Malaysia-based Animasia Studio (Animasia), an award-winning animation and digital content production house, has secured a contract with Rainshine Entertainment (Rainshine), an international entertainment company, to co-produce animated feature movies based on the chart-topping fictional trilogy, the “Young Captain Nemo” books. The partnership has chartered the talent of the acclaimed architect of the “Final Destination” movie franchise, Jeffrey Reddick, to administer screenwriting based on author Jason Henderson’s hit KidLit series and perform executive producing duties. Animasia will continue developing exciting content so that children across the globe can stay entertained safely at home amidst this pandemic. In the meantime, Animasia has released “Beyblade Burst” in Malaysia on RTM TV2, “Harry & Bunnie” & “Chuck Chicken” on Netflix (Worldwide), Sarawak TV, and JEI TV (Korea).
YBrs. En. Mohd Khair Ngadiron, Director of Malaysia National Book Council (MBKM) said, “I am extremely excited and proud for Animasia Studio Sdn Bhd to have secured the rights for the animation production, based on the adaptation of the bestselling book on Amazon. Most children turn to entertainment, be it from books or movies, and aspire to follow in the footsteps of their heroes, and I am confident that Animasia will top the charts with these animated feature films and be the inspiration to many children. Furthermore, as the SOPs continues and stricken amidst this pandemic, and as we embrace this new normal, MBKM encourages more local book adaptations with TV series or Feature Films, and vice versa, as many people that are confined to their homes resort to entertainment for an escape.”
Although this is the first time for the award-winning production house, Animasia, to produce feature movies based on a book, they have seen huge successes in doing something similar to that; for the past ten years, Animasia triumphed in adapting “Supa Strikas” from a Comic to an Animation Series, which received more than a million viewers across Asia, Europe, Africa, and Latin America. The Malaysian-based production house, with its team of over 100 local talents and counting, will be in charge of all the creative designs and main animation production, whereas a majority of the Pre- and Post-production works will be handled by Rainshine’s facilities in Los Angeles.
“The production segment for the animated feature films will involve over 70 talents here in Malaysia, and right now, all our employees are Malaysians. After Chinese New Year, we will start to expand our headcount, and of course, priorities will be given to local talents. Although the pandemic has affected many, the management team at Animasia is very efficient and quick to implement safety measures even before the Government introduced SOPs. In doing so, there is minimal disruption in our productivity, and we even managed to boost our production output that topped the previous year’s records. On top of that, we are also exploring the Film in Malaysia Incentive (FIMI), which will tap on a 30% cash rebate on all Qualifying Malaysian Production Expenditures for its production from FINAS, as we see great potential in bringing a big scope of work into Malaysia,” said Edmund Chan, Managing Director, Animasia Studio.
The 70–80-minute animated feature film will be produced mainly in the English language; However, Animasia is working towards creating dub tracks and subtitles in regional languages to create a more engaging experience for viewers in the Southeast Asia region. The film will be distributed worldwide by both Animasia and Rainshine, according to designated continents. As of now, the scripts are being produced by the team in Los Angeles, while Animasia is working to prepare a teaser that will be released in the third quadrant of 2021.
In May 2020, Kinsane Entertainment Inc., an entertainment company owned by Rainshine, acquired the book adaptation rights to the “Young Captain Nemo” trilogy. The story follows the adventures of a descendent of Jules Verne’s character from “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” – Captain Nemo. The descendent, a 12-year-old named Gabriel Nemo, fights nature, villains, and evil forces, alongside his friends in a submarine called Nemotech. This trilogy is a collaborative effort that brings together a roster of renowned names from across the world of literature, entertainment, and animation. Recognized for spine-tingling horror flicks, Jeffrey Reddick will be working closely with Creative Producer – Saahil Bhargava (co-founder of Kinsane), Kurt Inderbitzin (CEO of Kinsane), along with other members of the Kinsane content and production team.
“Creating meaningful entertainment for a diverse and global audience is at the heart of every project we undertake at Rainshine. So, when Kinsane (a subsidiary of Rainshine) acquired the adaptation rights to the ‘Young Captain Nemo’ books, we saw it as a contemporary action adventure with an iconic character, with plots that have universal appeal. It’s also a great opportunity to share with the world, particularly our younger audiences, an inspirational tale woven into a world of mystery, fantasy, and sci-fi,” said Neeraj Bhargava, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer, Rainshine Entertainment.
Expressing his views on the films, screenwriter Jeffrey Reddick said, “A lot of us have grown up reading Jules Verne’s classic and secretly wishing to become Captain Nemo. So, when Rainshine approached me to adapt Jason Henderson’s ‘Young Captain Nemo’ books for a trilogy of animated feature films, I could visualize a colorful, adventurous, and thrill-a-minute animation that kids and families would enjoy. I look forward to working with the Rainshine and Animasia teams to take ‘Young Captain Nemo’ to the screen.”
