'We have been talking for years about how to ... present a classical work in a different way - and this is the final product,' says Chan.
'The other director, Lai Tat Tat-wing, is a comic artist who has this character called Woody Woody Wood and we thought maybe we could do something with this character, and why not The Magic Flute?'
Given the complexity of the original opera's plot, and the length of the work, Zuni's version for the annual children's arts festival has been considerably shortened and simplified. However, the company has tried to stay close to the fundamental themes of the work, and to maintain the integrity of Mozart's melodies - now with Cantonese lyrics by Chan - which he says remain true to the original themes of Emanuel Schikaneder's libretto.
Although noteworthy characters such as the Queen of The Night have been retained, others have been modified and renamed, and the plot adjusted to serve as a simple moral fable.
Woody Woody Wood plays the role of Mozart, and leads the cast of cartoon characters and actors through a story illustrating the themes of 'truthfulness, perseverance, love and justice'.
The character was created by Lai in 1996, and has appeared frequently in Yellow Bus magazine as a cheerful mischievous being, constantly in search of a good time and happiness despite the obstacles in his path.
Writing Cantonese lyrics to Mozart's music that would fit the modified plot and characters was quite a challenge for Chan, but one he rose to with relish.
'It was difficult in the beginning fitting the right Cantonese word to the melody and at the same time keeping the simple pure meaning, but it was fun in the end,' Chan says.
Since the cast - including Yeung Wing-tak, Chung Ka-shing and Tsang Hing-ngai - is made up of actors rather than professional singers, it took special classes with vocal adviser Rosaline Pi who teaches voice at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, the Hong Kong Baptist University and the Chinese University of Hong Kong. She is also a well known soprano, specialising in the baroque repertoire.
'We have eight performers all of whom will be singing live, and have also recorded parts for some of the animated characters. Some characters only appear in the animation, and some of them helped sing those parts, so a few of the vocals are recorded,' explains Chan, who has penned lyrics for Canto-pop stars such as Anthony Wong Yiu-ming, Joey Yung Cho-yee and Andy Hui Chi-on.
Music director and arranger Edgar Hung Yik-kai also had a number of challenges to contend with in adapting Mozart's music.
'Everything is from the opera,' he stresses, 'but we only used about half the music, and now we have 20 numbers. We changed the orchestration and sometimes it got a bit crazy. We have hip hop, reggae, jazz - everything. It's a challenge because the orchestrations are so perfect. Often there is nothing that you need to change, or can change.'
Although the actors' vocals will be live, the music has been pre-recorded to a computer hard disc, a time-consuming process and one that involved a considerable amount of input from Lai and Chan.
'Most of the time I got direction from the two directors, and it was kind of a stretched out process, but we had the luxury of a lot of time in the studio. We spent 50 hours recording all the songs and the voice-overs,' says Hung.
'We had a lot of discussion with Lai, who is also the animation director, so we talked a lot about how to pace the songs and aspects of the delivery. There were quite a few arguments.'
Fortunately, he and Chan are a well-established team, having worked together on about 20 previous Zuni productions. Both are excited about the staging of the adaptation and the challenge of combining live performance and animation.
Zuni has been at the forefront of experimental theatre in Hong Kong. Using multimedia technology and the company's expertise should pay off with some of the trickier bits of staging in this work.
'The Three Ladies are only in the animation, and there is some interaction between them and the cast,' says Chan.
Although the production is ostensibly for children, Chan says, it is no different from other Zuni productions: there is something in the show for all age groups.
'It's the only production we are doing this year with children as a specific target audience, but we encourage people to bring children to all our productions,' he says.
'Personally, I would say it is even more for adults than kids,' says Hung. 'Kids and adults will interpret it in different ways but they will both enjoy it.'
Zuni Icosahedron's Zuni Children's Cartoon Music Theatre - The Magic Flute, Jul 30 and 31, 8pm; Jul 31 and Aug 1, 3pm; Aug 1, 11am Multimedia Theatre, HKICC Lee Shau Kee School of Creativity, 135 Junction Road, Kowloon. Tickets: HK$180. Inquiries: 2566 9696.
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