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Studio La Cachettes First Feature, Mu Yi and the Handsome General, Debuts in Annecys Contrechamp Competition
In the heart of the Contrechamp competition at the 2026 Annecy International Animation Film Festival, Paris‑based Studio La Cachette premiered its first feature‑length film, Mu Yi and the Handsome General. The 90‑minute French‑produced adventure follows 14‑year‑old Mu Yi, who lives in a secluded mountain village where men are forbidden. After a traveling opera troupe performs The Handsome General, Mu Yi’s anger toward an ancient spirit sparks a time‑hopping journey that blends folklore with contemporary social themes.
Studio La Cachette is no stranger to the animation world. The studio, which has lent its talents to Primal, Love, Death + Robots, and Star Wars: Visions, has spent the past decade refining television and short‑form projects. Now, Mu Yi marks a bold step into feature‑length storytelling, a milestone the founders see as a natural extension of their creative ambitions. The film is directed by Julien Chheng, co‑written with Sujuan Xu, and will be sold internationally by mk2 Films.
Chheng revealed that the core idea had simmered in his mind for about ten years, only crystallizing while he and Xu were visiting family in China. The all‑women village setting drew inspiration from real‑world observations of gender dynamics in rural China, where “in some villages there were only women out there.” The narrative also weaves local legends about a handsome 6th‑century general who wore a helmet to hide his face—a detail Chheng found “really interesting” and one that helped merge the village’s social reality with a fantastical warrior myth.
Visually, Mu Yi marries realism and fantasy. Character designs feature everyday touches—such as ill‑fitting clothes worn by villagers who grew up poor—alongside distinctive silhouettes, like a boy who always wears a motorcycle helmet. The Guardian of Souls, a key supernatural figure, blends classical Chinese art with modern touches, including a pen tucked in the god’s hair. Chheng explained that the line work was deliberately influenced by calligraphy, a motif that has appeared in his earlier work on Ernest & Celestine and The Spy Dancer for Star Wars: Visions.
"The line work that we chose for this film is an inspiration that I’ve had for a long time," Chheng told Cartoon Brew. "I really wanted to push even further with Mu Yi… The style of the film is quite new for the studio, but I think that was all there in the references."
The production was carried out entirely in‑house at Studio La Cachette and its partner Duetto, a company based in southern France. With a budget just above three million euros, the film’s production cycle spanned roughly a year. Chheng described the process as highly efficient, noting that he storyboarded the film alone for a year and a half before handing layouts to a small team. He added that the team’s familiarity with one another helped keep the schedule tight.
"It was technically the most challenging one because it required us to be super accurate in terms of acting," Chheng said. "There’s a lot of dialogue and feelings that we needed to convey in exactly the right place in terms of animation."
One of the film’s most demanding scenes is a continuous shot lasting three to four minutes during a battle. The sequence follows Mu Yi riding a buffalo through combat, separating from a friend and then reuniting. Chheng explained that the team experimented with integrating computer‑generated backgrounds to create a realistic sense of movement, a technique that was new to the studio.
Mu Yi and the Handsome General arrives at Annecy amid a diverse slate of international animation. The 2026 festival, held from 21 to 27 June in the French town of Annecy, opened with Pierre Coffin’s Minions & Monsters and showcased a wide range of feature films, shorts, and industry panels.
The film is slated for worldwide release through mk2 Films’ distribution network. While its commercial prospects remain to be seen, its debut at Annecy signals Studio La Cachette’s entry into feature‑length animation and highlights the studio’s willingness to explore new storytelling formats and cultural narratives.
From long‑term conceptualization to a rapid, low‑budget execution, Mu Yi offers a case study in how a small studio can blend traditional artistic influences with modern animation techniques to create a distinctive cinematic experience.
Studio La Cachette is no stranger to the animation world. The studio, which has lent its talents to Primal, Love, Death + Robots, and Star Wars: Visions, has spent the past decade refining television and short‑form projects. Now, Mu Yi marks a bold step into feature‑length storytelling, a milestone the founders see as a natural extension of their creative ambitions. The film is directed by Julien Chheng, co‑written with Sujuan Xu, and will be sold internationally by mk2 Films.
Chheng revealed that the core idea had simmered in his mind for about ten years, only crystallizing while he and Xu were visiting family in China. The all‑women village setting drew inspiration from real‑world observations of gender dynamics in rural China, where “in some villages there were only women out there.” The narrative also weaves local legends about a handsome 6th‑century general who wore a helmet to hide his face—a detail Chheng found “really interesting” and one that helped merge the village’s social reality with a fantastical warrior myth.
Visually, Mu Yi marries realism and fantasy. Character designs feature everyday touches—such as ill‑fitting clothes worn by villagers who grew up poor—alongside distinctive silhouettes, like a boy who always wears a motorcycle helmet. The Guardian of Souls, a key supernatural figure, blends classical Chinese art with modern touches, including a pen tucked in the god’s hair. Chheng explained that the line work was deliberately influenced by calligraphy, a motif that has appeared in his earlier work on Ernest & Celestine and The Spy Dancer for Star Wars: Visions.
"The line work that we chose for this film is an inspiration that I’ve had for a long time," Chheng told Cartoon Brew. "I really wanted to push even further with Mu Yi… The style of the film is quite new for the studio, but I think that was all there in the references."
The production was carried out entirely in‑house at Studio La Cachette and its partner Duetto, a company based in southern France. With a budget just above three million euros, the film’s production cycle spanned roughly a year. Chheng described the process as highly efficient, noting that he storyboarded the film alone for a year and a half before handing layouts to a small team. He added that the team’s familiarity with one another helped keep the schedule tight.
"It was technically the most challenging one because it required us to be super accurate in terms of acting," Chheng said. "There’s a lot of dialogue and feelings that we needed to convey in exactly the right place in terms of animation."
One of the film’s most demanding scenes is a continuous shot lasting three to four minutes during a battle. The sequence follows Mu Yi riding a buffalo through combat, separating from a friend and then reuniting. Chheng explained that the team experimented with integrating computer‑generated backgrounds to create a realistic sense of movement, a technique that was new to the studio.
Mu Yi and the Handsome General arrives at Annecy amid a diverse slate of international animation. The 2026 festival, held from 21 to 27 June in the French town of Annecy, opened with Pierre Coffin’s Minions & Monsters and showcased a wide range of feature films, shorts, and industry panels.
The film is slated for worldwide release through mk2 Films’ distribution network. While its commercial prospects remain to be seen, its debut at Annecy signals Studio La Cachette’s entry into feature‑length animation and highlights the studio’s willingness to explore new storytelling formats and cultural narratives.
From long‑term conceptualization to a rapid, low‑budget execution, Mu Yi offers a case study in how a small studio can blend traditional artistic influences with modern animation techniques to create a distinctive cinematic experience.
