My Life as McDull is a Chinese animated

Chinese animation

Chinese animation or Manhua Anime, in narrow sense, refers to animations that are made in China. In broad sense, it may refers to animations that are made in any Chinese speaking countries such as People's Republic of China , Republic of China , Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, etc.- History :The...

 feature film

Feature film

In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...

 from Hong Kong released in 2001. The film surrounds the life of McDull

McDull

McDull is a cartoon pig character that was created in Hong Kong by Alice Mak and Brian Tse. Although McDull made his first appearances as a supporting character in the McMug comics, McDull has since become a central character in his own right, attracting a huge following in Hong Kong.-McDull's...

, a hugely popular cartoon pig character created by Alice Mak

Alice Mak

Alice Mak is an artist and cartoonist. She is one of the two creators of the cartoon characters McMug and McDull.The animated films My Life as McDull and McDull, Prince de la Bun have received numerous awards....

 and Brian Tse

Brian Tse

Brian Tse is the author of the Hong Kong children comic, "McMug and McDull" series. He is one of the two creators of the cartoon characters McMug and McDull. His wife is responsible for the illustration...

 which has appeared on comics

Comics

Comics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...

 ever since the 1990s. In 2004, the sequel to this film, McDull, Prince de la Bun

McDull, Prince de la Bun

McDull, Prince de la Bun is a 2004 animated Hong Kong film directed by Yuen Toe. Telling the life a the fictional pig McDull, it is a sequel to My Life as McDull and it was followed by McDull, the Alumni .There was significant word play in this movie, some of it is based on the "pineapple bun"...

, was released.

Awards

The FIPRESCI prize at the 26th Hong Kong International Film Festival

Hong Kong International Film Festival

The Hong Kong International Film Festival is a platform for filmmakers, film professionals and filmgoers from all over the world to launch and experience new film work. There are seminars, conferences, exhibitions, and parties celebrating the festival community...

 (2002)

Grand Prix at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival

Annecy International Animated Film Festival

The Annecy International Animation Film Festival was created in 1960 and takes place at the beginning of June in the town of Annecy, France. Initially occurring every two years, the festival became annual in 1998...

, Annecy

Annecy

Annecy is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.It lies on the northern tip of Lake Annecy , 35 kilometres south of Geneva.-Administration:...

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 (2003)

Plot

McDull is not the brightest kid on the block, but he continually tries to do his best and please his mother. Although it seems that he may not be destined for great things in life as his mother wishes, McDull never gives up.

The story focuses on several tales about McDull

McDull

McDull is a cartoon pig character that was created in Hong Kong by Alice Mak and Brian Tse. Although McDull made his first appearances as a supporting character in the McMug comics, McDull has since become a central character in his own right, attracting a huge following in Hong Kong.-McDull's...

 and his childhood. This is told as a narrative reflection of a now adult McDull

McDull

McDull is a cartoon pig character that was created in Hong Kong by Alice Mak and Brian Tse. Although McDull made his first appearances as a supporting character in the McMug comics, McDull has since become a central character in his own right, attracting a huge following in Hong Kong.-McDull's...

. These tales muddle up in imaginative uses of Cantonese and heaps of local Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

 culture. From tales about a turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

 dinner to dreams of following in Lee Lai-shan's footsteps, McDull faces ebbs and flows with his demanding but devoted mother.

There is a significant amount of material in the movie which is culturally relevant to Hong Kong. For example, a large proportion of the humour and appeal of the movie arises from its complex wordplay and subtle hints of Hong Kong's historical legacy and dynamic.

The songs featured in the film are bright and beguiling, and are not overbearing as some musical animations are likely to become. The film's animation is trouble-free and colourful changing at times as stories alter, but echoing the fashion of the innovative artwork. It uses a number of contemporary Computer Graphics

Computer graphics

Computer graphics are graphics created using computers and, more generally, the representation and manipulation of image data by a computer with help from specialized software and hardware....

 animations in several scenes to illustrate an urban Hong Kong, but it skillfully shows Hong Kong as the dirty conurbation

Conurbation

A conurbation is a region comprising a number of cities, large towns, and other urban areas that, through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban and industrially developed area...

 it is rather than the high-pitched clean cityscape that many travel advertisements like to portray.

The genial and timid piglet McDull has cheered up the lives of kids, professors, housewives and CEOs, because he epitomises the uncontainable and happy-go-lucky spirit of Hong Kong. His no-holds-barred porcobiography is a frame-by-frame account of life growing up in the slums of Shamshuipo, set against the colourful campaign of a post-97 Hong Kong trudging along regardless of downturn woes. Pouncing shots of busy Kowloon

Kowloon

Kowloon is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. It is bordered by the Lei Yue Mun strait in the east, Mei Foo Sun Chuen and Stonecutter's Island in the west, Tate's Cairn and Lion Rock in the north, and Victoria Harbour in the south. It had a population of...

streets, slimy cafés, plus sights and smells of local flavour fused with animation, live object shooting and 3-D computer graphics define the film.