Business

Saturday February 21, 2009

Animating an industry

WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA WITH HAFIDZ MAHPAR


AMID the gloom of the economic downturn, Malaysia is on the threshold of a new creative era – just like the United States was when Walt Disney released his first full-length animated feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, in December 1937.

Snow White made its debut during the tail end of the Great Depression, tapping the mood of the period. It not only received a standing ovation when it premiered, it went on to become the highest grossing US film up to that time.

I believe Malaysia has now come to a similar point, and depending on what the Government and the industry do now, we will either enter a bright new phase or waste away the opportunity.

The potential catalyst is Malaysian-made CGI animated movie Geng: Pengembaraan Bermula, which I watched last weekend in a fairly packed cinema hall in Mid Valley Megamall.

The film, produced by animation house Les’ Copaque, had a production budget of RM4.7mil, a mere drop in the ocean compared with Pixar’s recent films that cost north of US$100mil. I was very impressed with Geng; my chest swelled with pride that Malaysia was able to produce an animated film of this quality visually and story-wise.

(From left) Ipin, Rajoo and Upin go on a thrilling adventure in the woods in Geng: Pengembaraan Bermula.

It has been a long time coming. The first Malaysian-made animated movie, Silat Lagenda, came out in 1998 and was a box office flop. Over the last decade, not a single locally produced animated film ever made money.

Speaking as someone who, during his childhood, dreamed of being a cartoonist and an animator, I feel the animation industry really needs a spiritual boost right about now. Geng may just be the antidote and usher in a new era – provided we play our cards right.

Geng is not only visually great (please don’t make unfair comparisons with the much-bigger-budget Pixar movies), it displays storytelling intelligence that many would find rare in the local movie industry. The flick is a fun ride filled with loads of laughs as well as some mystery and suspense. What gives it that extra “kick” is that it is set in Malaysia – in a kampung, to be specific – with identifiable multi-racial Malaysian characters.

The movie actually benefits from a marketing campaign that began much earlier, with the debut of an animated TV series Upin & Ipin in 2007 which features Geng characters. By the time Geng was released last week, I reckon almost every kid in Malaysia would have known or at least heard of the title characters. And perhaps surprisingly, many adults also followed the cartoon series religiously.

Pirated DVDs of the Upin & Ipin TV series are being sold not only in Malaysia but also Indonesia, a testament to the show’s tremendous following. It creates an unusual situation where illegal DVDs may actually help boost a local movie’s ticket sales!

According to a report in The Star, requests have been pouring in from TV stations, foreign film distributors and production houses from as far as Argentina and South Korea to screen Geng or co-produce a new production.

Les’ Copaque appears to have hit on a successful strategy, one that no doubt other animation companies would consider in the future.

Geng’s success – and I have no doubt it will be one if all parties, including cinema chains, give it a proper chance – will help push Malaysia’s vision of becoming an animation hub, as well as to open doors for other Malaysian movies abroad – animated or otherwise.

The Government has already provided a RM1mil grant to produce the film, and I hope it will spend a few million ringgit more to promote it abroad to create a multiplier effect that benefits the whole Malaysian creative industry.

Geng is the kind of movie that has universal appeal. Just like Nang Nak opening the doors for Thai horror film industry overseas, just like Kuch Kuch Hota Hai reviving interest in Bollywood movies, just like Winter Sonata leading the way for Korean TV dramas, we can use Geng to pave the path for international acceptance of other Malaysian creative products.

It seems to me we have largely failed to capitalise on the international critical acclaims for some local movies to boost the profile of the Malaysian film industry as a whole.

Let us not fail again to take advantage of a major opportunity. Let’s not forget merchandising as well. Disney capitalised on that very early on with its first animated movie – by one account, there were 2,183 Snow White products - and there was a Snow White comic strip to boot.

I have spent more than RM1,000 on Transformers and Thomas the Tank Engine toys for my pre-school nephew. I’d like to see Upin and Ipin become popular toys here and overseas, and help bring back some money to our shores!

Lastly, let us not be complacent or cocky. After the Disney studio’s overwhelming success with Snow White, it made a string of box office flops – Pinocchio, Fantasia, Bambi and so on. By the early 1950s, it was relying on live-action pictures like Treasure Island to save its animations.

  • Hafidz Mahpar is an associate editor at The Star. His favourite Disney animated movies include The Little Mermaid and Bambi.

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