Zheng soon put pen to paper and concocted a fantastic tale about Lu Xixi, a bookish young girl who discovers five tiny people－merely as tall as matchsticks－after opening a sealed can of meat.

With its bold imagination and funny depictions, the tale was highly popular, spawning an equally popular stage show, produced by China National Theater for Children over a decade ago, which has been performed more than 600 times since.

Now, the adventure of Lu and her little friends will be brought to life in the upcoming live-action film, Little Canned Men, which is scheduled to open across domestic theaters on Sept 30.

In the film, the five small people are versatile, each with their own distinctive talent, varying from singing to speaking multiple languages, helping Pi Pilu－h(huán)er naughty elder brother－and their stressed classmates to get better scores in their exams.

However, a jealous classmate－who happens to discover the sibling's secret－seizes the little people, which causes a problem at the school after the "hostages" attempt to escape.