受上海特殊关爱基金会邀请，姚明在国内首度献声为献礼国庆60周年的国产动画巨片《马兰花》中“老爹”一角配音。《马兰花》将于6月19日与观众见面，该片合作方之一是上海特殊关爱基金会，而这个基金会正是由身为国际特奥会形象大使的姚明发起，因此姚明把他的国内电影首秀放在了这部动画片中。据悉，姚明此次配音所得个人收入将全部捐赠给上海特殊关爱基金会。

Chinese NBA star Yao Ming knows how to thrill fans on the court. So this summer he is trying something different - enchanting¹ children without even holding a basketball, just by using his voice.

Forced to withdraw from the NBA playoffs due to a foot injury, China's basketball icon³ was invited by the Shanghai Special-care Foundation to voice the animated⁴ Chinese film The Magic Aster⁵, which premieres on June 19.

In the movie, he gives his voice to the father of main actress Xiao Lan.

It was the first time Yao dubbed⁶ a Chinese film and his significantly shorter teammates this time include Taiwan supermodel-actress Lin Chi-ling and Hong Kong actor-singer Leon Lai.

"A lot of animation⁷ produced in China is very good and I hope children can enjoy this one and pass on traditional Chinese culture as well," Yao said yesterday in Beijing, where he is enjoying his layoff² from the Houston Rockets' season after finishing his four-hour dubbing⁸ work for the movie.

The film tells a traditional Chinese fairy tale about justice fighting evil to recapture the magic aster, which protects people's happiness.

It is jointly⁹ produced by the Shanghai Film (Group) Corporation, Shanghai Animation Film Studio, Xiamen Shangcheng Science and Technology Co.Ltd for China's 60th birthday.

For sportsman Yao, joining such a production was a bigger challenge than playing in a tough NBA match.

"It was very difficult at the very beginning, although I only had to sit there and talk," Yao recalled.

"It's a totally different working style from basketball. I couldn't add much of my own personality, but had to merge¹⁰ with the character."

Actually, it is not his first involvement in movie production.

In 2004 he was the main character of the documentary The Year of the Yao. He also did voice-over work for the US animated television series The Simpsons with NBA player LeBron James and figure skating star Michelle Kwan.

This time, lending his voice to an animated Chinese movie is also a part of his charity work, since he will donate his earnings¹¹ to the Shanghai Special-care Foundation, which he started with other people who worked for the 2007 Shanghai Special Olympic Games.

Established in July 2008, the foundation helps mentally handicapped people and the poor. Part of the box office income from the movie will go to the foundation.

As one of the top sports stars in China, the 28-year-old Yao has always been involved in charity.

He created the Yao Ming Foundation to build schools in China after the May 2008 earthquake and supports charities like Chi Heng Foundation, China Youth Development Foundation and Project Hope.