GOOD news for Filipino animation artists. The Cartoon Network Inc. recently announced it is looking for local talents and work with them in developing a new series that would be at par with Adventure Time, Uncle Grandpa or The Powerpuff Girls.
Silas Hickey, Cartoon Network’s creative director for animation development in Asia Pacific, said the country is loaded with skilled animators in 3D.
“We do a lot of lab work in the Philippines because a lot of people love to draw. You are much aware that Johnny Bravo was developed by a Filipino artist based in the United States,” he said during his talk with Top Draw Animation Inc. animators and students held at Tektite Tower, Pasig City.
“We want to grow the next generation of storytellers in Asia Pacific,” Hickey pointed out.
Cartoon Network, the unit of Turner Broadcasting System, is currently working with several experienced partners in the country’s cartoon industry, according to Hickey.
These include Top Draw, one of the world’s leading independent production studios that has over 500 Filipino animators specializing in 2D and digital animation. With Bogan Entertainment Solutions in Australia, Top Draw and Cartoon Network are currently working on two projects together: Monster Beach and Exchange Student Zero.
“Monster Beach and Exchange Student Zero are just the start. We’re really interested in supporting writers and storyboard artists from the Philippines, working with them to create great content for a global audience,” Hickey said.
During the studio tour, Top Draw organized a talent competition for their staff dressed as their favorite characters from the two projects. They also performed various scenes from the TV series. Wayne Dearing, founder of the production house, remarked: “Today’s talent show was a chance for our local staff to show the passion that they pour into their work. There’s plenty of creativity here in the Philippines, and with support from global networks like Cartoon Network, the animation industry here is looking very rosy.”
Majority of the Atlanta, Georgia-based company’s content is original and series, like Adventure Time, The Amazing World of Gumball and Uncle Grandpa are a large part of the reason that it has been the country’s No. 1 kids’ TV channel for the past five years, a briefing material said.
Cartoon Network, which operates as a subsidiary of TEN Network Holding Inc., has also been the No. 1 cable channel for kids aged 2 to 12 across all genres in the Philippines for the past three years.
Monster Beach will premiere in the Philippines on October 31. Exchange Student Zero, an animated series that also features Asia-Pacific collaboration, will premiere on Cartoon Network in mid-2015.