as ever fewer people in the human world believe in the spirits anymore. One of the spirits ventures into the human world to make trouble in order to prove his value, leading to unexpected encounters and transformations.

The 90-second trailer gives a sneak peek to the movie’s production quality, which, according to viewers at the event, is in every aspect at the world-class level. At $12 million in production cost, the 100-minute Door Guardians has achieved this level of quality at one-tenth the typical cost of comparable world-leading studios.

At the event, the Beijing-based studio also released a virtual reality concept trailer, in which attendees, using Oculus Rift and Samsung Gear headsets, embarked on an immersive journey from the human world to the spirit world. “Pushing for the very best in what we can achieve with current CG technology, and at the same time exploring and expanding the boundaries of technology-driven entertainment experience – this is what Light Chaser is all about,” said director Gary Wang.

With a scheduled release date of January 2016, Door Guardians is set for an exciting encounter with another China-themed animated movie – DreamWorks’ Kung Fu Panda 3, likely to release in China around the same time.

Watch the Door Guardians trailer below:

Light Chaser was founded in March 2013 by Gary Wang, founder and ex-CEO of Tudou.com. The 190-employee studio closed a $20 million Series B round of funding led by GGV Capital and Chengwei Capital in June 2014.