Cartoon Network and MDeC announce Snaptoons in Malaysia

Cartoon Network is collaborating with the Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) to bring SNAPTOONS (Short New Asia Pacific Cartoons) to Malaysia. Creative pitches from professional and budding animators are invited beginning October 14 with the submission deadline on December 31, 2010.

"Malaysia is an important market and we know from experience that there is immense creative talent and animation expertise that resides in the country," said Mark Eyers, Vice President, Content, Turner Entertainment Networks Asia, Inc. "With the backing and support of MDeC, Malaysia becomes a natural choice to roll-out the next phase of Cartoon Network's ground-breaking SNAPTOONS initiative and it's our goal to see more home-grown cartoons come out of this project!"

This year, the all-new SNAPTOONS aims to connect Cartoon Network with new creative talent across Malaysia. Through its partnership with MDeC, Cartoon Network is planning to invest in new and unique animated ideas, targeted to kids and reflects the Cartoon Network brand promise of fun, funny and fearless.

Kamil Othman, the Vice President for the creative multimedia department at MDeC, said: "Malaysia is proud to be partnering with Turner in SNAPTOONS Malaysia. This partnership will inspire a new generation of animation studios and talent and will be the platform for promoting Malaysian capabilities to the world."

As part of this program, Cartoon Network and MDeC are inviting animation industry professionals, individual animators and animation studios from Malaysia to send in their pitches and see their creation come to life and, perhaps, even join the Channel's roster of iconic characters like Ben 10, Chowder, The Powerpuff Girls, Dexter's Laboratory and Johnny Bravo, to name a few. Out of the total pitches received, up to ten will be shortlisted based on their development potential, and up to five eventually created into broadcast quality shorts.

"As the number one kids' channel in Asia Pacific, Cartoon Network is always looking for ways to promote creative talent residing in our own backyard," said Silas Hickey, Creative Director, Animation, Turner Entertainment Networks Asia, Inc. "This new SNAPTOONS partnership with MDeC will provide a platform for Malaysian animators to showcase their creativity and promote the country's vibrant animation industry on the world stage."

Entry is open to all inventive and visionary industry professionals throughout Malaysia. Concepts should appeal to kids, be inspiring, smart and surprising but, above all, they should be very funny!

For more information on the program, interested parties can visit the SNAPTOONS site at www.snaptoons.org. Submissions are open from October 14 to December 31, 2010.

Originally conceived in 2006 as a regional Asia-Pacific project, SNAPTOONS takes Cartoon Network's commitment to nurture home-grown creative talent to a whole new level. From concepts submitted through the original SNAPTOONS search, Cartoon Network has been working with studios all across the region to bring these ideas to life through this original content development initiative. Out of this first SNAPTOONS, Cartoon Network has produced or are in production on a variety of projects including Kul Veera (India), Johnny Bravo Goes To Bollywood (India), Hi-So Hillbilly (Thailand), Drop Dead (Malaysia) and Exchange Student Zero (Australia).