ABSTRACT
Contradictions work very well in an intercultural context. An animator must not be afraid of contradictions. Po, DreamWorks' Kung Fu Panda, usually appears lazy, undisciplined, and drugged-up, a naive teenage boy: sure a cool role model for young audiences because eventually he proves the opposite, developing unconventional ideas and longing to become the fastest martial arts hero that ever lived. Charley Zhang, Beijing Cab Driver No. 123456. And, 1 year before the big games, we had a setting that was truly international and intercultural: the Beijing Olympics. Mr. Zhang greatly improves his English during the Olympics and since then fails to master it. Incidentally, Charley Zhang has a secret identity. A good albeit sometimes rather didactic example of a very interesting intercultural project is the animated German-Irish-Canadian TV series The Travels of Young Marco Polo (2013). There are, however, not only differences between the West and East but East and East as well.
