Chairman Mao to be revived as 'ordinary country boy' in £3m cartoon We found Mao was a very smart child, with independent thoughts [and] who dared to challenge old ways of thinking and to express different views. His poems and lyrics also stood out. In another interview, she said the animation would portray a "naughty" Mao, who "like every other child... liked to play tricks." Luo Huasheng, the project's art director, told the South China Morning Post the film would help "keep the [Communist] revolution and its ideals current" for a younger audience. This is the 21st century. We can't be stuck in the old ways. We need to be innovative," he said. The animation comes amid a government-sponsored revival of Mao's thoughts, words and deeds. Reports have claimed a new edition of Mao's Little Red Book will hit Chinese shelves later in the year although state-controlled media has denied that. Meanwhile, president Xi Jinping has re-introduced Mao-style self-criticism sessions for government officials and launched a so-called "mass line campaign" intended to bring the Communist Party closer to is grass-root supporters. China has simultaneously witnessed a growing willingness to focus on the damage Chairman Mao inflicted upon his nation, particularly during the Great Leap Forward when millions died of hunger. The bloodshed of the 1966-1976 Cultural Revolution has also come under increasing scrutiny. On Monday, the state-run Global Times complained that while Beijing had "admitted in general terms that the Cultural Revolution was a disaster for China" there had been no "official reexamination of the role of Chairman Mao." When Mao Tse-tung Was Young will avoid such controversies. The film is receiving financial backing from the television arm of the Qiushi Journal, a political periodical published by the Communist Party's powerful Central Committee and government censors have already given its script a preliminary green light, without "many changes," said Lei, the director. Children had also responded well, "constantly bursting into laughter" during preview screenings while Mao Xinyu, Mao's grandson, had been "quite positive." The filmmakers are now plotting a television spin-off series and an international career for their animation, Ms Lei added. We plan to do an English version of the film, to get it out to the world. People from Hollywood are quite interested in our film. They have been to our production base and given us advice. One person said, "As an American, I can tell that this film will be accepted and liked by any educated American." We feel quite encouraged by this.