'Little Door Gods' features anthropomorphized gods

Here is another anthropomorphic animated movie trailer! Little Door Gods may not seem anthro at first glance, but look at the frogs in the background. Then take a closer look at the main characters, especially Shen Tu (the fat guy).

These aren’t humans, they’re Chinese door gods (ménschén); the little anti-evil charms that the Chinese have traditionally posted at their front doors. Modern Chinese no longer believe in them and have stopped using them. Light Chaser Animation in Beijing has used this as its plot for this movie: what happens to the door gods in the spirit world when humans no longer believe in them? Brother door gods Yu Lei and Shen Tu are worried about being thrown out of work. The comic-relief Shen Tu is fatalistic about it, but Yu Lei determines to journey into the human world and cause enough commotion to prove to mortals that they still need the door gods.

Little Door Gods, written and directed by Gary Wang (who founded Light Chaser Animation in 2013), and produced by Yu Zhou, will be released in China on January 1, 2016. No American release is scheduled yet, but Light Chaser and the Chinese government intend to enter Little Door Gods in the Academy Awards in the Best Animated Feature category; the first Chinese animated film to compete in that category. Can Annie Award nominations be far behind? So there is a strong chance that Little Door Gods may get an American release soon, if only a prestige “in selected theaters” art-house release.