Roco Kingdom 4, adapted from a popular Web game, hit Chinese mainland theaters on Aug 13. [Photo provided to China Daily]

The movie tells the story of the elf's going-home adventure with the young wizards of Roco Kingdom, after he escapes evil hunters. The elf is the protector of the Valley of Giants.

With most of his employees Chinese, Martel has an optimistic view about the Chinese animation industry.

"China has many excellent animators. The problem deterring the industry is that most of the investors are not willing to risk their money and time on a good-quality production," he says.

Cao Xiaohui, vice-president of Animation Institution at the Beijing Film Academy, says it had not been a fresh phenomenon to see popular games adapted into animation franchises.

"But the franchises' simple storylines tailored for children seem a bit boring to their parents. The biggest problem for such movies is to attract the main theatergoers," Cao says.