Space odyssey

"It was like reuniting with a relative who has been missing for a long time."

In the movie, Shen's character discovers a grumpy kangaroo when he attempts to get a bottle of medicine from the Lunar Shield project's base on the moon. The kangaroo becomes the only creature that accompanies him on the moon, and even becomes a "friend" that assists him in his efforts to return to the Earth.

The anthropomorphic kangaroo, depicted in the movie as capable of understanding the protagonist's sorrows and joys, is played by Hao Han, a 30-year-old comedian actor, also with Mahua Funage. The movie blends digital motion-capture technology and the actor's performance.

Director Zhang Chiyu reveals that Hao prepared for his role-also marking his acting debut in a big-budget movie-for almost a year, by doing many things such as renting an apartment near the Beijing Zoo to observe the kangaroos there for four months and installing wires to practice hops like a kangaroo on the film set.