Made of stone.
Taken for granite.
About to rock your world!
When Fua, a poor kid from the backstreets of Bangkok, creates drawings of 8 ancient Chinese statues, he brings to life 8 irascible characters who need him to guide them back home.
Along the journey, Fua finds that family is the spice of life.
A Story By Chris Jenkins
Inspired by the Art and background story of Bang in Bangkok's first animated feature film Up Chao, Chris joined the team to develop a compelling story and turn a rough storyline into a gem of a film for international audiences. Chris says: "Part history, part fantasy, Up Chao is a wonderful playroom for any writer. How did these enigmatic statues travel from China to Thailand - what stories could they tell if they could talk? My job is to bring the mystery and the comedy to life, in the same way, that in the story, a talented young Thai native, brings them to life through his art."
Chris Jenkins has contributed his talents to an impressive roster of projects during his 30-year career in animation, as an artist, producer and writer. He joined Sony Pictures Animation in 2002 and played a key role in launching the division’s inaugural film, Open Season. After establishing Open Season, Jenkins turned his attention to Surf’sUp, creating the storyline, characters and the innovative approach of an animated mockumentary. Surf’s Up rode the 2007 Awards Season wave culminating in an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Picture.
Chris spent most of his professional life at Walt Disney Feature Animation. He was artistic coordinator on Atlantis: The Lost Empire, visual effects supervisor on The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and supervising effects animator/designer on Pocahontas, all positions that were central to the overall look and atmosphere of those popular movies. He also was an effects animator on Hercules, The Lion King, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid and Touchstone Pictures’ Who Framed Roger Rabbit. At Blue Sky animation from 2009 to 2010, Chris helped mold the story for RIO, and back at Sony in 2010, Chris worked on Hotel Transylvania, inventing characters and scenes that would become integral to that successful franchise. In 2011 Chris joined DreamWorks Animation, where he produced the film Home released in 2015. Chris wrote and directed his first feature Duck Duck Goose which, as of August 2018, had become a runaway hit on Netflix, with over 10 million downloads in the first 30 days.
Chris is fresh from directing the critically acclaimed animated film "10 Lives" which had its premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.
For a poor boy from the hood, Fua’s story is as rich and rewarding as any fairy tale ever told, and as Happy Ever After as any wish of freedom from poverty.
It is indeed, The Spice of Life.
Meet The Characters!
FUA
The reluctant hero
The Up Chao Themselves
SHI
JUXI
MARCO
GUAN
FAN
TOUTOU & MOMO
ZENZI
The Villain
FANGSHI
