Local filmmakers ride the global animation wave with release of Khumba

Khumba is the second animated feature produced by Cape Town-based Triggerfish Animation Studios, following the successful global release of Adventures in Zambezia. It features the voice of Liam Neeson as a malicious leopard, as well as the voices of Jake T Austin, AnnaSophia Robb, Lawrence Fishburn and Steve Buscemi, among others. The film is directed by Anthony Silverston. Khumba will be released in South Africa on 25 October by Indigenous Film Distribution.

Khumba is the third local animated feature, and its great to see that South African production companies are taking advantage of the global audience's love for animated films, says Helen Kuun, CEO of Indigenous Film Distribution. Animated films typically outperform other types of movies at the box office. In an analysis of average box-office grosses by genre, industry analysts have found that animation consistently ranked second behind action movies in each of the last six years.

The film tells the story of Khumba, a zebra who has only half his stripes. When he is blamed for the drought by the rest of his herd, he sets off on a daring quest to earn his stripes. He meets a range of quirky characters and teams up with an unlikely duo: Mama V, an overprotective wildebeest, and Bradley, a flamboyant ostrich. But he also has to come face to face with Phango, a sadistic leopard who controls the waterholes and terrorises all the animals in the Great Karoo.

Much like The Lion King, Khumba has all the makings of a classic tale: its well told, visually stunning and emotionally evocative.

Kuun notes that in the past few years, four or five of the top 10 highest-grossing movies have been animated films. In 2012, Pixar Animations Brave made more than half a billion in worldwide box office. Universal scored a massive hit with Despicable Me 2, which has made more than $750 million since its release in July, making it the most profitable movie in the studios history. Disney also produced a hit with Pixar Animation Studios Monsters University', which has pulled in more than $658 million in ticket sales since its release in June.

This year will see the wide theatrical release of 11 animated movies - up from six a decade ago. In total, 75 animated movies have been released since 2008, according to Hollywood.com, and an additional 13 movies are slated for release in 2014.

Its encouraging to see that DreamWorks, Disney and Pixar, which used to dominate the animation movie industry, are facing growing competition from other studios, adds Kuun. It opens up the market and signals that the industry is healthy - that bodes well for top-end local animation companies like Triggerfish. Its a genre that is here to stay and is one of the most consistently performing. Animated movies also are appealing because they generate more revenue from DVD and toy sales than any other genre.

LINK:	http://nfvf.co.za/article/local-filmmakers-ride-the-global-animation-w...
	See more stories from nfvf

Most recent headlines