Disneynature's Born in China, a documentary film that focuses on rare animals found only in China, including pandas, snow leopards and Tibetan antelopes, will hit the screen nationwide on Aug 12.
The film will be released in North America on Earth Day next year (April 22, 2017), its producers revealed in Beijing yesterday.
Disney's Roy Conli, the mind behind box office hit Big Hero 6 and China's Lu Chuan, known for Nanjing! Nanjing! and Kekexili: Mountain Patrol, worked on the documentary.
Chinese actress Zhou Xun narrated the Chinese version of the film.
The crew spent three years filming in Sichuan and Qinghai provinces as well as in the Tibet autonomous region to capture rare footage of these endemic animals in all seasons.
Screening documentaries on wildlife is still rare in China's film market, though thoroughly robust with an endless stream of new films any time of the year. At the press conference, Lu called it a "valuable opportunity for Chinese filmmakers to learn how to make this type of documentary".
Lu's partner, Conli, said he was touched by Lu's ability to tell stories and that this was one of the things that motivated him to work on the project.
Disneynature has produced many documentaries on nature since its establishment in 2008, including Earth, Oceans and Bears.