Poster of Monster Hunt. Photo provided to China Daily

In addition, Monster Hunt faced other problems, such as the arrest of its former lead actor, Kai Ko (replaced by Jing), along with Jackie Chan's son, Jaycee Chan, in August on drug-related charges.

All of Ko's scenes were finished and special-effects for almost 80 percent of them were completed when the arrest took place, says Hui.

"We had no choice but to delete all of them and do an entire remake."

Ko, the Taiwan superstar, was released by police two weeks after his arrest.

After his release, however, Ko was officially banned from appearing in movies and on TV. Similar bans have been placed on celebrities who have gotten involved in drug or sex scandals.

Hui says the Chinese animation industry has a lot of catching up to do with Hollywood, especially in the special-effects market.