{ "id": "epk26q19px", "slug": "my-life-as-mcdull", "title": "My Life as McDull (麦兜故事)", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form", "label": "Films by genre, form, and subject", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.animated-shorts", "label": "Animated and short films", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.animated-shorts" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.animated-shorts.animated-films-by-source-subject", "label": "Animated films by source material and subject", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.animated-shorts.animated-films-by-source-subject" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.animated-shorts.animated-films-by-source-subject.films-with-original-stories-and-animal-l", "label": "Films with original stories and animal leads", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.animated-shorts.animated-films-by-source-subject.films-with-original-stories-and-animal-l" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form", "label": "China · 2001 to 2020: Films by genre, form, and subject", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form", "path": [ { "id": "geo.chn", "label": "China", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001", "label": "China · 2001 to 2020", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form", "label": "Films by genre, form, and subject", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form" } ] } ], "excerpt": "My Life as McDull (麥兜故事) is a 2001 Hong Kong animated feature directed by Toe Yuen, adapted from Brian Tse and Alice Mak's McDull comic; it grossed about HK$14 million and won the 2003 Annecy Grand Prix.", "snippet": "My Life as McDull (麥兜故事) is a 2001 Hong Kong animated feature directed by Toe Yuen, adapted from Brian Tse and Alice Mak's McDull comic; it grossed about HK$14 million and won the 2003 Annecy Grand Prix.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.animated-shorts.animated-films-by-source-subject.films-with-original-stories-and-animal-l", "markdown": "# My Life as McDull (麦兜故事)\n\n**My Life as McDull** (麥兜故事) is a 2001 Hong Kong animated feature film directed by Toe Yuen (袁建滔), following a kind-hearted but unremarkable piglet named McDull as he grows up in Hong Kong with his ambitious single mother, Mrs Mak (麥太). The film adapts the popular McDull comic strip by Brian Tse (謝立文) and Alice Mak (麥家碧), and it became a landmark of Hong Kong animation, winning the Grand Prix at the Annecy International Animation Festival in 2003.[1](https://www.mplus.org.hk/en/cinema/fresh-eyes/my-life-as-mcdull/) • [2](https://mcdull.hk/en/film/my-life-as-mcdull-2001/)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Original title | 麥兜故事 (Mak dau Goo Si) |\n| Release | 15 December 2001, Hong Kong[3](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_15204334) |\n| Director / writers | Directed by Toe Yuen; screenplay and story by Brian Tse[4](https://acas.world/2020/05/09/the-question-of-hong-kong-identity-in-my-life-as-mcdull/) |\n| Format | 76 minutes, Cantonese with Chinese and English subtitles[1](https://www.mplus.org.hk/en/cinema/fresh-eyes/my-life-as-mcdull/) |\n| Hong Kong box office | About HK$14 million[4](https://acas.world/2020/05/09/the-question-of-hong-kong-identity-in-my-life-as-mcdull/) |\n| Principal awards | Grand Prix, Annecy 2003; FIPRESCI, 26th Hong Kong International Film Festival 2002; Best Original Film Score, 21st Hong Kong Film Awards 2002; Best Animation, 39th Golden Horse Awards 2002[2](https://mcdull.hk/en/film/my-life-as-mcdull-2001/) |\n| Sequel | *McDull, Prince de la Bun* (2004)[1](https://www.mplus.org.hk/en/cinema/fresh-eyes/my-life-as-mcdull/) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Story and characters\n\nMcDull is a piglet child who is not the smartest, the handsomest, or the fittest in his neighborhood. The film unfolds in distinct episodes, each built around a fantasy of the piglet: a trip to the Maldives, a Christmas turkey dinner, or Olympic windsurfing gold won like [Lee Lai Shan](https://www.edgepedia.org/lee-lai-shan), the athlete he idolizes. His fantasies do not become reality, but he navigates the limitations and small disappointments of everyday life with his supportive, overly ambitious single mother, Mrs McDull.[1](https://www.mplus.org.hk/en/cinema/fresh-eyes/my-life-as-mcdull/)\n\nMrs Mak is a working woman who has held many different jobs and struggles to get by in a complicated society, placing all her hopes and love on her son.[5](https://mcdull.hk/cn/film/my-life-as-mcdull-2001/) The film is structured as a reminiscence: an adult narrator, the grown McDull, looks back on his childhood, and the ending shows McDull grown up and returned to human form.[4](https://acas.world/2020/05/09/the-question-of-hong-kong-identity-in-my-life-as-mcdull/) One running thread is the bun-snatching (Cheung Chau festival contest climbing a tower to grab buns) competition on Cheung Chau Island, which McDull trains for in the hope of sporting glory.[2](https://mcdull.hk/en/film/my-life-as-mcdull-2001/) • [4](https://acas.world/2020/05/09/the-question-of-hong-kong-identity-in-my-life-as-mcdull/)\n\nThe film's core message, as the academic review by Lokyi Tsoi puts it, is that we might not always achieve what we want to achieve; the situations of McDull and his mother read as a commentary on ordinary Hong Kong working-class life.[4](https://acas.world/2020/05/09/the-question-of-hong-kong-identity-in-my-life-as-mcdull/)\n\n## Origins: from comic strip to feature\n\nThe character of McDull originated as a comic strip published in *Ming Pao Weekly*, created by Brian Tse and Alice Mak, and resonated strongly with local readers.[1](https://www.mplus.org.hk/en/cinema/fresh-eyes/my-life-as-mcdull/) McDull began as a side character in the cartoon series \"McMug\" (麥唛); over time his simple-minded, optimistic personality made him the more interesting figure, and the comic built a Hong Kong fanbase before being adapted into an animated TV series shown on the subscription Interactive Television channel.[4](https://acas.world/2020/05/09/the-question-of-hong-kong-identity-in-my-life-as-mcdull/) Tse and Mak, a couple, divided the work with Tse handling story ideas and Mak the drawing; the original protagonist was a little boy with a pig playmate, but the pig proved more popular with readers and became the lead.[6](https://mooc1.chaoxing.com/mooc-ans/ztnodedetailcontroller/visitnodedetail?_fromV2_=&_from_=&courseId=203805413&knowledgeId=148703917&rtag=)\n\n**From television to cinema.** Director Toe Yuen has described the film's origin: in May 1997 he and Tse signed with ITV, Hong Kong's first interactive broadband television service, to produce 13 McDull animated shorts. The team spent 39 months making them, yet the episodes drew only about two thousand views online. Discouraged, they decided to follow the Japanese practice of reassembling and redrawing the television material into a complete feature film, which became *My Life as McDull*.[7](https://artandpiece.com/852/toe-yuen-nic-ho-interview-2026/) The M+ Museum dates the development of the cartoon into animation to 1998, with the feature following in 2001.[1](https://www.mplus.org.hk/en/cinema/fresh-eyes/my-life-as-mcdull/)\n\n## Style and production\n\nThe film mixes 2D character animation with 3D computer graphics and live-action footage. Hand-drawn characters move against realistic renderings of Hong Kong's cityscape, and the narrative style can shift dramatically from one visual mode to another between scenes.[4](https://acas.world/2020/05/09/the-question-of-hong-kong-identity-in-my-life-as-mcdull/) • [8](https://fareastfilms.com/review/my-life-as-mcdull/) The story unfolds as a string of episodes selected from the television series rather than a single continuous plot.[4](https://acas.world/2020/05/09/the-question-of-hong-kong-identity-in-my-life-as-mcdull/)\n\nThe voice cast includes Sandra Ng, Anthony Wong, and Jan Lamb, with Wong also playing the Headmaster.[8](https://fareastfilms.com/review/my-life-as-mcdull/) • [9](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews/my_life_as_mcdull.htm) Upon release the film earned acclaim for its down-to-earth [Cantonese](https://www.edgepedia.org/cantonese) usage and word play, its pop culture references, and its reflections on real events and the economic difficulties of an ordinary family, portraying a lesser-known side of Hong Kong.[1](https://www.mplus.org.hk/en/cinema/fresh-eyes/my-life-as-mcdull/)\n\n## Reception and significance\n\nThe film was a sizable hit at the Hong Kong box office over Christmas 2001, grossing about HK$14 million, and it held its own against [Hayao Miyazaki](https://www.edgepedia.org/hayao-miyazaki)'s *Spirited Away* in local cinemas.[4](https://acas.world/2020/05/09/the-question-of-hong-kong-identity-in-my-life-as-mcdull/) • [10](https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3239422/how-hong-kong-embraced-movies-about-cartoon-pig-mcdull-celebrated-city-and-never-say-die-spirit-its?module=series_article_list&pgtype=series) It is often labeled the first animated film that is 100 percent \"made in Hong Kong,\" a claim based on its authenticity and its rendering of the \"Hong Kong spirit\"; unlike the earlier *[A Chinese Ghost Story](https://www.edgepedia.org/a-chinese-ghost-story-epmq3fs21g)* (1997), which subcontracted part of its animation to the Japanese studio Triangle Staff, *My Life as McDull* was made locally.[4](https://acas.world/2020/05/09/the-question-of-hong-kong-identity-in-my-life-as-mcdull/)\n\n**Awards.** The film's honors include the Grand Prix for feature film at the Annecy International Animation Festival in France (2003), where it represented China, the Official Competition Grand Prize at the Seoul International Cartoon and Animation Festival (2003), the Special Jury Prize for Best Feature Film at the Montreal International Children's Film Festival (2003), the FIPRESCI award at the 26th Hong Kong International Film Festival (2002), Best Original Film Score at the 21st Hong Kong Film Awards (2002), Best Animation at the 39th Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival (2002), and a place among the Ten Best Chinese Films at the 7th Golden Bauhinia Awards (2002). In 2010 it was named one of the \"Best of the Decade\" films at the Chinese Film Media Awards.[2](https://mcdull.hk/en/film/my-life-as-mcdull-2001/) • [11](https://www.hkchronicles.org.hk/%E9%A6%99%E6%B8%AF%E5%BF%97/%E6%96%87%E5%8C%96/%E5%BE%9E%E6%98%8E%E6%97%A5%E6%88%B0%E8%A8%98%E5%89%8D%E5%82%B3%E7%9C%8B%E6%B8%AF%E7%94%A2%E5%8B%95%E7%95%AB%E9%9B%BB%E5%BD%B1_%E9%BA%A5%E5%85%9C%E7%B3%BB%E5%88%97%E6%9C%80%E8%86%BE%E7%82%99%E4%BA%BA%E5%8F%A3)\n\nThe film's success carried the McDull character from local fame to mainland China, Taiwan, and festivals in Seoul and France, and it launched a series: *[McDull, Prince de la Bun](https://www.edgepedia.org/mcdull-prince-de-la-bun)* (2004) followed, and six more McDull films appeared over the following decade.[3](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_15204334) • [1](https://www.mplus.org.hk/en/cinema/fresh-eyes/my-life-as-mcdull/) Later commentators have noted that the franchise's first two films, *My Life as McDull* and *Prince de la Bun*, retain a satirical, culturally specific edge that later entries moved away from.[12](https://www.scmp.com/culture/film-tv/article/2018997/film-review-mcdull-rise-rice-cooker-monster-parody-no-one-asked)\n\n## References\n\n1. [My Life as McDull 麥兜故事, M+ Museum](https://www.mplus.org.hk/en/cinema/fresh-eyes/my-life-as-mcdull/)\n2. [My Life As McDull 2001, McDull official site](https://mcdull.hk/en/film/my-life-as-mcdull-2001/)\n3. [电影《麦兜故事》20年：一部超越时间的港产杰作, The Paper (澎湃新闻), 2021](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_15204334)\n4. [Lokyi Tsoi, \"The Question of Hong Kong Identity in My Life As McDull,\" ACAS, 2020](https://acas.world/2020/05/09/the-question-of-hong-kong-identity-in-my-life-as-mcdull/)\n5. [麥兜故事 2001 故事大綱, McDull official site](https://mcdull.hk/cn/film/my-life-as-mcdull-2001/)\n6. [麦家碧、谢立文夫妇与麦兜系列 (course text)](https://mooc1.chaoxing.com/mooc-ans/ztnodedetailcontroller/visitnodedetail?_fromV2_=&_from_=&courseId=203805413&knowledgeId=148703917&rtag=)\n7. [香港動畫導演袁建滔、何歷對談訪問, 美紙 artandpiece, 2026](https://artandpiece.com/852/toe-yuen-nic-ho-interview-2026/)\n8. [My Life As McDull (2001) Review, Far East Films, 2015](https://fareastfilms.com/review/my-life-as-mcdull/)\n9. [My Life as McDull review, LoveHKFilm](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews/my_life_as_mcdull.htm)\n10. [Richard James Havis, \"How Hong Kong embraced movies about a cartoon pig, McDull,\" South China Morning Post, 2023](https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3239422/how-hong-kong-embraced-movies-about-cartoon-pig-mcdull-celebrated-city-and-never-say-die-spirit-its?module=series_article_list&pgtype=series)\n11. [從《明日戰記》前傳看港產動畫電影, 香港地方志中心, 2022](https://www.hkchronicles.org.hk/%E9%A6%99%E6%B8%AF%E5%BF%97/%E6%96%87%E5%8C%96/%E5%BE%9E%E6%98%8E%E6%97%A5%E6%88%B0%E8%A8%98%E5%89%8D%E5%82%B3%E7%9C%8B%E6%B8%AF%E7%94%A2%E5%8B%95%E7%95%AB%E9%9B%BB%E5%BD%B1_%E9%BA%A5%E5%85%9C%E7%B3%BB%E5%88%97%E6%9C%80%E8%86%BE%E7%82%99%E4%BA%BA%E5%8F%A3)\n12. [Edmund Lee, \"Film review: McDull – Rise of the Rice Cooker,\" South China Morning Post, 2016](https://www.scmp.com/culture/film-tv/article/2018997/film-review-mcdull-rise-rice-cooker-monster-parody-no-one-asked)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Films by genre, form, and subject › Animated and short films › Animated films by source material and subject › Films with original stories and animal leads*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/my-life-as-mcdull", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/my-life-as-mcdull.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"My Life as McDull (麦兜故事)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/my-life-as-mcdull. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[My Life as McDull (麦兜故事)](https://www.edgepedia.org/my-life-as-mcdull)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/my-life-as-mcdull](https://www.edgepedia.org/my-life-as-mcdull). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"My Life as McDull (麦兜故事)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/my-life-as-mcdull. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "My Life as McDull is a 2001 Hong Kong animated feature directed by Toe Yuen, adapted from Brian Tse and Alice Mak's McDull comic; it grossed about HK$14 million and won the 2003 Annecy Grand Prix." }