History of Animation

In the Beginning...

Edweard MuyBridge "Humans in Motion" stop motion photos - studied the

dynamics of animal movement this way.
Zoetrope

Zoetrope (series of sequential images in a revolving drum) when the drum is

revolved the slits in the drum creates the illusion of motion and becomes first
movie- similarly film creates this illusion by having one image then black then
image then black again.

Thaumatrope (disk with one image on each side) twirl it and the two images
superimpose on each other. two frame animation.
French Brothers Auguste and Louis Lumiere
Technology for recording of sequential images on a flexible film base. (1895)
- most of the first films were French and released in America...

Norman McLaren - Canadian - organized the National Film Board of Canada.

Cel and Paper Animation Technique

By mid-1910s animation production in US already dominated by the techniques

of cel and paper.
cell animation was more popularized in America than in Europe because of
assembly line Taylorism that had taken America by storm. Cell Animation was
most appropriate to the assembly-line style of manufacturing because it took a
whole line of persons working on very specific and simple repetitive duties. On
the other hand, in Europe where the assembly-line style of work was not
encouraged, clay animation and other forms of animation that required only a few
individuals working on the set at a time was more popularized. Because the
actual set could only afford a limited amount of individuals working at one time
together and no more this style and other alternative forms of animation became
more widely accepted.

Disney - cell animation - draw each image one at a time using onion-skinning
technique.

Early Disney where mechanical techniques still used. Arms literally extend not stretch...
Cell Animation Process

Traditional cell animation - drawings created one by one animators create the keyframe and
assistances create inbetweens; onion skinning process used to make easier the reference
drawing of each additional image.
Synched Sound: Steamboat Willie - released November 18, 1928 - Disney

Disney created the first cartoon synchronized with sound entitled 'Steamboat
Willie'

At first Disney tried to reach a deal with RCA or Western Electric to record the
soundtrack but were turned down. Instead Walt contracted with bootleg Powers
Cinephone process and even with a disastrous first recording finally in a session
recorded the soundtrack with a 15-piece band and his very own Mickey squeaks.
The Future of Animation

3d Animation

Toy Story - released November 22, 1995

On entrance of computers and 3d driven software... feature length films of high
polish can be created virtually in 3d. Toy Story is considered to be a first
animated feature ever generated completely on computers. Disney and Pixar
partnered up to create this film.

From storyboard to final render - the many steps in creation of digital imagery
Combination of 3d and 2d

Iron Giant - released 1999

Even if Iron Giant looks as if it were completely drawn the traditional way -
cell by cell - the big giant robot is actually designed in 3d and output as a 2d
image using Maya with the added help of proprietary software. One of the
drawbacks of this method is the perfect and rigid quality of the line rendered out
of a 3d package. The perfect line is what separated it from 2d techniques so the
solution was to "simplifying the design somewhat and not having too many
surface shading areas", says Brad Bird director of The Iron Giant. Secondly,
Brian Gardner created a program that caused line imperfections on the Giant
randomly. They called it Wobble.
Most of the backgrounds although 2d in look were also 3d renderings. The
backgrounds were stretched a bit so that it appeared as if you were going
around something.
Fishing - released 1999 -Pacific Data Images
use of non-realistic photo realistic rendering in 3d - water color effects

"Character Animation is all about what

the character is thinking...At times, he
was getting lost. Is he happy or sad? So
we punched it up. Rather than having
him just look up at the sky, we had him
jump off the ground just a bit. That
touch better communicates what he's
thinking, what he's feeling. That's all I
do all day long as a character animatormove
3d models to look like they're
thinking."
- David Gainey

Dinosaur - released 2000

With each new step into the next generation of computer graphics comes new
and more believable CGI characters such as those found in Dinosaur. In
Dinosaur the creation and implementation of realistic digital hair on the lemurs is
included.
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model
positions in order to create an illusion of movement. It is an optical
illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created
and demonstrated in a number of ways. The most common method of presenting
animation is as a motion picture or video program, although several other forms of
presenting animation also exist.

Animation Tool
 - 3d Max
- Adobe photoshop
- Adobe illustrator
- Coral painting
- Draw pad
- Pensil, brush, pen

The History of Malaysia Animation!!

Abstract

Malaysian animation field has grown so well from the past of few years. There are many
Malaysian films today are using animation to make it more interesting such as
Cicakman, Brainscan, Susuk, Antoo Fighter and many more. 3D animation also
has grown larger these days and more importantly, the Malaysian peoples with all ages
have accept our animation. Some of the animation that has attracts Malaysian are Upin
dan Ipin, Kacang, Saladin and Geng:Pengembaraan bermula...

Year by year, there are large numbers of graduates entering the industry. There also
many of animation school and course are made through the Malaysia. However,
Malaysian animation is still at the crossroads. The delay of approving contracts by the
government-owned TV station caused some producers to fold up or downsize. In the
same time, many foreign animation, films, and TV series are flooding our TV channel.
How could this happen while our products still floating nowhere?

As a Malaysian, we must support our local products first no matter animations, films,
TV series and also musics. Action is urgently required to prevents Malaysian animation
from stagnating. In this post, I will give expose about our animation history in order to
for us to more appreciate our animation industry and people before us who are
fighting to make animation are accepted in this country. I hope with this expose, we can
continue the journey of making animation more development in Malaysia.

The Beginning

Wayang Kulit(shadowplay) are said to one of the earliest animation in Malaysia. It

is a puppet with articulating arms and manipulated by the Tok Dalang(storyteller).
Wayang Kulit give the inspiration to a German animator, Lotte Reiniger to do her
film, THE ADVENTURES OF PRINCE ACHMED.

However, animation in Malaysia are formaly began in 1946 after the establishment of
Malayan Film Unit(now Filem Negara). It is first was made only for government
documentaries and advertisement. In 1963, the first short animation, HIKAYAT
SANG KANCIL, was made handled by Anandam Xavier, a set designer who was
intrained in animation. He planned, animated and did all the background with only one
assistant, Goh Meng Huat. The animation was completed in 1978 but screened in
1983. The successful of this animation led to making other 5 short film that is:
 1. SANG KANCIL DAN MONYET (1984)
2. SANG KANCIL DAN BUAYA (1987)
3. GAGAK YANG BIJAK (1985)
4. ARNAB YANG SOMBONG (1986)
5. SINGA YANG HALOBA(1986)

The 2 commercial animation studios are then was established, FilmArt(1984) and
Lensamation(1987), led to the training and creation of many animators. A number
Japanese animation were post-animated at Lensamation. Live action features films
began to include animated titles and animation sequences. At this time, all animation
are done manually.

The Turning Point

When Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysia's fourth Prime Minister, came in 1981, he
immediately initiated the push for the use of digital technology. This resulting in the
producing of the long-form animation industry came in 1994 to promote locally-made
animated TV series. The aim was to cut down on foreign imports as well as increase local
contents. The first TV series
animation was screened in 1995, that is Usop Sontorian. In less than 10 years, the
industry has produced numerous animation TV series, feature films and telemovies.
50% of these animation were animated with the direct-to-system method(drawing
directly into the computer).

List of animation produced in less than 10 years:

1. SILAT LAGENDA (1998; first feature film)

2. PUTEH (2001; film)
3. KARTINI (1997; telemovies)
4. NIEN RESURRECTION (2000; first 3D)
5. SKYLAND (2001; 21 episode 3D animation TV series)

A number of Malaysian cartoonist had their characters tuned into animation:

1. LAT - Kampung Boy (developed in US and animated in Philippines)

2. IMUDA - Mat Gelap ( first combination of live action and animation)
3. NAN - Din Teksi
4. UJANG - Usop Sontorian (first TV Series)

However, Malaysia still lacking an adult audience because, as usuall, Malaysia people
mindset is still regarded as local animation are catering only for children. Even if the
animation for adults could be done, there is no market locally. Both Silat Lagenda
and Puteh lost money. Local Animation films, like serious local live action films do not
sell in Malaysia.
Conclusions

Animation in Malaysia have grown so big day by days. As a Malaysia we must support
our animation industry and not just to 'judge the book by its cover'. It is not wrong
to watch and love foreign's animation but we must love our animation also. We are the
new generation who are responsible to make our animation better and well-known in
other countries. Lets together build up the world new empire of animation for Malaysia.

FILEM ANIMASI DI MALAYSIA

1. A DAY IN A LIFE OF MR TEDDY (2010)

2. ALAMAYA (2010)
3. BUAS (2010)
4. BUDAK LAPOK (2007) (2.6juta)
5. GENG : PENGEMBARAAN BERMULA (2009)
6. KELIP-KELIP (2010)
7. KERONCONG UNTUK ANA (2010)
8. LAST BUT NOT LEAST (2007)
9. MENTERA SEMERAH PADI (0)
10. PUTIH (2001)
11. SIGNTIFIC (0)
12. SILANG PERTARUNGAN AKHIR (2010)
13. SILAT LAGENDA (1998) (6JUTA)
14. SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE (2007)

Animation Company In Malaysia

ANIMATION, COMIC, CARTOON & MULTIMEDIA COMPANY IN

MALAYSIA
COMPANY CATEGORY
Adcom Digital Hub
Official Website : http://www.adcomdh.com/
Learning
Institution

Animango Studio
Official Website : http://www.animango.net/
Animation,
Comic, Caricature

Animasia Studio
Official Website : http://www.animasia-studio.com/
Cartoon

Animax Asia
Official Website : http://www.animax-asia.com/
Cartoon, Anime,
Animation

Aniotek Sdn Bhd

Official Website : http://www.aniotek.com.my/
2D & 3D
Animation

Art Square
Official Website : http://www.artsquare.com.my/
Comic & Cartoon
Publication

CMC – MSC (Creative Multimedia Cluster –

Multimedia Super Coridor)
Official Website : http://cmc.msc.com.my/ Government

Creative Enterprise
Official Website : http://www.cesb.net.my/
Comic & Cartoon
Publication
Dasein Academy of Art
Official Website : http://www.dasein.edu.my/
Learning
Institution

Elite Animation Sdn Bhd

Official Website : http://eliteanime.com.my/
Animation

Enershia Sdn Bhd

Official Website : http://www.enershia.com/main.html
Animation,
Courseware

Fat Lizard
Official Website : http://fatlizard.com/
Animation

Flare Studios
Official Website : http://www.flarestudios.com/
Cartoon,
Animation, 3D

Game Brains
Official Website : http://www.gamebrains.com/
Game

Go Academy
Official Website : http://www.go-academy.com/
Learning
Institution

Imagebox
Official Website : http://www.imagebox.com.my/
Film, Animation,
TV Production,
Multimedia
Imagika Sendirian Berhad
Official Website : http://www.imagika.com.my/
Animation, TV
Production,
Events

Inspidea
Official Website : http://www.inspidea.com/
Cartoon

Karangkraf
Official Website : http://www.karangkraf.com.my/
Cartoon
Publication

KRU
Official Website : http://www.kru.com.my/
Music,
Multimedia, Film

Les’ Copaque Production

Official Website : http://www.lescopaque.com/
Cartoon,
Animation

Lim Kok Wing University

Official Website : http://www.limkokwing.edu.my/
Learning
Institution

Multimedia University
Official Website : http://www.mmu.edu.my/
Learning
Institution

MOY

Cartoon
Publication
Mygo Solutions Sdn Bhd
Official Website : http://www.mygo.com.my/
Multimedia,
Games

PTS
Official Website : http://pts.com.my/
Comic & Cartoon
Publication

Quest Animations
Official Website : http://www.quest-animation.com/
Cartoon,
Animation

Rocket Fish Studios

Official Website : http://rocketfishstudios.com/
Animation

Silver Ant
Official Website : http://www.silver-ant.com/
Animation

The One Academy

Official Website : http://www.toa.edu.my/
Learning
Institution

Tripod Entertainment
Official Website : http://www.tripod-ent.com/
Animation

Vision Animation
Official Website : http://www.visionanimation.net/
Animation
 Young Jump Animation
Official Website : http://www.young-jump.com/
Animation

Famous Animation Company

 Pixar
- wall E
- Toys Story 1,2,3
- Bugs Life
- Monster Inc
- Ratataouille
- Finding Nemo

 Universal Animation Studios

- Alvin and the chipmunks
- Van Helsing: The London Assignment
- The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury

 Walt Disney Animation Studios

- The Princes And The Frog
- Bolt

 DreamWorks Animation
- Shrek 1,2,3,4
- Madagascar
- Alien Vs Monster
- Bee Movie
- Kungfu panda

 Cartoon Network Studios

- Ben 10
- Transformer animated
- Sym-bionic Titan

DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. (NASDAQ: DWA) is an

American animation studio which primarily produce a series of commercially
successful computer-animated films, including Shrek, Shark Tale, Madagascar, Over
the Hedge, Bee Movie, Kung Fu Panda, Monsters vs. Aliens, and How to Train Your
Dragon. Although the studio had made traditionally animated films about serious
subjects earlier, most of their computer-generated films and television series have now
gained the studio a reputation for being focused on popular culture and satire, although
their most significant successes in recent years have had more universal themes. The
studio was formed by the merger of the feature animation division
of DreamWorks and Pacific Data Images (PDI). Originally formed under the banner of
DreamWorks SKG, it was spun off into a separate public company in 2004.

They are currently distributed only through Paramount Pictures who acquired the rest
of DreamWorks SKG in February 2006. DreamWorks Animation maintains two
campuses: the original DreamWorks feature animation studio in Glendale,
California and the PDI studio in Redwood City, California.

Pixar Animation Studios is an American CGI animation film studio based

in Emeryville, California, United States. As of 2006, Pixar is a subsidiary of The Walt
Disney Company. The studio has earned twenty-four Academy Awards, six Golden
Globes, and three Grammys, among many other awards, acknowledgments and
achievements and has made $5.5 billion worldwide. It is one of the most (according
toRotten Tomatoes, perhaps the single most) critically acclaimed film studios of all time.
It is best known for its CGI-animated feature filmswhich are created with PhotoRealistic
RenderMan, its own implementation of the industry-standard RenderMan image-
rendering API used to generate high-quality images.

Pixar began in 1979 as the Graphics Group, part of the Computer Division
of Lucasfilm before it was acquired by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs in 1986. The Walt
Disney Company bought Pixar in 2006.

Pixar has produced eleven feature films, beginning with Toy Story in 1995, all of which
have met with critical and commercial success. Pixar followed Toy Story with A Bug's
Life in 1998, Toy Story 2 in 1999, Monsters, Inc. in 2001, Finding Nemo in 2003, The
Incredibles in 2004,Cars in 2006, Ratatouille in 2007, WALL-E in 2008, Up in 2009
(the first Pixar film presented in Disney Digital 3-D), and Toy Story 3 (to date, the
highest-grossing animated film of all-time, grossing over $1 billion worldwide), in 2010.
Pixar's twelfth film, Cars 2, is scheduled for release on June 24, 2011.

All seven Pixar films released since the inauguration of the Academy Award for Best
Animated Feature in 2001 have been nominated for that award, commencing
with Monsters, Inc.. Five of the seven have won the award: Finding Nemo, The
Incredibles, Ratatouille, WALL-E, andUp. Up is also the first Pixar film and the second
animated film in history (the only other being Beauty and the Beast) to be nominated
for theAcademy Award for Best Picture. Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Up and Toy
Story 3 manage to make the top 50 list of highest-grossing films of all time, with Toy
Story 3 making the top 5 at #5, Finding Nemo at #21, Up at #37, and The Incredibles at
#49.

On September 6, 2009, executives John Lasseter, Brad Bird, Pete Docter, Andrew

Stanton and Lee Unkrich were handed the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement by the
Biennale Venice Film Festival. The award was presented by Lucasfilm founder George
Lucas

Studio Ghibli, Inc. (株式会社スタジオジブリ Kabushiki-kaisha Sutajio

Jiburi?) is a Japanese animation film studio. The company's logo features the character
Totoro (a large forest spirit) from Hayao Miyazaki's film My Neighbor Totoro. It has its
headquarters in Koganei, Tokyo.

Several anime features created by Studio Ghibli have won the Animage Anime Grand
Prix award, including: Castle in the Sky, in 1986; My Neighbor Totoro, in 1988; and
Kiki's Delivery Service, in 1989. In 2002, Spirited Away won an Oscar for Best
Animated Feature and it remains the only film made outside the English-speaking world
to have done so.

Japanese vs American Animation

Memories of television programming from my youth consists mostly of great educational shows
like Sesame Street and The Friendly Giant, but also consists of classic 1980s cartoons
like Transformers and G.I. Joe. Mention these two cartoons to any other guy in their late teens
or early twenties and their face will light up, reminiscing on the great fun they had growing up
with these action/adventure shows. However, ask any adult in their forties or fifties about these
shows and they'll answer with "All that violence on TV... what a shame." or "Sorry, I didn't watch
any of those kiddie shows." These are typical responses in America, where animation has
evolved into an industry aimed, more or less, at children. In Japan, an entirely different result
has occurred in the evolution of the Japanese animation industry, where the main audience
consists of anyone aged from one to one hundred. My purpose in this paper will be to compare
the two and attempt to reason why they have evolved they way they did.

Most of us will remember the Disney era beginning with Steamboat Willie short, introducing the
character of Mickey Mouse. Animation developed throughout the early part of the century
purely in the form of short 6-8 minute clips, from both Warner Brothers and Disney studios,
with the odd full-length feature like Snow White. Most of these shorts were designed to be
comic, to entertain the audience through comedy and slapstick antics where characters could be
severed in half and then literally pull themselves together and be perfectly fine for the next
animated short. These cartoons developed into short escapes for the audience from the harsh
world of the depression, and then from World War II. However, censorship was strong in these
periods, and many films had scenes cut, even going so far as to cut a kiss between Porky and
Petunia Pig in a 1939 short (where kissing between live actors was acceptable in that era). Critics
even went so far as to criticize the excessive humanism depicted in the 1950 movie Cinderella.
Reviewers from Time and The Saturday Review magazines were disappointed with the film as it
"represented an unusually large number of human characters", feeling that "it provided a kind of
realism that should be foreign to animation".

From here on, American animation, or more commonly referred to as "cartoons", became an
escape from realism. Being a conservative "civilized" American society, the cartoons main
audience became children, as it would be considered "childish" for an adult to watch animated
features & shorts. The main goal of the industry became not only to sell theatre seats and
commercial spots, but sell merchandise as well. While this may seem as a relatively new concept
in the economic boom of the 1990s, the 5,000,000th Mickey Mouse watch was manufactured 50
years ago, in 1948. In that year alone, it was expected that "goods bearing the faces of Disney
characters will bring in a retail gross of $100 million".... in 1948. Nowadays, it is quite rare to be
able to watch an entire episode of X-Men or Spiderman without seeing an advertisement for
an action figure of some sort. This has become the main goal of cartoons in America, and I admit
to giving in. I personally had almost 30 Transformers by the age of 12, being a victim of the
immense commercial enterprise that is the cartoon industry. In fact, it is almost impossible to
sell action figures these days without having an animated television show, or feature, to help sell
it. In effect, cartoons have become 23 minute-long commercials for their action figures. Airtime
is also important, as, with the exception of the children's and cartoon networks, most cartoons
can be found either on Saturday mornings, or in the after-school time-slots, where children are
most likely to be watching television.

Also prevalent in animation is the influence of religion, as Western civilization is primarily a

Judeo-Christian culture, where we are mostly monotheistic, and find comfort in establishing a
"good" and a "bad". This theme is present in almost all American animation series, where there
is a "good" hero/team, and there is an "evil" villain/criminal. The line dividing the two is strong
and never fades. The monotheistic theme is present in that there is one "right" answer to a
problem, one Truth.

Lately, however, some American studios have been producing adult-themed cartoons, with the
best example of these being The Simpsons. While seemingly starting out as a formula family
sitcom that is animated, The Simpsons retains its popularity in being as unpredictable as
animation is, such as using a large parasol to block out the sun, or having idols appear on a
clown's comeback special. And there is always one thing we can take comfort in, and that's the
consistent age of the characters. Bart has been 10 years old, Lisa has been 8, and little Maggie
has been sucking on her pacifier for almost a decade. More adult-themed cartoons are emerging
in the American media industry, notablyKing of the Hill, Duckman, and South
Park (which, technically isn't animation, but is still created using computer-simulated
cardboard cut-outs). All of these series poke fun at American life either as a kid in a small town,
or as a family of ducks, in an attempt to entertain the audience to sell commercial space.

And there is one thing prevalent in almost all American animation Ò it is episodic. Episode after
episode, the main characters return unchanged and unaffected by the previous episode's events.
It is always possible to miss an episode here and there, or watch the episodes out of order, and
never be lost.

In short, American animation is mainly aimed at children, promoting Judeo-Christian views

that there is a "good" side and a "bad" side, with one "right" answer in the end. It is episodic so
that children will never have to worry about missing the odd episode, and won't have to follow a
complex storyline or character development usually present in series'. It is designed to be an
escape from the harsh world of reality, from which we all want to protect our children.

On the other hand, Japanese animation is somewhat different. Often referred to

as anime (pronounced ah-knee-may), it is a form of mass media that has an audience of all ages.
I look at it as being simply another vehicle to send the same messages and provide the same
entertainment that live-action movies do, other than considering it one genre of the industry.

Most anime is based on manga, the Japanese version of comics. Authors create their stories in a
set of still pictures that, if the strip is popular enough, are then brought to life. Comic strips in
Japan, however, originate from the post-WWII era when American strips were imported to
Japan. The format was widely popular, and soon Japanese authors began to create their own
strips. While there were the weekly strips poking fun at typical family life, other strips also
became popular that followed people on journeys. Such stories, however, were mostly serial,
where the reader had to read every strip in order to keep track of the goings-on in the story. This
format became successful in a commercial sense, as people had to keep buying the next
newspaper or magazine to keep up with the stories.

While there is always much imagination involved in creating such stories,

many anime storylines find their roots in the common Japanese religion of Shinto. Shinto can
best be described as a disorganized religion, where there is no single God, but many stories of
extraordinary people and things that are worshipped as deities. Where Judeo-Christian values
strongly discourage (putting it lightly) homosexual relations and out-of-wedlock pregnancies,
the only common moral code in Shinto is cleanliness. Japanese society is far more liberal in
terms of censorship and social attitudes than American society. From this, not only are there
many stories animated that have to do with Shinto legends, but many stories that explore
"taboo" (well, they would be taboo in American terms) social relations between people as a
result of the society being rooted in Shinto.

Another theme coming from this religious difference is that death itself is often shown in anime.
Not just in odd characters added for the effect, like Star Trek and their "phaser bait", but the
Japanese audience is never shocked to find their favorite main character killed off. This is
because death is honorable in Shinto, especially if there is a noble cause in one's death. An
example of this would be the kamikaze pilots of World War II, whose sacrifice was deemed
honorable in that they were attempting to take out more of the enemy in such a maneuver. The
Western feeling in society, however, was that death was to be avoided at all costs, and has
therefore become a "taboo" subject in our media.

One main driving force behind the popularity of Japanese animation is how widespread the
material is. There are series based on wandering samurai, space adventures, slapstick comedy,
and even soap operas. Although not entirely realistic in depicting life in Japan, many series do
portray human characters and their lives, but more as a fantasy outlet for the audience. Another
thing that I find interesting is that the series premise is never plain, and will almost always have
some sort of odd detail to go along with a seemingly normal story. One such example, a comedy-
romance series called Kimagure Orange Road focuses on a love triangle that develops
between a teenage boy and his two female friends. The odd thing about this story is that the
teenage boy and his family have the power of ESP. This story element, however, is not the main
focus of the story, but used as a vehicle to fill stories, provide some material for character
development, and even give some comic relief in times of tension. Another odd plot twist is
present in the martial-arts adventure series Ranma á where the main character becomes
cursed in the first episode as he becomes a she when doused in cold water.
As mentioned above, many anime series are just that, series. The storyline is continuous, with
plot twists and character development, and in my opinion, makes them more interesting to
watch. The viewer cannot simply sit back and expect the characters to all be the same as the
previous episode, and may miss something if they failed to catch an episode or two. There are
select few series that are episodic, and are quite entertaining, but the more popular shows are
those that grip the audience from beginning to end.

Also rooted in Shinto, many series never clearly draw the line between "good" and "evil".
Characters often switch from one side to the other, some characters can be both, and some
characters can be neither. A character's motives may be "good", but their methods are "evil", and
vice versa. It is also possible to have two sides present in a battle, with neither being "good" or
"bad". This guessing is another point of interest in Japanese animation.

Character design is very different in anime is very different from American cartoons. Many
characters are human in form, as opposed to animals or robots often present in cartoons.
Japanese animation, however, commonly employs simplistic facial design to distinguish
characters immediately. More emotional characters tend to have larger eyes, small noses, and
small mouths. The "bad guy" of the story is often drawn with smaller eyes, and a larger mouth
(often used for maniacal laughter, in which case a bigger mouth has greater effect). Hair color is
often wild in anime as well. Colors range from black to pink to blond to blue. This technique is
used more to distinguish between characters than for personality traits, although very often
characters with blonde hair are more "evil" in motives than the rest of the characters.

"But I thought it was all sex and violence?" This is the opinion shared by most Americans on the
subject of Japanese animation. But it's the same as saying that American television consists only
of soap operas and trashy talk shows if you limit your viewing to daytime television. This
opinion results from the fact that most of the companies who translate and distribute anime to
Americans initially only imported series they thought would sell with the adult crowd, series that
involved sex and/or violence. I must admit, I used to have this opinion as well. At least, until I
became exposed to an enormous "underground" community known as Fansubbing. Over the last
few years, a small number of incredibly generous Americans have imported video tapes and
laser discs of anime series not (yet) licensed for distribution in America. They mainly import
series that appeal to a general audience with a flowing storyline and character development. The
main reason why these titles are not (yet) licensed for distribution in America is that some of
these series run over fifty episodes in length, and American distributors fear losing money on
long series feeling that fan support will eventually fade. The fansubber's generosity comes from
spending hours, days, sometimes weeks translating and subtitling the material and providing it
to fans at the cost of the tape plus shipping. Yes, this is technically illegal, but a strong ethical
code is present where no one will associate himself or herself with a series that has been
acquired by an American company for distribution. In fact, many Japanese producers see this
underground community not as a bunch of bootleggers, but more as a bunch of new and
unexpected consumers for related merchandise such as toys, stationary, and music CDs (Selling
the show is more important that merchandise as every series is later released on laser disc and
video cassette). The Japanese community also sees it as a way of promoting cultural exchange in
the Western world, hoping they can remain in contact with Americans of Japanese heritage as
well as reach out to the rest of us. Interestingly enough, the latest company to jump onto
the anime distribution bandwagon is Disney itself. They recently acquired the license to
distribute all feature-length titles produced by the legendary (in Japan) Studio Ghibli, all
directed by the legendary (in Japan) Hayao Miyazaki. The first title to be released, through
Buena Vista Home Video early September, is Kiki's Delivery Service, a coming-of-age story
about a witch who travels to a large city to discover her purpose in life. It is a light-hearted story,
fitting in with Disney's ideology well. However, their second release, scheduled for early 1999,
is Princess Mononoke. Although I have not seen this title, I have heard much about it. It is,
as I'm told, a tale centered around the environment involving some violence, much action, and
carries a strong message. As this movie would not fit well with the "Disney" name, it will be
released through Miramax Films, a Disney subsidiary. But the fact remains, the large American
corporation known as Disney is buying in to Japanese culture.

As are many other Americans, as seen in the exponential growth of the anime distribution

industry in the last few years. Companies are gaining faith in longer series, producing more than
one series at a time, and importing more recent titles. There is still one major obstacle left,
however, and that IS TV penetration. At present, only Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball are
pretty much the only Japanese series on American television. This is most probably due to the
fact that their targeted audience is the same as the rest of the Saturday morning cartoons, and
Tokyo could simply be the name of a fantasy land for children. However, racier American
cartoons like The Simpsons have opened up American minds to the imaginative power and
potential of animation. Perhaps one day anime will be generally accepted as a form of
entertainment in America, and will no longer be limited to college students and comic
conventions.

Conclusion

The conclusion is where the animation in Malaysia compared with the United States and
Japan. Where the quality and level of technology that they have achieved and the
techniques of painting or animation they produced was more than malaysia. But we,
also to produce an animated feature Malaysia as Upin and Ipin. We must not put
ourselves under, but we have to put us in a more comparable to the United States and
Japan.