Big Fish and Begonia (Da Yu Hai Tang) is a gorgeous animated film produced by B&T Studio and Studio Mir, and directed by Liang Xuan and Zhang Chun. It tells the tale of a girl named Chun who lives in a magical world, undergoing a coming-of-age ritual during which she transforms into a red dolphin and travels to the human world.

 

The film was a result of over 12 years of scriptwriting, animation, and a quest for funding. The directors originally produced a flash animation of the same name in 2004, which was well-received. They spent the next decade finding funding and working to make it a feature film. The end result is a fantastic story of love, loss, family, and myth.

Big Fish and Begonia is a landmark film for Chinese animation that takes inspiration from various Chinese legends. It is now available on Blu Ray and DVD in the US.