China cartoon creator slammed for dumping adopted cat that inspired his hit movie kitty

Ahead of the sequel to a hit Chinese animated film featuring a beloved stray cat called Luo Xiaohei, the creator has been slammed for abandoning the animal that inspired the feline character.

Zhang Ping, 39, an artist known by his pen name MTJJ, rose to fame in the 2010s as one of the country’s most successful cartoonists, thanks to his animated version of the cat.

The cartoon kitty, with its huge round eyes and pointed ears, was modelled after a stray black cat Zhang adopted.

Starting in 2011, the cat became the protagonist of an animated television series and a sensation on mainland social media.

In 2019, it starred in a feature-length film that earned 315 million yuan (US$43 million) at the box office.