Filmart: Golden Scene Backs Animated Adaptation of Children’s Book Series ‘The Great Detective Sherlock Holmes’ (Exclusive)

Hong Kong’s Golden Scene is investing in two 100% homegrown projects: the animated feature The Great Detective Sherlock Holmes – The Great Jail-Breaker and The Way We Keep Dancing, a follow-up to the 2013 surprise hit The Way We Dance.

Adapted from the best-selling Great Detective Sherlock Holmes book series, Great Jail-Breaker is being produced by Golden Scene with One Cool Pictures and the novels’ publisher Rightman Publishing. The books by Hong Kong author Lai Ho have sold over 4.5 million copies. Making its market debut at Filmart, the film stars an anthropomorphic dog and cat as Sherlock and Watson, respectively. The project was directed by local animators Matthew Chow and Yuen Kin To, who count Hong Kong’s favorite animated pig McDull as well as Resident Evil: Damnation among their credits. Considering the enduring and cross-border appeal of the Conan Doyle canon, Tsang is eyeing the animated pic’s international potential.

“The film is now in postproduction, but we believe the animation is of international standard,” Golden Scene’s founder Winnie Tsang told The Hollywood Reporter. “We have now dubbed in Cantonese for the Hong Kong market, but are confident about its ability to travel.”

Tsang is also the executive producer of The Way We Keep Dancing, the sequel to The Way We Dance, which reinvigorated the Hong Kong filmmaking scene six years ago while launching the careers of writer-director Adam Wong and stars Cherry Ngan and Babyjohn Choi. It has also been frequently cited as the pic that ushered in a wave of local filmmakers. The director and stars are returning in the second film, which has a budget four times the first pic and revolves around the breakout dance troupe in the original’s rivalry with a bigger establishment. It has been sold to Applause for distribution in Taiwan.

“After The Way We Dance, the Hong Kong market has become more open to alternative films that are beyond the confines of the traditional Hong Kong cinema — action, comedy or major dramas,” Tsang said. “We see more films that are about social issues, or promote positivity, or directed by new filmmakers.”

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