Hilarious animated adventure film “Spycies,” a joint effort of Chinese and French filmmakers, hit cinemas across China on Saturday.

Directed by Zhang Zhiyi and Guillaume Ivernel, the film revolves around the endeavors of two secret agents — a cat and a mouse — who have to find some important material stolen by unknown intruders.

It took the crew a long time to create a fantasy world of animals with drafts and designs for more than 90 animal characters, which includes 40 or so species.

Some of the species are endangered, such as the snow leopard and lemur.

The film, which highlights courage, friendship and wildlife protection, was selected by the Cannes Film Festival for several special screenings.

Chinese elements are incorporated into the film and local audiences will be impressed by the scenes of Beijing hutong (alleys), the traditional teahouses of Sichuan Province and Chinese dragons.

Movie spin-offs including a suitcase, snacks and a steam eye mask were also developed by its producer iQIYI Pictures.