A scene from Bicycle Boy. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Film Bicycle Boy, an animated 3-D feature based on a namesake CCTV series, will hit Chinese theaters on Jan 13.

The film, which is centered on a teenager with a transformer bicycle, follows his journey to rescue a group of water elves.

Liu Kexin, the film's director, says that the crew, including more than 200 animators, spent three years on the movie.

"The film is about love and communication. I want this film to make every young viewer sense the power of love and caring," she said before the preview of the film in Beijing recently.

The series on which the film is based won the Golden Monkey Award, the highest honor for domestic animated productions, in 2013.