The Girl Who Stole Time

The Girl Who Stole Time
International release poster
Simplified Chinese时间之子
Traditional Chinese時間之子
Literal meaningChild of Time
Hanyu PinyinShíjiān zhīzǐ
Directed by
  • Yu Ao
  • Zhou Tienan
Screenplay by
  • Yu Ao
  • Zhou Tienan
Produced bySun Lingyu
Starring
Cinematography
  • Liu Xizhi
  • Yuan Yuan
  • Zeng Jialin
Music byLuan Hui
Production
companies
Distributed byTianjin Maoyan Weiying Culture Media
Release date
  • May 30, 2025 (2025-05-30) (China)
Running time
107 minutes
CountryChina
LanguageMandarin
Box officeUS$27.9 million (¥189 million)[1]

The Girl Who Stole Time, also known as Endless Journey of Love (Chinese: 时间之子; pinyin: Shíjiān zhīzǐ; lit. 'Child of Time') is a 2025 Chinese animated fantasy adventure film written and directed by Yu Ao and Zhou Tienan. The story follows Qian Xiao, a young girl who accidentally obtains an artifact giving her the ability to control time, making her the new target of a powerful criminal organization determined to take it back.[2][3]

Premise

Qian Xiao, a cheerful girl from a fishing village, gets a mysterious pendant called the Time Dial, which gives her the power to control time. That power draws danger, including Seventeen, a cold-faced assassin, and when their paths collide, an adventure begins.[4]

Voice cast

Voice actor Character Notes
Karry Wang Seventeen Cold-faced assassin
Liu Xiaoyu Qian Xiao Fishing village girl
Zhou Shen Amu Aspiring director
Huang Bo Guardian of the Time Wheel
Jia Bing Boss Wan Crime boss
Ma Dong Master Jiu
Jin Jing Mama Jin / Elderly woman from the fishing village / Clothing shop owner
Zhou Tienan Crime boss
Yan Peilun Grandpa Yan / Second-in-command of the Alley / Ice cream shop owner / Mermaid captor
Zhang Xiaowan Nine Assassin
Liu Yang Ten Assassin
Luo Shengdeng Brother Deng of the Metropolis / Champion of Justice
Xuan Xiaoming Master Scar Fishing village arts and culture worker
Cao Xue Heartthrob Movie star of the Metropolis
Peng Enyi Unscrupulous paddle steamer merchant
Liang Sheng Saeki Leader of the assassin organization
He Ziqian Little boy with ice cream

Production

Endless Journey of Love claims to be the industry’s first fully cloud-produced animated film, using Maoyan’s cloud production platform; the producers said more than 70% of the production workload, and 100% of rendering and data storage, were completed in the cloud. Cloud workflows reduced setup time for outside vendors and made it possible to do many more visual iterations on scenes such as lighting changes, the whale sequence, and the ship-through-waves shot.[5]

The project took about five years from scriptwriting through dubbing, and was built across more than 2,000 shots.[6][7]

Animation

The film was produced by Maoyan Pictures and co-produced by Bu Xi Animation. It was created through a distributed production model involving over 70 collaborating teams and more than 1,000 artists, all connected through the same cloud-based pipeline.[8]

Music

The original score was composed by Beijing-based composer Luan Hui, while two original songs were written by the pop music composer and producer Qian Lei.[9]

Dreaming of You (梦见你), sung by Zhou Shen (who also voices the character Amu), was the film’s theme song, released on May 26, 2025. I Only Wish (我只愿), sung by Liu Yuning, was released 4 days later.[10]

Release

The film was released theatrically in China on May 30, 2025.

In February 2025, ahead of the Chinese release, Fortissimo Films acquired worldwide sales rights for the film (excluding China), launching sales at the European Film Market. The film was released in several film festivals, including the Annecy International Animation Film Festival[3], yet never received a standard release outside of China.[2]

The film's lack of a major overseas release coincided with the international success of Ne Zha 2, another animated family film, which became the highest-grossing film of 2025 and the fifth-highest-grossing film of all time.[11]

Reception

Box office

The film grossed a total of US$27.9 million (¥189 million) in 62 days.[1]

Accolades

At the 2025 Fantasia International Film Festival, the film won a Satoshi Kon Award for Excellence in Animation for Best Animated Feature.[12][13] In September 2025, it was nominated for the Best Animated Film award by the jury at the 38th China Film Golden Rooster Awards. In October, it won the Silver Award for Best Animated Feature Film (Domestic) at the 17th Xiamen International Animation Festival's "Golden Dolphin Award".[14]

It was also part of the Annecy International Animation Film Festival 2025 lineup.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 "猫眼专业版-实时票房" [Maoyan Pro – Real-time Box Office]. Tianjin Maoyan Weiying Culture Media (in Chinese). July 30, 2025. Retrieved July 15, 2026.
  2. 1 2 Rosser, Michael (February 13, 2025). "Fortissimo to launch Chinese animation 'The Girl Who Stole Time' at EFM (exclusive)". Screen Daily. Retrieved July 15, 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 Lang, Jamie (April 23, 2025). "Annecy 2025 Lineup Unveiled: A Celebration of Innovation, Independence and International Animation". Variety. Retrieved July 15, 2026.
  4. ↑ "《今日影评》 2025-06-04 《时间之子》" [Today's Film Review (June 4, 2025) — "The Girl Who Stole Time"]. China Central Television (in Chinese). June 4, 2025. Retrieved July 15, 2026.
  5. ↑ Song, Meilu (June 13, 2025). "从《时间之子》开始，中国动画电影走上"云端"" [Starting with "Endless Journey of Love", Chinese animated films have ascended to the "cloud."]. National Business Daily (in Chinese). Retrieved July 15, 2026.
  6. ↑ Wang, Yifei (May 14, 2025). "动画电影《时间之子》 5月共赴奇幻之旅" [Join us on a fantastical journey in May for the animated film "Endless Journey of Love".]. Xinhuanet (in Chinese). Retrieved July 15, 2026.
  7. ↑ Zhong, Han (May 30, 2025). "《时间之子》"端午档"上映，"喜人"夫妻档如何跨界打造原创动画电影？" ["Endless Journey of Love" will be released during the Dragon Boat Festival. How did the "happy" husband and wife team cross over to create an original animated film?]. Jiefang Daily (in Chinese). Retrieved July 15, 2026.
  8. ↑ Qin, Conghui (June 12, 2025). "抛弃大铁笼"锁电脑"，《时间之子》国产动画电影的"全云制作"实践" [The "all-cloud production" practice of the Chinese animated film "Endless Journey of Love".]. Phoenix InfoNews Channel (in Chinese). Retrieved July 15, 2025.
  9. ↑ Chen, Nan (May 26, 2025). "Universal Music China to release Zhou Shen's new song". China Daily. Retrieved July 15, 2026.
  10. ↑ Shou, Penghuan (June 26, 2025). "环球音乐中国与作曲人钱雷合作 作品《梦见你》周深演唱今日上线" [Universal Music China has collaborated with composer Qian Lei. Their new work, "Dreaming of You", performed by Zhou Shen, is released today.]. Baidu Baijiahao (in Chinese). Retrieved July 15, 2025.
  11. ↑ Tartaglione, Nancy (March 16, 2025). "'Ne Zha 2' Overtakes 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' To Become No. 5 Highest-Grossing Movie Ever WW – International Box Office". Deadline. Retrieved July 15, 2026.
  12. ↑ Punter, Jennie (July 26, 2025). "'Mother of Flies' Becomes First U.S. Feature to Win the Top Prize at Fantasia Film Festival". Variety. Retrieved July 15, 2026.
  13. ↑ Milligan, Mercedes (July 28, 2025). "'The Girl Who Stole Time,' 'Off-Time' Take Top Animation Prizes at Fantasia". Animation Magazine.
  14. ↑ "2025年第十七届"金海豚奖"获奖名单公布！". Xiamen International Animation Festival (in Chinese). October 31, 2025. Retrieved July 15, 2026.
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