Stephen Chow built a career on mo lei tau, Cantonese for “makes no sense,” the absurd style of slapstick that made him Hong Kong’s king of comedy. So it fits that his latest move has fans scratching their heads: his iconic characters are being turned into AI cartoons.

Shin Shin Legends is an AI-driven animation venture backed by Bingo Group, Chow’s Hong Kong-listed entertainment and investment company. It’s reworking some of his best-known characters: the chain-smoking, chancla-wielding Landlady from Kung Fu Hustle, the God of Cookery himself, the bright blue CJ7 alien, and cult favorite Yu Fa. Each one gets a new backstory and personality, and the whole package is now family-friendly.

So far it’s working. The Douyin account has over 800,000 followers, and its biggest audience is kids under 12, followed by viewers over 50. The characters have also shown up at Hong Kong Comic Con 2026 and in snack collabs with Chicken Egg Boy and mooncake maker Hang Heung. Chow’s Bingo Group is clearly all in on AI: in June, it also partnered with ByteDance’s Volcano Engine so fans can make their own AI videos from Chow’s films.

The money explains a lot. Spokesperson Ignatius Yong says AI has cut animation costs from about 300,000 yuan per minute to as little as 3,000. The long-term plan is a Marvel-style universe, complete with English dubs.

Still, the question is hard to ignore. These characters became legends by being crude, unhinged, and anything but kid-friendly. Turning them into cheap, cuddly cartoons for eight-year-olds raises the question of whether this keeps the legacy alive or just milks it.

Cover image via SearchingC.