Animating the cartoon industry

Innovation and cooperation will continue to be the driving force for China's animation industry in the future, said Wang Yansheng, deputy director of China's International Cultural Exchange Center.

Many experts and scholars echoed the view at a forum on animation and cartoon industry held during 2008 China (Changzhou) International Animation Art Festival that opened on Saturday and will run until October 5.

Over the past few years, China's animation and cartoon industry has witnessed rapid development with application of new technology and resources. Many animation and cartoon companies have sprung up across the country, producing thousands of cartoon programs every year.

"But what we lack most is the power of imagination and innovation, which are indispensable in creating animation works," Wang said.

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Animax Asia to produce first original animation movie

Filipino amateur writer Carmelo Junio recently won the Animax Awards 2007 pan-Asia scriptwriting contest.

His luck, however, would not simply end there.

His script has become Animax Asia’s first-original animation movie production called "LaMB," a joint venture production under the US-million Singapore Economic Development Board and SPE Networks- Joint Production Fund.

But that is just the tip of the iceberg for this monumental animation project. Animax Asia has also assembled a heavyweight creative team to produce "LaMB."

"LaMB’s" director is Ryosuke Tei who will be working with Yasufumi Soejima as storyboard artist for the original multimedia and multiplatform animation production.

Tei said he's "very excited" to direct Animax Asia’s first original animation production. He vowed to make the animation a "unique entertainment experience" for Animax viewers.

Soejima, who echoed Tei's excitement, is on board to help Tei create his vision for "LaMB" across multiple platforms: On air (two ½ hour shows and one hour finale premiering February 2009 on Animax channels); online (web manga out this Nov. 2008; online games debuting Oct. 2008); mobile (graphic novels available from Nov. 2008 and mobisodes launching Jan. 2009).

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Nordic animation: short, sweet, bizarre

The main--and only--character in Looking Glass does not talk much. Instead, what mostly resonates in the short, black-and-white animation created by Erik Rosenlund are the sounds of a thunderstorm or of the little girl's footsteps as she runs away from what she saw in a mirror in the dark. Although the film runs for only five minutes, it effectively brings viewers a sensation of horror and reminds them of similar scary memories from their childhood.

"I wanted to make a very short and scary animation," Rosenlund said during a recent interview with The Daily Yomiuri.

"I also was interested in making characters who aren't really attractive," the Swedish director added, referring to the girl with the angular face, a feature shared by some of his other characters.

Along with the use of minimal lines and colors in Looking Glass and other works, Rosenlund said that the characters' angularity is a kind of reaction to his own drawing style when he worked making illustrations for newspapers. "The characters were supposed to be funny, and they were round...in a way to appeal everyone [at that time]. After doing that, I wanted to do something opposite in a way."

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India Animated Film Emerges: 'Ramayana - The Epic'

Feature animation production in India, for regional audiences, was projected go grow almost exponentially just a short time ago. Now, with large-scale productions further becoming the inspiration of animators with a familiar but fresh story to tell, India animation's overall growth is coming more and more in line with initially incongruous projections of the industry's growth to four times it's current value, by 2012. This to which brings animation enthusiasts to India's latest big budget cartoon film, Ramayana - The Epic, a story of Indian mythology that integrates the classic tale's sense of adventure with a youthful confidence.

Based on the ancient epic "Ramayana," Ramayana - The Epic, produced by Maya Entertainment Pvt. Ltd., is another highly anticipated Indian animation that market observers hope to push the industry further toward the precipice of international recognition. Although awareness for India features has yet to edge close enough to that cliff to warrant speculation of the local industry's potential to peer over into the deep and fast-paced ocean of global recognition, Ramayana - The Epic is another intriguing step in a new direction.

"There is a boom in the animation industry and India has immense potential to encash it," Jai Natarajan, Executive Vice-President of Business Development for Maya Ent., stated at a recent press event.

"I am confident that this movie will usher in a new era in the Indian animation industry."

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