Local cartoons culturally rich but lack original character<\/p>\n
By Yusuf Susilo<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Japanese, American and European cartoons have
\ntheir own characteristics. It is, therefore, only natural that
\nobservers, animators and cartoonists are eager to see Indonesian
\ncartoons with Indonesian character.<\/p>\n
We used to have Si Unyil, produced by the state-owned Film
\nProduction Company and aired by the state-owned television
\nstation TVRI between 1981 and 1992.<\/p>\n
Today, while we the country is becoming culturally richer, it
\nis impoverished in terms of genuinely Indonesian fantasies in the
\nform of cartoons. Many of cartoons here have a Japanese or
\nAmerican flair.<\/p>\n
\"Our animated cartoons and comic strips have something in
\ncommon with our architecture. We are culturally rich, so it is
\nincreasingly more difficult for us to create uniquely Indonesian
\ncharacters,\" said Indrasari Satyowati, president director of PT
\nAsiana Wang Animation, a company that produces cartoons for the
\ninternational market.<\/p>\n
It is the task of cartoonists and animators to create their
\nown characteristics and styles. Still, in the opinion of Rahayu
\nS. Hidayat, the chairwoman of the Indonesian Comic Society, it is
\nnecessary for each cartoonist and animator to realize the
\nsignificance of including Indonesian characteristics in their
\nwork. Her example is the cartoon Dongeng untuk Aku dan Kau (Tale
\nfor You and Me), a Red Rocket production.<\/p>\n
Drawing on his rich experience working on the cartoon Serial
\nSatria Indonesia (Series of Indonesian Heroes) in 1995 and a
\nnumber of other titles and television commercials, animator
\nPartono emphasized that creating a figure with regional character
\ntraits was easier than creating an entirely new figure with
\ngenuinely Indonesian character traits. He was speaking during a
\ndiscussion held as part of the Third National Comic and Animated
\nCartoon Week (PKAN III).<\/p>\n
Partono, who once studied in Japan, also said that long before
\nthe emergence of animation, there were already such cartoon-like
\nfigures as the giant and royal servants in the shadow plays.<\/p>\n
He said that in the future, animators should graphically
\nredesign the shadow play figures to inject into them more
\ncartoony elements.<\/p>\n
It was in this effort to find true Indonesian characters that
\nthe then director general of culture, Edi Sedyawati, initiated in
\n1994 a comic strip contest. This annual contest has in the past
\nthree years been accompanied by a National Comic Strip and
\nAnimated Cartoon Week. These two events are still held, now under
\nthe auspices the present director general of culture, IGN Anom.<\/p>\n
Many prominent figures in the world of comic strips and
\ncartoons, from famed cartoonist Dwi Koen to university lecturer
\nRahayu Hidayat, have served on the jury for the contest.
\nUnfortunately, as Anom has lamented, the choices made by the jury
\nare not to the liking of large publishers. Even when the comic
\nstrips were later published by state publisher Balai Pustaka, the
\ncharacters in the cartoons could no compete with the popularity
\nof Crayon Sinchan or Superman.<\/p>\n
Cartoonist Dwi Koen cited an example of this Crayon Sinchan
\nphenomenon. The controversial comic featuring a five-year old
\nnaughty boy named Sinchan which is actually adult rated but most
\nloved by children.<\/p>\n
\"Crayon Sinchan is one of Japanese animations which have been
\ndominating local children films. To certain degrees, this
\nanimated product is quite funny, but if we watch it very
\ncarefully, the content of the story is quite vulgar and improper
\nto underage viewers,\" explained Dwi.<\/p>\n
Dwi continued that such product is very popular among children
\nbecause the producers are very clever in the marketing strategy.
\nSinchan cartoon has been supported with the publication of its
\ncomic version, toys and other merchandise.<\/p>\n
One reason why Indonesian animation fails in the market is a
\nlack of promotion and marketing strategy. The reality is that
\nevery product must be intensively promoted or, regardless of its
\nquality, it will fail to sell or favorably impress prospective
\nbuyers.<\/p>\n
On a number of occasions, Edi emphasized the need to boost
\npromotional activities and professionally handle the marketing of
\nour cultural products.<\/p>\n
Poppy Palele, Red Rocket Animation executive producer, agrees,
\nstressing that character will gain greater popularity if it is
\nmore intensively promoted.<\/p>\n
That is why large studios with the financial wherewithal are
\nconstantly engaged in large-scale promotional activities, with
\nthe support of their international networks and merchandising
\ncapabilities. This allows them to create a buzz about their
\nproducts (a cartoon character, in this case) within a short span
\nof time, even if the product itself is not necessarily good.<\/p>\n
Investors and partners are key to marketing a product (a
\ncartoon character). In this context, Indrasari said her firm was
\nworking out partnerships with British and Malaysian investors for
\nthe production of cartoons about orangutans, which will be sold
\non the international market.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Gotot Prakosa of the Jakarta Arts Institute, is
\ndeeply concerned by the great number of Indonesian cartoons that
\nwill not gain access to the international market. Many of them,
\nmade with only a small budget, are produced with pirated software
\npurchased in Glodok.<\/p>\n
As a result, regardless of the fine characters in the films,
\nthe international market is sure to reject them. The standing
\nregulation in the international animated cartoon market is only
\nproducts made with legal software can be accepted.<\/p>\n
\"Many of the animated cartoons aired on television here as
\ncommercials have been produced with pirated software, as are the
\nanimated cartoons entered in the contest in PKAN 2001,\" said
\nGotot, who is a well-known filmmaker and animator.<\/p>\n
While there are still many problems in the creation of
\nuniquely Indonesian characters in cartoons, legal offenses
\nresulting from the use of illegal software in the production of
\ncartoons are looming large in the country's animated cartoon
\nworld.<\/p>",
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