A 3D animated feature film with an estimated budget of 100 million yuan (US$12.7 million) is to be produced jointly by Chinese and Canadian film companies, sources with the Wuhan Digital Media Tech Engineering Co. Ltd. said on Monday.

Canadian partner, Joee Studios in Vancouver, will take main responsibility for marketing the movie, called Seven Degrees Celsius, said Tan Huoxin, vice general manager of the Wuhan company. Both are financing the film, said Tan, who wouldn't reveal how the budget would be split.

The comedy tale tells the story of two different colonies of bacteria who work together to overcome various threats in a refrigerator with a temperature of seven degrees Celsius. The cartoon would borrow styles from two dimensional digital cartoon classics -- Finding Nemo and Toy Story, Tan said.

Cliff Garbutt will be the film's director and screenwriter. The Emmy-Award winner was involved in the Finding Nemo production and has been ranked among the top 10 figures in the North American cartoon industry. The movie will open in 2009.

Founded in May this year Wuhan is a joint venture between Donghu New-and High-tech Development Zone and Central China Normal University.

(Xinhua News Agency October 31, 2006)