'Eight Immortals' get freshly animated origins

As one of China's best-known folk legends, Ba Xian Guo Hai (The Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea) has inspired a new animated blockbuster that has emerged as one of this summer's biggest box-office hits.

All Wishes Come True! has grossed 275 million yuan ($40.6 million) since opening in theaters across the Chinese mainland on July 18. The film is also scheduled for release in more than 10 countries and regions.

Rather than retelling the familiar legend, the film offers a fresh origin story, weaving themes of redemption, friendship and teamwork into a fast-paced fantasy adventure.

It follows Zhongli Quan, a free-spirited man wrongly cursed to live as a thief, who is invited by his younger clansman, Lyu Dongbin, to embark on a perilous mission: stealing a powerful lamp from the vault of three immortals. As payment, Zhongli is promised the treasures hidden inside the vault. Along the way, they unexpectedly recruit six other companions, each with distinctive abilities. But what begins as a seemingly straightforward heist soon spirals into an adventure that forces the unlikely group to confront a formidable foe.

For chief producer Ying Xujun, the familiar legend offered an opportunity to tell a story that audiences have rarely seen.

"Although the Eight Immortals are widely known for their legendary sea crossing, little has been told about how they first met and embarked on their journey together," Ying said.

"That gave us plenty of room for a new story. Rather than focusing on immortal heroes, we wanted to tell the story of ordinary people standing together and using wisdom instead of supernatural powers to confront the deities."

That human perspective also shaped the film's creative approach, said director and screenwriter Mou Zhengyang.

One of the production's biggest challenges, he explained, was orchestrating large ensemble scenes while ensuring each character retained a distinct personality. Another was designing action sequences in which the human protagonists overcome powerful immortals through teamwork and ingenuity, rather than relying on unrealistic advantages.

"We never wanted to give them a 'magic shortcut'. Their victories had to come from cooperation and creativity," said Mou.