在动画系列《橙猫道士：与僵尸王斗法》中，穿着飘逸道袍的虎斑猫用法符和激光套索与一群嗜血的不死猫娃娃搏斗；这类每集约两分钟、由几十集组成的微短剧把传统电视剧和可滚动社交内容融合在一起。AI动画真人剧在中国异军突起，这部“橙猫道士”已吸引50万次观看，显示出强传播力与高起始关注度。
中国娱乐业正在被微短剧重塑：1月，长剧观看时长同比下降15%，而头条旗下红果（Red Fruit）上的观看时长则增长了一倍以上。汇丰分析认为，过去一年AI动画工具的普及使制作成本最高可下降90%，部分地区真人微短剧拍摄量下滑80%，演职人员收入再降50%，4月初有制片人称几乎只见少量非AI微短剧在中国拍摄。
自4月1日起，监管要求所有未获批准用于上线的动画微短剧从线上下架，新上线作品须先申请批准。与此同时，AI微短剧在“过度竞争”和“用户难以形成情感粘性”两大压力下，面临即使低成本也难以获得足够播放量变现的困境；阿里巴巴推出了长篇动画《猎魔人》新季，且粉丝已超1000万，显示长剧在争夺注意力中仍可能保有胜算。
In the animated series “Orange Cat Taoist Priest: Fighting the Zombie King,” a tabby in a flowing robe uses magical amulets and laser lassos to fight vicious undead kittens, and it exemplifies micro-dramas built from dozens of two-minute episodes mixing traditional TV storytelling with scrollable social-media posts. AI-animated cat soap operas have become a trend in China, and this “Orange Cat Taoist Priest” has already attracted 500,000 views.
China’s entertainment industry is being reshaped by micro-formats: in January, viewing time for longer dramas fell 15% year-on-year, while viewing time on ByteDance’s Red Fruit app rose by more than 100%. HSBC analysts say AI animation tools that spread over the past year have cut production costs by up to 90%, and in some regions live-action micro-drama production volume dropped 80%, actor pay was cut by half, and one producer said that by early April only a few non-AI micro-dramas were known to be in production in China.
Since April 1, regulators have required removal of animated micro-series not yet approved for streaming, and new series now must obtain approval before online release. AI micro-dramas now face severe competition and weaker audience loyalty, meaning that despite low budgets, fewer titles get enough views to be profitable; meanwhile Alibaba launched a new season of the long-form animation “The Demon Hunter,” which has over 10 million followers, suggesting longer dramas may still hold their own in the eyeball war.
Source: AI micro-dramas are shaking up Chinese entertainment
Subtitle: Regulators threaten to spoil the fun
Dateline: 4月 09, 2026 08:34 上午 | SHANGHAI