As of October 20th, the overseas box office revenue of Chinese films in 2025 is approximately 1 billion yuan. Among them, the overseas box office of "Ne Zha: The Demonic Children Roar in the Sea" reached 69 million US dollars, and with a total box office of 15.9 billion yuan, it became the global animation film history and the global box office champion of 2025. However, few people know that Jilin Animation Academy (hereinafter referred to as "Jidong") has over 600 alumni who participated in the creation and production of "Ne Zha: The Demonic Children Roar in the Sea". Moreover, behind popular domestic animations such as "Chang'an 30000 Miles" in recent years, Jilin animation talents are also indispensable. Established 25 years ago, Jidong has trained over 60000 students (including current students). How can a private ordinary university located in Northeast China become a "key town" for cultivating talents in Chinese animation? At the 3rd China (Jilin) Animation Conference, the narratives of numerous animators revealed the answers. Entering the lobby of Jidong Animation Industry Park, the image exhibition of the mythical creature "兕" in the "Classic of Mountains and Seas" attracts people to stop and admire. Around the Shan Hai Jing, teachers and students of the school have created a series of IP images, exploring and deeply excavating Shan Hai culture, and presenting excellent traditional Chinese culture through modern expression. The movie 'Crazy Computer City', originally created by the teachers and students of the school, made its debut at the Cannes Autumn Television Festival in France and was released in cinemas nationwide during this year's National Day holiday. Practice has broken the information gap between textbooks and industries. ”Gao Liang, a student majoring in 3D animation for the 2022 class, participated in the production of the short film series "Frog Kingdom" in the industry project. The original animated film series "Frog Kingdom" has won awards such as the "Five One Project" and the Chinese Culture and Arts Government Award. The total number of teachers and students who participated in the creation and production of the third film "Frog Kingdom: Extreme Sports" exceeded 1300. During their school years, students can directly participate in the creation of real market-oriented projects such as anime, film and television, games, and IP development. The school also implements a "studio+project-based" teaching model and adopts a "front store, back factory" entrepreneurial model to attract a group of young teachers and college students as the main entrepreneurs. Teacher He Zhenhui once worked at an animation studio in Hong Kong and participated in the production of animated films such as "Astro Boy". He has been with Jidong for more than 10 years and has already become accustomed to the weather and life in Northeast China. Jidong's teaching method is the reason that attracts him and his wife to take root. In He Zhenhui's opinion, the school's training philosophy is aimed at the pain points of the industry. NetEase, Tencent and other leading animation companies have gathered many Jidong students. 'Quick to get started' is a common reputation among Jidong graduates. The school has 10 colleges, each corresponding to an industry entity, where "majors follow the industry and teaching follows the projects". Yu Miao, a graduate of the class of 2005, is now a storyboard director at Tencent Tianmei L1 Studio. He is responsible for designing storyboards for important characters such as Nezha and Ao Bing, as well as exciting scenes in "Nezha: The Demonic Children of the Sea". He said, "Studying at Jidong has enabled me to master solid 2D animation professional skills and cultivate innovation and collaboration abilities." Ma Yuhang from Enlight Media also believes that there is a real industry logic hidden in the school's case teaching. This year, Jidong celebrates its 25th anniversary as a school. Since the school began exploring animation education in 2000, the student population has rapidly expanded from a single province to 30 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions. The concept of "integration of learning, research, and production" proposed in the early days of the school's establishment has always been the school's original intention. At present, the school has cooperated with 105 universities in 26 countries and regions to promote the integration and exchange of industry and education, and also pays attention to the use of new technologies such as artificial intelligence to promote cultural content innovation and cultural product upgrading. At the beginning of its establishment, a group of veteran experts from Shanghai Animation Film Studio went north to Changchun to devote themselves to the construction of the school. Chang Guangxi, former director of Shanghai Animation Film Studio, at the age of 60, still writes lesson plans like a young person, personally teaches, and selflessly creates with young students. 25 years later, Chang Guangxi said emotionally, if I were 20 years younger, I would still choose to teach and educate at Jidong. At Jidong, four permanent exhibitions, namely the China Animation Centennial Exhibition, the Exhibition of Fine Comic Manuscripts, the Exhibition of Chinese Film Review, and the Exhibition of Teaching Achievements, are very popular among students. They are both display platforms and immersive classrooms. From the craftsmanship of manual painting to the innovative application of digital technology, Jidong's pursuit of art has never changed for 25 years. Not long ago, 117 students from the 2024 cohort of Jidong 2D Animation Department visited Guangdong Village in Helong City, Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, Jilin Province, to conduct a 5-day sketching and creative practice, completing the entire process of training from on-site sketching to animation creative transformation. Skills are iterating and technology is innovating, but the spirit of craftsmanship of "being close to life and striving for excellence" remains unchanged. This spirit has also become the fundamental driving force for schools to cultivate animation talents and promote brand development. As more universities like Jidong deepen their talent cultivation and more high-quality anime content continues to emerge, Chinese anime will shine even brighter on the global stage. (New Society)