Pushing boundaries to make animation for all ages

KUALA LUMPUR: Josee, the character in the Japanese anime film Josee, The Tiger And The Fish, revolves around a teenager who uses a wheelchair and wants to live life to the fullest.

The movie allows the audience to follow her journey and shows that realism – or slice-of-life – can exist in animated works. This slice-of-life genre in anime is becoming popular because it is more relatable and appeals to people of all ages.

The situation in Malaysia, however, is quite different from that of other countries because most animated series or films here are for children.

Brainy Bones Studio managing director Muhammad Hilmi Ismail said anime has evolved and expanded from action cartoons to realism because those who started watching it young have grown up.” In Malaysia, there is a bit of conflict between animation studios, investors and clients.

“For instance, slice-of-life animation is famous, but it’s not shown on Malaysian TV. The focus here is on children’s stories like Pokemon, Beyblade and superhero stories.

“That is the cause of the conflict; many still think animation is just for children,” he told Bernama.

Many people are involved in producing an animated series besides the animators.

“There’s the audience who wants to watch more than children’s animation, people who still think that cartoons are for children, producers, and the clients who will be showing the animated cartoon.

“Maybe we can’t control this group because they hold the purse strings. It’s one of our difficulties because we don’t sell directly to the end-user (audience). It’s sold to a producer, TV station or partner unless we have funds to publish it on an open-source platform like YouTube,” said Muhammad Hilmi.

Many people do not know that animation is used to deliver meaningful messages, like Kring!, a silent animated short film by Brainy Bones Studio.

“Some of our friends watched Kring! with their children and had tears rolling down their cheeks. It was very impactful but failed to reach a wide audience because of a norm that is difficult to change and requires initiative,” he said.

Kring! won the Best Short Animation Award at the 4th Festival International Du Film Sur Les Handicap 2020 in Lyon, France.

Muhammad Hilmi, who has been involved in the industry for eight years, said producers play an important role – and must be brave – in creating comprehensive animated works that can be promoted on channels like Netflix.

“But I think to get 100% acceptance of a cartoon that isn’t just for children could be hard because there will be people who will not be able to accept it and the stigma – and remarks like ‘you’re an adult and you’re still watching cartoons’ – persist,” he said.

Malaysian Animation Educators Society (PPAM) chairman Assoc Prof Ahamad Tarmizi Azizan said many initiatives had been taken since the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation was set up and by the National Film Development Corporation Malaysia to nurture the industry.

“But many can’t achieve sustainability because market acceptance has not grown like in the West because of a small population.

“Demand and awareness are also very low, while the cost to produce an animated work is very high,” he said.

Prof Ahamad noted that PPAM’s motto is “Animation for All” which means it is for all ages and fields.

He suggested that animation be taught from the primary school level. Graphic designer Nik Mohd Hasmazi Hassan said research is vital in creating plots that do not get out of point.

“The legendary P. Ramlee said a director he looked up to and considered a mentor was Akira Kurosawa, Japan’s best black and white filmmaker.

“After studying Kurosawa’s works for a month, I finally understood why P. Ramlee considered him a legend. We were introduced to Japanese warriors through Seven Samurai,” he said in a webinar on animation.

Nik, better known as Ihsan, said simple storylines become extraordinary because research is deep.