(Status: In Development)

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Mu Yi and the Handsome General is a hand-drawn, traditionally animated 2D feature film project that was pitched at Cartoon Movie 2025. It tells a unique and interesting fantasy story inspired by a true historical story with highly expressive and rich animation, including diverse compositions, exciting action scenes, and plenty of visual effects.

The film will be directed, written, and produced by Julien Chheng, one of the three Gobelins graduates who founded Studio La Cachette. The studio is well-known for Love, Death & Robots: Volume 1 “Sucker of Souls” (2019), Primal (2019), and Star Wars: Visions Volume 2 “The Spy Dancer” (2023).

We interviewed Julien Chheng, the creator of Mu Yi and the Handsome General on the story behind the film project currently awaiting completion.

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Interview with Julien Chheng

Hideki Nagaishi (HN): Could you please let us know the key points of Mu Yi and the Handsome General that you aim to appeal to the prospective global audience? For example, what message or experience do you want to deliver to the audience through the film?

Julien Chheng: The film is about self-determinism: choosing who you want to become no matter where you come from. We follow Mu Yi, a clever 14-year-old who could build a bright future for herself, but she was born in the Village of the Elder women, isolated from the world, and she feels trapped by her origin. My intent is that the audience can reflect on their own lives, like Mu Yi, who comes to understand the words of Persian poet Rumi : “Don’t be satisfied with stories, how things have gone with others. Unfold your own myth.”

HN: How did this film project start, and what were the difficult and challenging parts of the project?

Julien Chheng: Many years ago, when I started out as a young director, I was casually asked by my producer at the time, Didier Brunner, if I had any ideas for an animated feature film.

And indeed, we had a concept for a long time with my co-writer Sujuan Xu who grew up in the countryside in China, to mix true events inspired by her life in her village with historical figures who really existed, into a modern tale filled with magic, fantasy, but above all, a lot of humanity.

Writing is always the most challenging part of the process in a film project. I took a very long time, and a lot of effort. And in my case, I really challenged myself even more with the development of the production company Studio La Cachette I co-founded, grinding the recognition ladder with a lot of different projects throughout the years so that one day, when we are experienced and confident enough, we can produce the film on our own.

That day has finally come, and I am very happy to have gotten there.

HN: Where did the initial idea of the film’s story come from? What did you take care in the most during scriptwriting?

Julien Chheng: It all started out when visiting family in China. I was always told inspiring stories about Spirits, Gods, and famous Warlords who had lived in the region. One of them was the Handsome General, as called in the film, who really existed in the 6^th century, a warrior whose beauty was so fascinating, that he needed to hide his face under a terrifying helmet at all times.

But one thing I was finding even more fascinating was the absence of men in the village, as they were simply gone; out of sight.

For a lot of reasons, only women had remained living there. I was not surprised to discover that boys had always been favoured over girls in the past. Most of them had moved to the city. Among siblings, girls couldn’t inherit until very recently. This is still sadly true in many parts of the world today.

And one day, I was told about little towers hidden in the forest that used to exist, where poor families who couldn’t bring up a new-born could put their baby into, for them to be either taken in by a welcoming family, or more often than not, just left behind in silence.

And the grand majority of these babies abandoned were girls.

That is how I started imagining the Village of the Elder women for the film. During scriptwriting, the hardest part was to find the balance we felt right to tell the story of our characters, as we were attached to the idea of starting the film off from reality and slowly departing into a more fantastic world, but in an unpredictable, organic, and meaningful sort of way.

HN: I would like to hear about the development of the visual elements for this film project. What are the important characteristics and goals of the visuals for the film, such as the visual design of characters, and the background art of the story’s universe?

Julien Chheng: I have always been inspired by Chinese painting and calligraphy in my work that I infuse in the 2D animation style I developed on Ernest and Celestine, A trip to Gibberitia (2022) or in my Star Wars short film The Spy Dancer, especially the balance between complexity and emptiness, stillness and movement. The film is a love letter to theses inspirations, and we even referenced period frescoes from the 6^th century, with flatter perspectives and more vivid colors, in the backgrounds of a part of the film where Mu Yi needs to escape her reality.

HN: Could you please let us know what part of animating the characters (performances and actions), camera compositions and visual effects are you taking care in the most, and what goals do these choices serve?

Julien Chheng: More than ten years ago, I left the big American-studio life to return back to France and found a 2D animation studio in Paris, because I believed the French pool of talents was unmatched in the world, and they needed to be offered quality projects to maintain a highly skilled animation industry. I am very proud to work with a team who grew up professionally with the studio, who is diverse, international and share a strong artistic passion. Everyone, from production managers to artists, are so talented that I can focus on delivering with them the most challenging emotional moments of the film as well as the crazy intense action parts with the same level of creativity, precision, and impact, with an extreme focus on serving the characters and the story.

HN: Could you please let us know about the music for the film that you are able to share with us at the moment?

Julien Chheng: Amin Goudarzi is my composer for the film, and I was lucky to work alongside him while storyboarding the whole film on my own. It was a very creative process that helped me shape the tone of the sequences and their timing. When we finished roughing out the music for the film, I knew we had strong material. Also, as he is Iranian, he was willing to implement some Persian influences like flutes and specific cords, into the traditional Chinese folk music compositions, even mixing electric guitar and bass for a modern take on some themes. I really love the music we are crafting for the film, as it is also a love letter to multiple influences.