Wan Laiming (万籁鸣; Wàn Làimíng; 18 January 1900 – 7 October 1997) was born in Nanjing, Qing dynasty.
He was one of the Wan brothers who pioneered the Chinese animation industry, and became China’s first animator. As the director of the Shanghai Animation Film Studio, he would raise the standard to International level before other historical events affected the industry.
Mythical ancient China. Born from some magic stones that fell to Earth a long time ago when Goddess Nüwa mended the sky, Sun Wukong, aka Monkey King, lives on Flower-Fruit Mountain, where he leads a community of other monkeys with his magical powers. One day, after breaking his halberd, he learns he can get a new one from Dragon King of the Eastern Sea, whom he visits in his underwater lair. Annoyed that Monkey King … Read more
The story was liberally adapted from a short sequence in the popular Chinese folk tale Journey to the West. Princess Iron Fan is a main character. Specifically, the film focused on the duel between the Monkey King and a vengeful princess, whose fan is desperately needed to quench the flames that surround a peasant village.
Havoc in Heaven, also known as Uproar in Heaven, is a Chinese animated feature film directed by Wan Laiming and produced by all four of the Wan brothers. The film was created at the height of the Chinese animation industry in the 1960s, and received numerous awards. It earned the brothers domestic and international recognition. The stylized animation and drums and percussion accompaniment used in this film are heavily influenced by Beijing Opera traditions.