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Xiao Xiao (Chinese: 小小作品; pinyin: Xiǎo Xiǎo Zuò Pǐn, lit. "Little Work") is an Internet Flash cartoon series by Beijing-based Chinese animator Zhu Zhiqiang (simplified Chinese: 朱志强; traditional Chinese: 朱志強; pinyin: Zhū Zhìqiáng).

The cartoon features stick figures performing choreographed fight scenes. Some of the cartoons are interactive and game-like. All cartoons are in the Adobe Flash format, with the exception of Xiao Xiao #1, which was originally in AVI format and converted to Flash format. Others have seized on Xiao Xiao's popularity to make animations exploiting the easy-to-draw style of stick figures and minimalist backgrounds, creating cartoons that are sequels or parodies of the official cartoons.

Etymology

In Mandarin Chinese; "Xiao Xiao" is the Chinese character for "small" repeated twice. Here this reduplication connotes an affectionate diminutive, an equivalent might be the English expression "itty bitty" or "lil' old". Each Xiao Xiao cartoon is given a Chinese title with the adjective "Xiao Xiao" preceding a descriptive noun phrase. Xiao Xiao #1 was originally titled "Xiao Xiao Zuo Pin", which translates to "A Little Bit of Creative Work".

Over time, the term gradually shifted meaning from the series itself to the main character, an anonymous black stick figure.

Legal dispute

In June 2004, Zhu filed a lawsuit against Nike for plagiarizing his cartoon stickmen in their commercials. Nike's representatives denied the accusations, claiming that the stickman figure lacks originality, and is public domain. Zhu eventually won the lawsuit, claiming his copyright on his style and not the stickman, and Nike was ordered to pay $36,000 to the cartoonist. Nike stated it would appeal the suit in the Beijing High People's Court. Nike won the appeal in 2006, with the judge saying in the paper that the Nike stickman design was different than Zhu's stickman design. After winning the suit, Nike stated "This was never a commercial issue for us. It was a matter of principle."

References

1. "Games time forgot: Xiao Xiao". Destructoid. 2009-02-25. Retrieved 2024-03-29.
2. "我找到了一個神秘的網站，它能把你變成火柴人" [I Found a Mysterious Website that Turns You into Matchstick Man]. 每日頭條 (Headline Daily) (in Chinese (Taiwan)). March 28, 2021. Retrieved 2024-12-08.
3. "Xiao Xiao".
4. "Xiao Xiao Lawsuit??". Newgrounds.com. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
5. ^ Nike loses "Stickman" case but decides to appeal... Archived October 25, 2005, at the Wayback Machine, Lawdit Solicitors
6. Can a "Stickman" be original? A Chinese court thinks so... - News article, Wednesday, February 9, 2005, ipFrontline
7. XinHua http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-07/16/content_1604987.htm Archived 2006-11-28 at the Wayback Machine
8. Guo, Yimeei (2017). Modern China’s Copyright Law and Practice. pp. 2–5. doi:10.1007/978-981-10-5352-8.
9. "Beijing court rules in favor of Nike in animation lawsuit - Taipei Times". www.taipeitimes.com. 2006-06-17. Retrieved 2022-02-21.

External links

• Xiao Xiao collection on Newgrounds
• Xiao Xiao collection on Stickpage

• Animation
• China
• Internet

• 2001 web series debuts
• 2002 web series endings
• Chinese animated web series
• Browser-based game websites
• Chinese adult animated action television series
• Flash animated web series