3000 Whys of Blue Cat
3000 Whys of Blue Cat is the first large-scale Chinese animated series in mainland China, with an emphasis on science. The series is produced by "Hunan Sunchime Happy Culture Company". It is most commonly referred to as "Lan Mao", or "Blue Cat".
History
In 1992, Wang Hong first began creating Blue Cat from a small workshop on Xiangya Road, Changsha City, Hunan Province, after being inspired by the children's science book series, "One Hundred Thousand Whys". He established Oriental Cartoon Production Co., Ltd. in Changsha City the following year in 1993. In 1997, he and Sun Wenhua, the chairman of Hunan Sanchen Company, established the joint venture of Sanchen Film Library. The cartoon "New 100,000 Whys" was produced. In 1998, Sanchen Film Library began to adapt this cartoon into "Naughty Blue Cat 3000 Questions", marking when the concept of the Blue Cat was officially introduced.In June 1999, Wang Hong gave "Naughty Blue Cat 3000 Questions" to Beijing TV Station to broadcast for free, in exchange for 45 seconds of advertising time per episode. "Blue Cat" garnered attention in mainland China, and subsequently in 2000, Hong Kong Asia Television purchased and promoted it widely. In August 2001, Sanchen Cartoon Group took part in the industrial development of "Blue Cat" cartoon image derivative products, beginning the commercialization of "Blue Cat". In December 2004, Sanchen Cartoon Group launched the "Blue Cat" game.
However, earlier in 2004, Wang Hong withdrew from Sanchen Cartoon Group and established Hongmeng Cartoon Group with He Mengfan. On January 18, 2005, Sanchen Cartoon sued Wang Hong and Hongmeng Company in the Hunan Provincial Higher People's Court on the grounds that the defendant cannot engage in the same or similar business as the plaintiff. The court ruled that henceforth, Hongmeng Company may not produce or issue more Howie & Landau cartoons, with the exception of the Howie & Landau Seven Chivalrous Biography series.
In December 2006, Sanchen Cartoon Group signed an agreement with South Korea's Dongwoo Animation to translate and broadcast the cartoon to South Korea. A contract was also signed with Thailand Wisdom Education Group to translate and introduce the "Blue Cat" book series to local primary and secondary schools. On November 28, 2007, the mutual shareholding of Hunan Hongmeng Cartoon and Sanchen Cartoon was formally integrated, establishing the Hunan Blue Cat Animation Media Co., Ltd. In 2009, Hunan Blue Cat Animation Media Co., Ltd. launched the "Blue Cat Dragoon" series.
Story
Blue Cat's blue color symbolizes dreams. The character is always curious and eager to explore different parts of the world. Blue Cat can visit any era of time through his vivid imagination.Series
3000 Whys of Blue Cat
The "3000 Whys of Blue Cat" series has about 3,000 episodes, each about 15 minutes long, and had 150 million yuan invested into it. The theme song is called "It's a Big World". The animation centers around the adventures of Blue Cat, Naughty, and other characters. Each episode explains a piece of knowledge. This series is the story of the beginning of the characters' adventures in the world.- 365 eps for Incredible Adventures of Blue Cat
| Series Title | Main Characters | Synopsis | Number of Episodes |
| Humor Stages Series, also known as Classical Blue Cat | Blue Cat, Naughty, Fei-Fei, Fatty, Gali, Tianniu, and Aunt Hen | This series is the opening work of 3000 Whys of Blue Cat. Each episode is a stand-alone story, mainly focusing on questions that commonly appear in daily life. The later 5 series instead take place in the backdrop of a larger plot, with each episode being a small part of a serial story, although each episode still focuses on a piece of knowledge. In addition, there are many small series within the Humor Stages Series that are shorter than 100 episodes, such as Constellation Stories, Topography, Technological Innovations, Natural Phenomena, etc. | 424 |
| Star Wars Series | Blue Cat, Naughty, Fei-Fei, Fatty, Gali, Tianniu, and Aunt Hen | This series focuses on "aliens." The beginning of the series focuses on a United Alien Fleet, and the middle of the series on an underground alien force that plots to dominate the universe and attack Earth. Blue Cat, Naughty, and other galactic fighters defend against this invasion. | 384 |
| Dinosaur Times Series | Blue Cat, Naughty, Fei-Fei, Fatty, Gali, Aunt Hen, and Dr. Yang | This series is continuous with the plot of the previous series, as aliens combine various dinosaur genes to develop destructive and powerful dinosaurs for the goal of destroying Earth. To defeat these dinosaurs and protect the Earth, Blue Cat and friends go back to dinosaur times to obtain the original dinosaur genes. After triumphing over the aliens, Blue Cat and friends continue their adventures in the Triassic Period. | 264 |
| Ocean World Series | Blue Cat, Naughty, Fei-Fei, Fatty, Gali, Aunt Hen, and Dr. Yang | Earth's resources are running out. Blue Cat and friends form scouting parties and venture into the ocean world to look for resources. | 312 |
| Sports Competition Series, also known as Living Olympics | Blue Cat, Naughty, Fei-Fei, Fatty, Gali, Tianniu, Green Monkey, Red Dog, Black Whistle, and Badou | Blue Cat promotes "happy exercise" in the sports arena. | 226 or 257 |
| Space Series, also known as Adventure in Space | Blue Cat, Naughty, Fei-Fei, Fatty, Gali, Badou, Lala, and Buji | Legend says in the depths of space, there is a highly developed planet named Ozma. Inspired by Yang Liwei, the first person sent into space by the Chinese space program, Blue Cat aspires to become the greatest space hero. He gathers his friends and builds his own adventuring crew, and they meet Lala, a girl from Ozma. | 400 |
| Safe Driving Series | The modern city Sun City attracts people from all over the world, resulting in heavy traffic in the city. The children take it upon themselves to protect transportation. | 108 | |
| The Team 119 Series | Blue Cat, Xiaoxiao, and other children form the 119 Squad under the guidance of firefighters. | 119 | |
| Knowledge Olympics Series | The winner of Wheat Town's sports competition will become the Olympic torch bearer. Blue Cat and friends are going to eagerly try out. | 64 | |
| Mysteries of the Human Body Series | Blue Cat is the leader of the Special Health Squad. The members of the squad are guided by Dr. Yuan from the medical research center, and help cure patient Tuantuan of an alien virus. | 104 |
Blue Cat Dragon Rider
This series is set in the future, when evil forces plot to endanger Earth's peace. Blue Cat and friends, with the assistance of Lala, a researcher from Ozma, form the defense squad Dragon Riders to protect Earth's peace.| Series Title | Main Characters | Synopsis | Number of Episodes |
| Blue Cat Dragon Rider Series | Blue Cat, Naughty, Fei-Fei, Gali, Badou, Lala, Dr. Waiwai, Aardwolf, One-eyed Eagle, and Nine-tailed Fox | In the depths of space, the technologically advanced planet of Ozma erupts into war, pushing it to the verge of destruction. During the war, a bracelet with magical powers splits into 6 pieces. The planet's lead scientist Lala is only able to find 5 pieces, with the 6th and central fragment lost in the vastness of space. To save Ozma, Dr. Lala pursues the lost fragment and arrives at Earth. At this time, malicious technological powers increasingly threaten the existence of humanity, and Earth faces the same fate as Ozma. Dr. Lala decides to develop the Dragon Rider bracelet to help Earth build the strongest defense force – the Dragon Riders. Unbeknownst to her, her assistant Dr. Waiwai is a representative of the malicious technological power, and plots to steal the magical Dragon Rider bracelet to upgrade his own evil weapon – the Beast King. Led by Blue Cat, the five members of the Dragon Riders begin their herculean battle against Dr. Waiwai and his evil gang. | 60 |
| The Flower of Life | Blue Cat, Naughty, Fei-Fei, Gali, Badou, Lala, Dr. Waiwai, and Aardwolf | 48 | |
| Legend of Xuandi | Blue Cat, Naughty, Fei-Fei, Gali, Badou, Lala, Dr. Waiwai, Aardwolf, and Xuandi | 76 |