Get Excited, Kids! There’s A Chairman Mao Cartoon In The Works!

Wait, did we say “excited?” We meant “executed.”

It seems that the Chinese government is concerned with the image of their founding father, who currently has a mere 70% approval rating in his home country. Considering that Chairman Mao is thought to be responsible for the deaths of up to 80 million of his subjects, that’s actually a pretty respectable figure, but hey, better safe than sorry. That’s why they’re producing a new animated movie based on his teenage years, commemorating the 120th anniversary of his birth and, they hope, inspiring a new generation to grow up idolizing the man. Given the catchy title of Shaoshan Youths: The Story Of Chairman Mao, the film is believed to have cost around $5M to produce, and will be screened in 3D – all the better to capture all those fascinating moments where Mao sits up all night reading The Manifesto Of The Communist Party by candle light. It’s captivating fun for all the family!

This isn’t the first cartoon to come out in recent years that you wouldn’t want your kids seeing; there was also this effort from a low-ranking Al-Qaeda member from 2011, looking to extol the virtues of being a suicide bomber (in fairness, it’s a stressful career, but a relatively short one). Its creator was quoted as saying that it was an “alternative to the poison that is broadcast by other TV channels” and, really, looking at the crap on the fall TV lineup, we might be tempted to give this a try. It’s certainly a more tempting thought than the other hideous cartoon that came out this year, depicting a shirtless Justin Bieber laying in bed with one of his fans, who, it should be remembered, are all either 12-years-old, or mentally ill. Horrific, violent, repressive dictatorships are one thing, but this is just a step too far.

Photos by Kotaku.com