Haier Brothers

Lore & Background

Before the production of Haier Brothers, Haier Group had experimented with animated advertising and cartoons starting in the early 1980s. They commissioned animation studios in Shanghai and Taiwan to create several animated commercials and two cartoon series, which already featured early prototypes of the 'Haier Brothers' characters. These included a combination refrigerator commercial titled Qindao Haier, aired on CCTV in 1991; the animated series Music Island, co-produced with the Shanghai Animation Film Studio and broadcast on China Central Television during the summer of 1992; and Little Heroes of the Universe, produced around 1992 by Hong Long Animation in Taipei and Hong Ying Animation in Suzhou, which aired on CCTV’s Red, Yellow, Blue program during the summer of 1993. However, none of these branded animations met expectations in terms of storytelling or production quality. As a result, Haier Group president Zhang Ruimin once considered abandoning the idea of producing animated content altogether.

Around 1995, Beijing Orient Maple Advertising Company began producing advertisements for Haier, including a series of public service announcements that featured early prototypes of the characters 'Haier Brothers' and 'Crude.' Haier Group president Zhang Ruimin was pleased with the results and authorized Orient Maple to begin preparations for a new animated series titled Haier Brothers. The creative team at Orient Maple initially produced pilot episodes for the first three installments. At that stage, they could only present their work to the head of Haier Group's advertising department. If these samples had failed to surpass previous works like Qindao and Haier (i.e., Music Island and Little Heroes of the Universe), Haier Brothers might never have come to fruition. The only feedback given was a single word: 'Approved.' By the end of 1995, more than half of the production work for the first 52 episodes had been completed.

In the summer of 1996, the first part of the Haier Brothers animated series (Episodes 1–53) premiered on CCTV’s Animation City. Due to its strong reception and positive viewer response during its 1997 rerun, Haier decided to expand the series from 53 to 106 episodes. In February 1998, the second part (Episodes 54–79) premiered on Animation City. By June 1998, the latter half of the second part (Episodes 78–106) was completed. After nearly three years of production, the full initial batch of 106 episodes was finalized. Following the completion, the creators finally met with Haier’s president Zhang Ruimin. He made only one suggestion regarding the series—changing the title from Haier Brothers to Haier Good Brothers. However, the official title of the series remained unchanged in the final release. From the second half of 1998 to 1999, all 106 episodes aired on Animation City. At the 16th China TV Golden Eagle Awards in December 1998, Haier Brothers won the award for Outstanding Animated Series.

Reader's Guide

Haier Brothers holds significance as a landmark in Chinese domestic animation, representing one of the earliest long-form animated series produced for a corporate brand. Its 212 episodes, created over more than a decade, made it a staple of children's programming on CCTV and other major stations in the late 1990s and early 2000s, embedding it in the childhood memories of the post-90s and post-2000s generations. The series won the Outstanding Animated Series award at the 16th China TV Golden Eagle Awards in December 1998, and a 1999 CCTV survey praised its combination of entertainment and educational value, vivid characters, and high rewatchability. Its legacy is also marked by legal disputes over broadcasting rights that delayed the release of the fourth part until 2009, when an internal staff member posted it on Baidu’s Haier Brothers forum. The series was later re-released around 2012 under the title Haier Brothers: Global Adventures. Many episodes are based on real-world events, scientific facts, or popular legends, such as global warming, the Manhattan Project, or the 'Strange Slope' phenomenon in Shenyang.

Did You Know?

• The character 'Crude' is a transliteration of the English word 'crude,' reflecting traits such as rudeness and lack of manners.
• Haier Brothers won the Outstanding Animated Series award at the 16th China TV Golden Eagle Awards in December 1998.
• The completed fourth part was never broadcast on television; it was first released in 2009 by an internal staff member on Baidu’s Haier Brothers forum.
• The series was originally proposed to be titled 'Haier Good Brothers' by Haier Group president Zhang Ruimin, but the official title remained unchanged.