Hollywood film Kung Fu Panda has prompted China's artists to scrutinise their own industry and call for fewer government controls on culture.

The animated comedy, which tells the story of a rotund panda who dreams of martial arts glory, is faithful to Chinese culture and peppered with good humour, but China itself may have been incapable of producing such a film, a Chinese film-maker and opera director lamented.

The film has has become a phenomenal success in the Asian country, grossing nearly 110 million yuan (£8 million) in a short time at the box office.

This may not seem like much, but the benchmark for a major film success in China is around 100 million yuan (£7.4 million).

The film's success is due in part to the fact that Chinese culture is obsessed with the panda bear which they believe are bringers of luck.

Kung Fu Panda opened just before the nation became enamoured with the birth of two babies whose mother was rescued from the earthquake-stricken Sichuan province.

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