Cover image via Mashable
China's gone and done it again. Not content with merely ripping off famous brands, a Chinese filmmaker was recently accused of plagiarising Pixar's 'Cars' in a newly-released animated feature.
Image via Digital Spy
Before we move on, you should know that the movie in question is called 'The Autobots'. Yep, just like the bad-a cars-turned-giant-fighting-robots in 'Transformers'.
Image via Ng Kwok Wei / Paramount Pictures
Anyway, back to the movie. Not only do the characters share some similarities in terms of their appearance (particularly their eyes and the red car), the composition and design of the promotional posters look uncannily alike!
The leading man (or car, to be precise) in 'The Autobots' and Lightning McQueen from 'Cars' could definitely pass off as twins, as do several other characters. For example, the red and green racing car and 'Cars 2's Francesco Bernoulli…
Is it just us… or does the castle at the background looks like that of Disney's opening titlecard?
Image via Mashable
Image via Pixar
… This aggressive one that looks like Sarge…
Image via Kotaku
… And even one that kinda looks like a Batmobile. What even.
Image via Kotaku
The movie, released in China on 4 July, was alleged to have duped cinemagoers into seeing a movie they thought was a new 'Cars' movie. Expressing their anger and disappointment online, they also remarked on the poorly-made animation.
Image via Shanghaiist
What do the filmmakers have to say about this? Well, according to its director Zhuo Jianrong, the movie is an independently-produced and original film that has absolutely nothing to do with 'Cars' because there's a human in it.
Image via Shanghaiist
Walt Disney Company is said to have sent legal letters the film production company of 'The Autobots'. Zhuo maintains that they did not copy Pixar's characters, only that they have "learned" from Disney.
Image via Shanghaiist
So, should we be expecting a movie called 'Cars' with characters that look like these anytime soon?
Image via Hasbro
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