Despite stiff competition from the latest "Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf" film and "Despicable Me 2", "Boonie Bears: To the Rescue" set a new opening record for a domestic animated film this weekend at the Chinese box office.

A film extension of the popular animated TV series, the 3D "Boonie Bears: To the Rescue" opened at the top of the Chinese box office on Friday taking 26 million yuan on that day alone. And after three days, it raked in 103 million yuan- surpassing Universal’s "Despicable Me 2".

This sets a new record for the best opening weekend for a Chinese animated film, beating 2012’s "Mission Incredible: Adventures on the Dragon’s Trail".

So what makes this cartoon so successful? Business insiders believe that it’s all in the story.

The film centres on the story of lumberjack Vick and two bears who start out as enemies but must team up in a quest to win back a lost treasure.

"The movie can educate children in some ways. It shows them how to make friends and gives them awareness of the importance of protecting the forest."

The Boonie Bears cartoon series has long been popular among Chinese children. In order to create it for the big screen, every move and facial expression of the characters was performed by real actors. And then the 3D animation copied their actions.

"The bears are so real. They are very cute."

It seems that "Boonie Bears" has already set a new benchmark for domestic cartoons. And it’s likely to earn even more at the box office.