Stephen Chow [Photo: Sina.com.cn]

Stephen Chow's animated version of "CJ7" is set to hit mainland cinemas on July 6, 2010, Suho.com reports.

The upcoming cartoon is adapted from Chow's 2008 sci-fi comedy of the same name. The characters and the setting of the new movie remain the same as the original, although the story is new.

Hong Kong director Toe Yuen, who previously directed the popular comedy "McDull", is helming the project.

Producer and lead actor Chow told reporters that the animation is dubbed in Mandarin. Although Chow already speaks Mandarin pretty well, his character was still dubbed by Shi Banyu, who often provides Chow's Mandarin voice in films. In terms of other characters in the cartoon, most stars of the original have returned to provide their voices.

3-D film is hot in the current Chinese film market, but Chow said his animation will be shown in the traditional 2-D format. In the star's opinion, the most important thing is to bring moviegoers a wonderful story. Visual effects are much less important.

2008's "CJ7" told the story of a boy and his alien dog friend.

Director Toe Yuen (L) and Stephen Chow [Photo: Sina.com.cn]