KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia-based animation and digital content production company Animasia Studio has inked a contract with international entertainment company, Rainshine Entertainment, to produce an animated film based on the trilogy of popular books, Young Captain Nemo.
The collaboration will see American screenwriter and producer Jeffrey Reddick, who is known for the Final Destination film franchise, overseeing the scripting and production process based on the children's books by American author Jason Henderson.
Animasia Studio managing director Edmund Chan said that over 100 Malaysians would be involved in the production of the Young Captain Nemo animation film.
"After Chinese New Year, we will increase the work force by 30 per cent with priority given to local talents.
"Although the Covid-19 pandemic has affected everyone, the management team at Animasia has quickly and efficiently carried out safety measures before the government had introduced the SOP.
"By doing this, our productivity has increased and we were successfully able to increase our output which topped last year's record," he said in a news report yesterday.
Chan added that the company was considering the Film In Malaysia Incentive (FIMI) in order to receive a 30 per cent rebate on applicable expenditures from the National Film Development Corporation (Finas).
"We see the potential to bring in a bigger work scope to Malaysia," he said.
Previously, Animasia launched animation series Beyblade Burst on TV2 and Harry & Bunnie, as well as Chuck Chicken on Netflix, TV Sarawak and South Korean station, TV JEI.
About 10 year ago, Animasia adapted the comic book title Supa Strikas into an animation series that was watched by over a million viewers in Asia, Europe, Africa and Latin America.
On the production of the Young Captain Nemo film, Chan said that local talent would be handling the main animation work while the pre-production and post-production processes would be carried out by Rainshine in Los Angeles, USA.
He added that Young Captain Nemo would be between 70 to 80 minutes in duration and would be in English.
"However, Animasia will be producing the subtitles as well as dubbing in regional languages.
"The script of the first film is currently in the process of being made in Los Angeles, while Animasia is working on completing a 'teaser' that will be released in the third quarter of 2021," he said.
Young Captain Nemo follows the adventures of the titular character based on famous author Jules Verne's classic hero Captain Nemo.
Gabriel Nemo is the descendant of that popular character and is a heroic 12-year-old adventurer who battles villains with his friends in the submarine known as Nemotech.