American cartoon giant Walt Disney Co. has been involved in selecting elite original cartoon scripts in China, according to sources with an international cartoon arts festival opened here Wednesday.

Organizers of the 2005 China International Cartoon Digital Art Week said Disney as one of the co-organizers of the event would have the final say of the winner of 100 entry works that the organizer has selected nationwide for a show of cartoon drafts at the art festival.

The organizing committee in Changzhou City, south China's Jiangsu Province said Disney has contracted to invest 100,000 US dollars per 22-minute episode for the winner's cartoon series, which will be jointly produced by Chinese and Korean cartoon makers.

Members with the judging panel of the entry works also included chairman of the International Cartoon Association Noureddin Zarrinekelk, and prestigious cartoon designers from France, Canada, ROK, America and Italy.

The cartoon festival has received cartoon and flash art works from 23 countries and regions. Cartoon designers and producers will discuss the industry's future at forums and shows held during the week-long event.

China has a large group of cartoon designing talents and abundant art and literary resources for cartoon production. The country's burgeoning cartoon industry earned 8 billion yuan (one billion US dollars) in revenue in 2004.

Source: Xinhua