3000 Whys of Blue Cat () is the first large-scale Chinese animated series in mainland China, with an emphasis on science. The series is produced by "Hunan Sunchime Happy Culture Company". It is most commonly referred to as "Lan Mao", or "Blue Cat".
In 1992, Wang Hong first began creating Blue Cat from a small workshop on Xiangya Road, Changsha City, Hunan Province, after being inspired by the children's science book series, "One Hundred Thousand Whys". He established Oriental Cartoon Production Co., Ltd. in Changsha City the following year in 1993. In 1997, he and Sun Wenhua, the chairman of Hunan Sanchen Company, established the joint venture of Sanchen Film Library. The cartoon "New 100,000 Whys" was produced. In 1998, Sanchen Film Library began to adapt this cartoon into "Naughty Blue Cat 3000 Questions", marking when the concept of the Blue Cat was officially introduced.
In June 1999, Wang Hong gave "Naughty Blue Cat 3000 Questions" to Beijing TV Station to broadcast for free, in exchange for 45 seconds of advertising time per episode. "Blue Cat" garnered attention in mainland China, and subsequently in 2000, Hong Kong Asia Television purchased and promoted it widely. In August 2001, Sanchen Cartoon Group took part in the industrial development of "Blue Cat" cartoon image derivative products, beginning the commercialization of "Blue Cat". In December 2004, Sanchen Cartoon Group launched the "Blue Cat" game.
However, earlier in 2004, Wang Hong withdrew from Sanchen Cartoon Group and established Hongmeng Cartoon Group with He Mengfan. On January 18, 2005, Sanchen Cartoon sued Wang Hong and Hongmeng Company in the Hunan Provincial Higher People's Court on the grounds that the defendant cannot engage in the same or similar business as the plaintiff. The court ruled that henceforth, Hongmeng Company may not produce or issue more Howie & Landau cartoons, with the exception of the Howie & Landau Seven Chivalrous Biography series.
In December 2006, Sanchen Cartoon Group signed an agreement with South Korea's Dongwoo Animation to translate and broadcast the cartoon to South Korea. A contract was also signed with Thailand Wisdom Education Group to translate and introduce the "Blue Cat" book series to local primary and secondary schools. On November 28, 2007, the mutual shareholding of Hunan Hongmeng Cartoon and Sanchen Cartoon was formally integrated, establishing the Hunan Blue Cat Animation Media Co., Ltd. In 2009, Hunan Blue Cat Animation Media Co., Ltd. launched the "Blue Cat Dragoon" series.
Blue Cat's blue color symbolizes dreams. The character is always curious and eager to explore different parts of the world. Blue Cat can visit any era of time through his vivid imagination.
The "3000 Whys of Blue Cat" series has about 3,000 episodes, each about 15 minutes long, and had 150 million yuan invested into it. The theme song is called "It's a Big World" (). The animation centers around the adventures of Blue Cat, Naughty, and other characters. Each episode explains a piece of knowledge. This series is the story of the beginning of the characters' adventures in the world.
This series is set in the future, when evil forces plot to endanger Earth's peace. Blue Cat and friends, with the assistance of Lala, a researcher from Ozma, form the defense squad Dragon Riders to protect Earth's peace.
Along with the cartoon programs, the franchise has produced home videos, books, CDs, kids' clothes and shoes, toys, beverages, and candy. The planning of a "Blue Cat Theme Park" had also entered the appraisal stage in 2006. On 4 August 2006, Sega also announced a collaboration with "Sunchime Cartoon Group" and Suzhou based game software developer "XPEC Entertainment" to jointly develop and release video games or other forms of digital entertainment content based on the Blue Cat.