Jackie Chan set to thrill children

It is an issue that bothers most celebrities - how to stay young forever on the silver screen.

And it gets an answer from Jackie Chan in his upcoming Chinese animation series All New Jackie Chan's Adventures, where the kung fu giant has a young incarnation of himself, also called Jackie, fighting evil.

"Now I can always be young on screen," says the 63-year-old action star.

"I want children to be fans of the young Jackie from the animated series. And when they grow up, they can watch my live-action films and listen to my songs," he adds.

One of the earliest Hong Kong stars to find fame in Hollywood, Chan has impressed the Western audience with his stylish blend of stunts and comedy. But the tough guy behind 100-plus action movies now unveils his rarely seen softer side for the children's program, which targets those aged 3 to 10.

During a recent promotional event in Beijing, he sang and danced with a group of children and led a hairy llama on stage.

Chan says this is not his first animated series, and that one had been made in the United States around 20 years ago.

That work called Jackie Chan Adventures, a five-season US series, ran on The WB Television Network from 2000 to 2005, and was broadcast in 60 countries.

In the latest series, J-Team, a group of pupil superheroes led by the young Jackie try to stop a villain, who turns children's sweet dreams into nightmares.

In each episode, lasting around 12 minutes, Chan appears in the first and final scenes to show off stunts and offer tips on morality and values.

Chan says the current production is the first time that he has licensed Chinese studios to make an animated series named after him, and he hopes that the 104-episode series will grow into a franchise, including books, films and games.

Separately, a feature-length animated movie on him is set to be released in China in 2018.

Chan also says he hopes the upcoming series will promote Chinese culture and history in overseas markets.

Shi Ting, marketing director of VJ animation studio, one of the producers of the series, says around 150 Chinese animators worked on the 41-million-yuan ($6 million) series for six years.

"We specialize in children's animation. And, after we discovered that most children cannot tell the difference between dreams and reality, it inspired us to do a series about dreams," says Shi.

The research took place in seven major cities across China.