Chinese film production firm Huayi Brothers Media Corp, which counts Alibaba Group and Tencent Holdings as investors, has hired Hollywood animation experts for its planned animation unit, the company said in a disclosure.

In a statement to the Shenzhen stock exchange, Huayi Brothers Media Corp said it has hired Joe Aguilar as the chief executive of its new animation unit.

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Aguilar, former producer at both Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation and DreamWorks Animation SKG, helped DreamWorks establish a division in India.

DreamWorks India produced hit animations How To Train Your Dragon and Madagascar 3, among others, Huayi said.

The new Huayi Brothers animation unit will also have Markus Manninen as its art director. Manninen was the visual effects supervisor of box-office animated films such as Kung Fu Panda 3.

Huayi, however, did not provide financial details of its investments in the new animation unit but company officials said the new unit is part of its expansion on the international stage.

"The establishment of an animation company signifies that the company will enter the animated movie industry with world class production skills," Huayi said in the statement.

Huayi produced more than 100 films in the past 21 years and its new animation unit only underscores Chinese companies' focus on animation to further develop China's film industry.

Aside from Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd and Tencent Holdings Ltd, Huayi also counts state-backed financial firms CITIC and Ping An as its high-profile investors.

Huayi Brothers has a market value of about US$5.2 billion.

China is the world's second-largest movie market, next only to the United States. Experts, however, said China is poised to overtake the US in the coming years in terms of box-office receipts.

Last year, American entertainment giant Warner Bros confirmed holding talks for a possible movie production with state-backed China Media Capital.

The talks, according to Variety, could lead the formation of a JV firm that invests in or produces Chinese-language films for the local Chinese audience.

A spokesman for China Media Capital also confirmed talks but declined to provide more details. 

TagsChina Animation, Huayi Brothers, China Films, China Animated Films