Lauras Sternund der Geheimnisvolle Drache Nian

English titel: Lauras Star and the Mysterious Dragon Nian

screenshots © Cartoon-Film · Warner Bros. 2009

Full lenght cgi feature film · 74 minutes

Co- Production: Germany/China
Release: 24. September 2009, Berlin · Germany, 1. May 2011, Beijing · China
Producer: Maya Gräfin Rothkirch, Thilo Graf Rothkirch
Directed by: Piet de Rycker, Thilo Rotkirch
Piano: Lang Lang

Lauras Star on IMDb

art director · director of cinematography · 3D set design supervisior · scene dressing supervisor · 2007 – 2009

Visual development

Laura’s Star and the Mysterious Dragon Nian was the first CGI feature film co-production between Germany and China. Our ambition was to make a movie for both the European and Asian market.
Since the first movie of Laura’s Star, Laura’s home town was designed as a northern European city, without giving the impression of one specific place. Our references came from architectural elements of Paris, Brussels, Hamburg and Berlin. This gives a wide audience the feeling that Laura is a girl of there own city – encouraging them to identify with her.
In contrast, the main part of Laura’s Star and the Mysterious Dragon Nian takes place in Beijing China. I visied Beijing several times to find locations, design and color references, the special taste of that city and some wide Mongolian landscapes. I also went to collaborate with the Chinese co-production studio. Our big challenge was to get the look and feeling of modern Beijing. We incorporated architectural references like the Olympic stadium, the CCTV tower and the new opera building on the one hand, with traditional imperial buildings and small four roof houses in the hutongs on the other. We also incorporated the contrast between traditional Chinese patterns and modern advertising. This achieved a style which respects the Chinese culture and tradition, instead of a kind of Disneyland. Colors are special in Asia and so were made more strong and powerful when compared to the first Laura’s Star movie. This was a project with tremendous artwork, made by an international team.

Storyline:

Based on the children books by Klaus Baumgart.
Laura flys to China with her family because her mother is supposed to give a concert with Chinese musicians. Laura is quite excited. Her best friend little star is accompanying her, but gets lost during the flight. A Chinese girl named Ling-Ling finds him and picks him up. After bringing Laura and Ling-Ling together, the stars stardust also brings the mysterious dragon Nian to life without even noticing it. Nian befriends the girls and, while Laura’s mother is on stage, they experience a great adventure….