Founded in Beijing in 2005 by two Tsinghua University alumni, B&T Studio (彼岸天) spent twelve years creating Big Fish & Begonia, which became a symbol of Chinese auteur animation.
History
B&T (彼岸天) was founded on 3 March 2005 by Liang Xuan, who had dropped out of Tsinghua at 21, and his friend Zhang Chun, from Tsinghua's Academy of Arts & Design. The name comes from the initials of their English nicknames, Tidus and Breath.
In 2008 the studio raised one million dollars in venture capital and started work on Big Fish & Begonia (大鱼海棠). The project went through long difficulties and was only saved in 2013 by crowdfunding. The film was finally released in July 2016, with Coloroom and Enlight.
Since then B&T has developed its BoBo & ToTo character brand and is preparing the sequel to Big Fish & Begonia, whose trailer was unveiled in February 2025. The studio also contributed to The Legend of Luo Xiaohei, Ne Zha 2 and Nobody.
Signature
B&T champions poetic 2D animation drawn from Chinese mythology and classics such as the Zhuangzi. Its painterly images, warm colours and architecture inspired by Fujian's tulou left a mark on a whole generation.
Its donghua on Donghua Fan
The series and films in the catalogue that B&T Studio worked on.
Other productions
- BoBo & ToTo (波波和托托), characters and short series
- Big Fish & Begonia 2 (大鱼海棠2), in production
- Contributions to The Legend of Luo Xiaohei, Ne Zha 2 and Nobody
Trivia
- Tidus means "sun" and Breath means "breath": two things essential to life, according to the founders.
- Big Fish & Begonia started as a 2004 online short before being partly funded by thousands of internet users.
- The studio's slogan is "Welcome to our dream".
Donghua Fan's take
B&T embodies the patience and stubbornness of independent creators. Big Fish & Begonia is not perfect, but it paved the way for Chinese auteur films, and its sequel is eagerly awaited.
— Spidermas, for Donghua Fan