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Kampung Boy (TV series)

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Kampung Boy
A boy in shorts and wearing a paper hat holds a stick. He crosses the stick against a wooden sword, held by another boy who wears a red sarong (a wrap-around garment). A girl in a dress stands behind the sword-wielding boy.
A frame from a Kampung Boy storyboard (from left to right): Ana, Mat, and Bo
GenreComedy drama
Created byLat
Country of originMalaysia
No. of episodes26
Production
Production locationsNorth America, Philippines
Running time26 minutes
Production companiesLacewood Studio
Matinee Entertainment
Measat Broadcast Network Systems
Original release
NetworkAstro Ria
Release14 September 1999 (1999-09-14)

Kampung Boy is an animated television series first broadcast in 1997 over Malaysian satellite television network Astro and later in 60 other countries such as Canada and Germany. Comprising 26 episodes—one of which won an Annecy Award—the series is adapted from the best selling graphical novel The Kampung Boy. The book is an autobiography by the Malaysian cartoonist Lat, detailing his early life experiences.

The television series adapted Lat's tale of the adventures of a young boy, Mat, and his life in a Malaysian kampung (village). The stories focus on the meeting between traditional and modern ways of life, either depicting the village way of life as superior to urban lifestyles, or discussing the merits and integration of modern conveniences. Kampung Boy has won praises for its technical work and refreshing content. It has also faced questions from Southeast Asian audiences for its similarities with Western animation and deviations from the local style of spoken English.

Origins

In 1979, an autobiographical graphic novel The Kampung Boy was published. The story of a young ethnic Malay boy's childhood in a kampung (village) proved to be a commercial and critical success, establishing its author—Lat—as the "most renowned cartoonist in Malaysia."[1] The Kampung Boy's success prompted Lat to consider using other forms of media to reach out to the masses.[1]

The seeds for the animation adaptation of The Kampung Boy were sown in 1993 when Lat was talking with Ananda Krishman, founder of Measat Broadcast Network Systems.[2] Western and Japanese cartoons flooded the local television channels during the 1990s.[3] Lat decried those productions for promoting negative values.[4] Recognising that the younger generation preferred colourful animations over static black and white drawings,[5] Lat was keen for a local animated series to promote local values among Malaysian children.[4]

The Malaysian government stepped up efforts to establish a local animation industry in 1994;[6] Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad advanced measures such as banning certain foreign productions and giving incentives to local start-ups to produce animation for local television.[3] Krishman's company was willing to offer Lat financial support if he started an animation project.[7] In such an encouraging climate, Lat started production on Kampung Boy, an adaptation of his trademark comic.[8]

Production

Lat imagined a number of stories that he wished to see in animated form, and then looked abroad for help producing them. Lacewood Studio in Ottawa, Canada, was responsible for animating the pilot episode. Los Angeles's World Sports and Entertainment was involved as well; Norman Singer organised the production and Gerald Tripp helped Lat to write the script. Bobdog Production was responsible for animating another five episodes.[9] However, Krishman and Lat were disappointed with the results, which had taken two years of work to produce.[10] They thought the pilot was "slow-moving" and Lat was of the opinion that Lacewood had accommodated him too often, failing to advise him properly of the different requirements for a good animation.[9][11]

In 1995, Matinee Entertainment was engaged to complete the project; Lat started to fly back and forth between Kuala Lumpur and Los Angeles to work closely with Matinee's employees. His experience with Matinee's team of writers and animators was positive; they were more proactive than Lacewood's, brainstorming his ideas and turning them into viable scripts and storyboards.[9] Director Frank Saperstein performed the final edit, polishing up the scripts.[10] Lat, however, had the final say with regards to cultural depictions, overriding several suggestions such as characters kissing in front of others and the use of Western street slang, as these were unpalatable to the Malaysian public. He also enforced accuracy in the depictions of objects such as bullock carts, noting that the American artists thought Malaysian carts were identical to their Mexican counterparts.[9]

The storyboards were translated into animations by Philippine Animation Studios Incorporated in Manila. Lat again took several trips, this time to Philippines, to advise the animators and ensure that everything was depicted accurately.[12] Once the animation had been completed, the prints were sent to Vietnam for processing. Finally, the films were delivered to Krishman's studio in Kuala Lumpur for voice recording in English and Bahasa Malaysia.[13] Like Lat, Saperstein flew back and forth among the involved countries to coordinate efforts and make sure production standards never dropped.[14] Saperstein's efforts for his first 12 episodes were enough to convince Lat to continue working with Matinee for the project.[10]

The entire project took four years to complete;[10] each episode cost approximately 350,000 United States dollars (approximately 1 million Malaysian ringgits), partly funded by Measat,[11] and took four to five months to produce.[15] The pilot was shown over TV1 on 10 February 1997, and the series began its broadcast over Astro Ria two-and-a-half years later.[16] Kinder Channel (Germany) and Teletoon (Canada) broadcast the series after buying the rights through London-based distributor Itel.[11] Measat expected to recover their investment in approximately 10 years.[11] The series has been broadcast in more than 60 countries since its first airing in Malaysia.[17] Although Kampung Boy originated from Malaysia, most of its production took place abroad.[18] It was local in concept, but could be construed as a foreign production in terms of animation. This led to laments that had the Malaysian studios been hired to participate in animation work, the country's industry would have benefited by learning from foreign animation expertise and methodology.[19]

Characters

The protagonist of the series is a nine-year-old boy named Mat, who resembles Lat as a child. Mat is short and rounded; he has a broad nose, small eyes, and untidy black hair. He is typically seen wearing a sarong pelikat with a white singlet.[20] Mat has a younger sister, Ana, and they live in a house with their father and mother, Yap and Yah, respectively. Their nuclear family structure is predominant in the village. Yap's mother, Opah, does not live with them but is often seen in their house.[21] Also frequently appearing are Mat's buddies, Bo and Tak, whose names are components of the Malay word botak (bald).[22] The two are styled after comic characters of traditional wayang kulit (shadow play);[20] Bo is the more intelligent of the pair, while Tak has a tendency to be a show-off.[11] Other supporting characters include Normah (a girl formerly from the city) and Mrs Hew (Mat's teacher).[23]

The Malay and English voices of the characters were dubbed by Malaysian voice actors. Child actors were employed for the younger roles;[13] however, Mat, Ana, Bo, and Tak were voiced by actors who were in their early twenties.[24][25] Certain actors had the task of voicing multiple roles; for example, the voice director was responsible for speaking the roles of Mrs Hew and Yah. Initially, voice talents were hired in Los Angeles to dub the English version, but they "kept slipping into a Jamaican accent."[13] Although this soundtrack was not used in the series, the producers felt it was too funny to waste and included it in The Making of Kampung Boy,[13] which was broadcast a week before the start of the series.[26]

Setting

Whereas its source—the comic book—was set in the 1950s, Kampung Boy the animation is set in the 1990s.[15] The settings and scenery, although exaggerated in details, are accurate. The village is comprised of clusters of houses styled after those in the rural areas of Perak, Malaysia. They line a river, which provides water for the villagers' needs.[27] The end result, according to Dr Rohani Hashim (of Universiti Sains Malaysia's School of Communication), is a "detailed recreation of a rural Malay childhood."[28]

Saperstein stated that he directed the use of warm and soft colours, modelled after the colour scheme of Winnie the Pooh, to produce imageries he felt would appeal to children.[13] Far Eastern Economic Review journalist S. Jayasankaran commented that Saperstein's decision bestowed a "soft, cuddly feel" to the series.[29] Much of the show's visuals, however, depended on Lat's drawing style. The objects stand out from the background because of their boldly drawn lines. This effect is particularly aided by the rich use of brown, green, and yellow as colours primarily employed. The last two colours contrast well with each other, and are usually used to separate the background and middle ground. Brown abounds on the skin of the characters and their houses, while green and yellow are mostly seen in depictions of natural environment. Varying shades (lighting) help to highlight the characters, which are drawn with "short and round shapes".[20]

Themes and hallmarks

The story structure of Kampung Boy follows a formula built around two separate story threads written into each episode. Generally, one story focuses on the kampung children, and the other on the adults. The threads gradually interweave with each other as the show switches between each of their scenes. By the end of the episode, the two threads converge, resolved by a common ending or theme.[30] The creators of Kampung Boy deliberately refrained from copying Western and Japanese cartoons. Other Malaysian animations produced since the 1990s have not been as meticulously faithful to Malaysian images and themes – for example, Sang Wira's (1996) protagonist bears a striking resemblance to Doraemon, and the bear and bee in Ngat dan Taboh (2002) play out antics similar to those of Tom and Jerry. Kampung Boy, however, sticks close to presenting its content, which features local culture, in a style natural to Malaysians.[18]

The show explores themes that involve the meeting of traditional and modern ways of life, fleshing out the cultural aspects through displays of the characters' daily life and their interactions with one another.[22] The local flavour is strong; "true-blue Malaysian elements" are featured throughout the episodes.[13] Characters face up to superstitions such as pontianaks, encounter issues such as training monkeys to pluck coconuts, and find ways to accommodate modern technologies, such as electrical appliances and mail-order, into their village lifestyles.[10][13]

Rohani classified the show under the comedy drama genre.[1] She elaborated that main theme of the show was about nostalgia, carrying Lat's intention to portray rural childhood as a "much more interesting and creative" experience than growing up in an urban environment.[27] Several episodes champion the kampung way of life. In "Orang Bandar Datang" ("The City People Come to the Kampung"), Mat and his friends defeat a city football (soccer) team because of their toughness bred from doing hard work in the village. "SiMat Manusia Pintar" ("Smart Like a Flying Fox") suggests that the unpolluted environment of the kampung promotes a healthier and more intelligent child. "Mat Main Wayang" ("The Shadow Knows") introduces Normah, who initially disdains the kampung but is won over by the villager's tender care toward her.[31]

Other episodes investigate modern ways of life and whether they should be rejected or accepted by the traditional lifestyle. The characters debate about cars in "Naik Keretaku" ("Dad's Driving Test"), mulling over the challenge modern transportation poses to the traditional use of bullock carts. Opah, despite her age, is depicted as a modern woman, driving a van and capable of fixing the television.[32] Kampung Boy does not dismiss the urban lifestyle as a decadent one; it characterizes the city as a gateway to cultures and ideas beyond the Malaysian rural village, as illustrated in the encounter and formation of a friendship between Mat and a Chinese boy in "Naik Keretaku".[33] Rohani believed that Lat's concern with the series was to inspire the audience to consider the pace of urbanisation and what values to retain or adopt.[34]

The cartoon show also explores the changes in Malaysian rural society that had taken place during the 1950s to 1990s, and encourages preserving traditional values that Lat considers positive. For example, "Yah, Kahwinkan Kami!" ("Gone With Kahwin") displays traditional marriage customs in flashbacks. The show encourages family ties, portraying the close attention and concern family members pay to each other. Family members are shown to help one another; members of both sexes are involved in the running of the family. Kampung Boy espouses the role of the modern woman but also the traditional Malay patriarchal society. Yap is the sole breadwinner while Yah stays at home to take care of the family. However, Yap plays a greater role in the family than tradition demands; he takes care of Ana while his wife looks after Mat.[35]

Overall, Rohani opined that Lat's cartoon series was subtly recording a story of "rapidly vanishing Malay tradition and innocence", while advising viewers to consider the changes that were going around them.[28] According to her, the show suggests that changes should be carefully examined, and adopted only if beneficial to the society. Furthermore, the adoption of new ideas and material culture should be a gradual process, and the changes tailored to the particular society.[36]

Reception, legacy, and achievements

Kampung Boy was submitted to the 1999 Annecy International Animated Film Festival in France. One of its episodes, "Oh, Tok!", won the Best Animation for a television series of 13 minutes and more.[37] The episode was about a spooky banyan tree that became the object of Mat's fear.[10] Malaysian comics scholar Muliyadi Mahamood said that the animation was expected to be a success in Malaysia because of its local contents and the nostalgic appeal of the kampung lifestyle.[22]

The 26-episode series was popular with the young and received positive reviews for technical details and content.[8][38] It has also attracted criticism for its similarities to The Simpsons, as well as the fact that the variety of English spoken by the characters is substantially different from Malaysian English, which is heavily influenced by British English;[20] reporter Daryl Goh noticed an American accent to the English-language voices.[11] Lat explained that the producers had to tone down the use of "traditional Malay customs, locales and language" to market the series to a wider global audience. Rohani found the decision "regrettable"; it made the animation less than an authentic Malay product.[20]

Dr Paulette Dellios (of Bond University's School of Humanities and Social Sciences) suggested that Lat and the various studios have produced a cultural artefact: a reminder and preservation of a country's old way of life, created and produced by an international team, and displayed via modern technologies to the world.[39] The animation, according to Rohani, was a record of Malay traditions and transitions experienced by the rural community during the 1950s to 1990s.[36] Veteran film director Hassan Abdul Muthalib said that Lat's series was the best among Malaysian animations in portraying the country's culture and traditions; he also said that the success in marketing the series overseas made Kampung Boy the benchmark for Malaysia's animation industry.[40]

References

  1. ^ a b c Rohani 2005, p. 390.
  2. ^ Lat 2001, pp. 153–154.
  3. ^ a b Lent 2008, p. 32.
  4. ^ a b Muliyadi 2001, p. 146.
  5. ^ Crossings: Datuk Lat, 39:35–40:07, 41:09–41:41.
  6. ^ Hassan 2007, p. 290.
  7. ^ Campbell 2007.
  8. ^ a b Muliyadi 2001, pp. 147–148.
  9. ^ a b c d Lat 2001, p. 154.
  10. ^ a b c d e f Jayasankaran 1999, p. 36.
  11. ^ a b c d e f Goh 1999.
  12. ^ Hassan 2007, p. 296.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g Manavalan 1999.
  14. ^ DeMott 2004.
  15. ^ a b Lat Cartoon Series 1999.
  16. ^ Muliyadi 2001, p. 145.
  17. ^ Seneviratne 2002.
  18. ^ a b Hassan 2007, p. 292.
  19. ^ Hassan 2007, p. 293.
  20. ^ a b c d e Rohani 2005, p. 391.
  21. ^ Rohani 2005, p. 397.
  22. ^ a b c Muliyadi 2001, p. 147.
  23. ^ Rohani 2005, pp. 391–392.
  24. ^ Haliza 2000.
  25. ^ Chandran 2005.
  26. ^ Haliza 1999a.
  27. ^ a b Rohani 2005, p. 392.
  28. ^ a b Rohani 2005, p. 389.
  29. ^ Jayasankaran, p. 36.
  30. ^ Hassan 2007, p. 292–293.
  31. ^ Rohani 2005, pp. 394–395.
  32. ^ Rohani 2005, pp. 393–394.
  33. ^ Rohani 2005, p. 394.
  34. ^ Rohani 2005, p. 395.
  35. ^ Rohani 2005, pp. 396–397.
  36. ^ a b Rohani 2005, p. 398.
  37. ^ Haliza 1999b.
  38. ^ More than a Cartoonist 2007, p. 257.
  39. ^ Dellios 2000, p. 1.
  40. ^ Hassan 2007, p. 294.

Bibliography

Interviews/self-introspectives
  • Campbell, Eddie (15 January 2007). "Campbell Interviews Lat: Part 3". First Hand Books—Doodles and Dailies. New York, United States: First Second Books. Archived from the original on 23 June 2008. Retrieved 13 March 2010. {{cite web}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  • Lat (2001). "Vignette: Notes of a Cartoonist Temporarily Turned Animator". In Lent, John (ed.). Animation in Asia and the Pacific. Indiana, United States: Indiana University Press. pp. 153–154. ISBN 0-253-34035-7. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
Academic sources
Journalistic sources

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