Many animated films produced by Chinese companies, including Crystal Sky of Yesterday, Monkey King Reloaded and New Happy Dad and Son 3: Adventure in Russia, hit the big screen during the July-August vacation. [Photo provided to China Daily]

In the movie, which will open across the country on July 14, Sunny, a naughty yet brave golden monkey from a zoo in Sichuan province, goes to New York to rescue his breeder who is kidnapped by a bull monster.

With the help of Bajie, a pig martial arts master, and an American police officer, the trio defeat their enemies.

There are two versions of the film－in Mandarin and English－penned by American scriptwriter Aaron Mendelsohn and featuring Hong Kong superstar Leo Lai as one of the executive producers.

In recent years, China's film industry has seen more diverse themes, and the trend is also reflected in domestic animated films, a genre which has yet struggled to win a wider viewership.

Reflecting the diverse themes is Crystal Sky of Yesterday, the country's first coming-of-age animated movie about high school friends in a town in southern China in 1998.

The movie, seen as a Chinese version of Japanese director Makoto Shinkai's 2016 hit Your Name, will be released on July 27.

Meanwhile, another film with a similar theme is Flavors of Youth, where Chinese and Japanese animators produce three short stories, respectively, set in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. The movie will be simultaneously released in China and Japan on Aug 4.