BigBeak Pictures venture in puppetry with 'Chummy & Champ'

Kuala Lumpur's BigBeak Pictures is venturing in to the medium of puppetry for the first time with their upcoming show 'Chummy & Champ' (26 episodes x 22 mins). Talking to Animation Xpress Asia Pacific about reasons behind exploring this new medium, Azlan Pa'wan, Managing Director, BigBeak Picture shared, "Why not? Everyone else is doing animation and there aren't any strong new contenders for puppetry. I believe, in a way, we are creating our own blue ocean, especially in this part of the world - where it is practically non-existent. It's fun, it's engaging and we can experiment on various moods and styles. However, Chummy & Champ is not solely puppetry. We infuse it with CGI and animation to make it more captivating and engaging. Our young audience is very hyper nowadays and we need to constantly evolve to meet their demands."

Azlan came up with the concept of the show when he was working for Malaysia's largest broadcasting station, Media Prima more than four years ago. He further adds, "I realize that there isn't a strong children's programme that focuses on instilling environmental awareness amongst children. Capitalising on my experience and understanding of television branding and the importance of ratings to TV stations, I came up with Chummy & Champ and it is not just a commercial product. It is our contribution to develop awareness of our environment, rainforests and animals amongst its viewers especially children. Our hope is for the young viewers to grow becoming responsible adults, while at the same time become a "pressure group" in getting adults to change their environmentally-damaging habits."

Targeted at children of 2-6 years old, the studio has spent RM500,000 on RnD and to produce the first episode. Each episode is now budgeted at RM100,000. Azlan shared that the studio will take around 8-12 months to complete all the 26 episodes. Currently 4 main puppeteers and 4 puppet wranglers are working on the show and the studio hopes to recruit more talent when they would be launching more characters.

Talking about the distribution, Azlan shared, "Yes, we started engaging with them a couple of years ago when we began the R&D. And we received good and positive feedback from them. PBS for example even gave tips on how to improve the programme. We have completed the pilot package (1 full 22-minute for the series, 7-minute for the C&C CNC and the CSM/PSA).
   
Along with the puppetry show, BigBeak Pictures is also working on a 2D animation (children's action adventure) - Borneo Renegades (working title), Borneo Renegades is an eco-adventure series about a group of super animals and human beings with magic and super human powers who strive to protect the earth against polluters, plunderers and evil beings. In addition to that, the studio is completing pre-production work for a comic - adult fiction adventure called Merc - about
a mercenary who finds himself being the hunted instead of the hunter.