中國以至於亞洲第一部動畫長片!取材於《西遊記》中唐僧四師徒去取西經受阻於火焰山,孫悟空三借芭蕉扇而智鬥鐵扇公主和牛魔王的一段故事,中國動畫片鼻祖萬籟鳴和萬古蟾等人,把這段典故以中國山水畫的繪圖風格,活靈活現呈現出來,以天馬行空的手法令火焰山活起來,突破了早期黑白動畫的框框。動員100多人繪製二萬張畫稿,歷時一年半製作,請來當時得令的影星獻聲配音,在中港、日本和東南亞上映時取得空前成功,甚至感染了年青的手塚治虫棄醫學畫。《鐵扇公主》打破了40年代被迪士尼動畫壟斷的局面,在世界動畫史上永垂不朽。

In 1941 in the midst of WWII, the Wan Brothers, the pioneers of Chinese animation, completed Asia’s first – and the world’s third – feature-length animated film. Based on a chapter of Journey to the West, Princess Iron Fan was a big hit at the time, its popularity extending even to Japan. The film greatly influenced the development of Chinese animation, including the Wans’ later Havoc in Heaven. Drawing from Disney and Chinese opera while relying heavily on rotoscoping, the Wans applied slapstick, shape-shifting and topsy-turvy visuals to the Monkey King’s battle of wits with Princess Iron Fan and the Bull King in order to acquire her magical fan to quell the flames of a volcanic mountain range.