| Magic Brush | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Jin Xi (靳夕) |
| Release date(s) | 1954, 1955 |
| Running time | 20 mins |
| Country | China |
| Language | Mandarin |
The Magic Brush is a Chinese animated stop-motion film produced by the Shanghai Animation Film Studio. There were two versions of the film.[1] In 1954 the first film was called "Ma Liang and his Magic Brush" (Chinese: 神笔马良). In 1955 the second film was called "Magic Brush" (Chinese: 神笔). They are also interchangeably referred to as the "Magic Pen" or "Magical Pen".
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The story is based on a folklore story. In a village, there lived a boy called Ma Liang, whose family was so poor that he could not go to school. But he loved painting and worked very hard at it. One day, he got a brush, which had a magical power—if you draw anything with it, it will become reality. So he started to help everyone in his village with his magic brush. This information reached a local officer. He put Ma Liang into the prison and confiscated his brush. The officer found that the bush did not have any power when it was in his hands, so he forced Ma Liang to draw a golden mountain. Ma Liang agreed and drew a golden mountain, but he also drew a big ocean around it. After the officer and his servants sailed across the sea, Ma Liang waved his brush and the officers sank into the water.[2]
The story has been readapted a number of times by Chinese authors, common versions include the story of the same name from author Han Xing as well as Hong Xuntao. There are also American versions in "Tye May and the Magic Brush" by Molly Bang.