The best thing about being in the entertainment business is that sometimes work can be real fun!
And a joy ride it has been for Pune based Thumbnail animation studios and Orion Studios ever since they collaborated on Twinkle Toons!
The two creative outfits, one having a core competency in animation and the other in music have come up with an innovative entertainment format with elements including animation, interactivity, dance, drama, music, singing as well as action. All this in the regional, local flavor, live on stage!
Remember Karaoke, well this is visual Karaoke.
Here’s what it is.
Twinkle Toons, the live entertainment show created by the two Pune based companies is a multi act format where a major and novel part of the show is a bouquet of 10 animated Marathi songs.
Sporting local character design and pre production, the animated songs are projected on a big screen with the voice track set to mute, even as the audience comprising mostly of Children aged 5-14 come onstage and sing and dance while the muted animated visuals play.
Priced at Rs70 and 100 per ticket, the live entertainment show has drawn packed crowds of 4-500 people on all four occasions that it has been held in Pune since 3 months of its inception.
Speaking to Animation Xpress.com, Thumbnail Animation Studios partner Rajesh Khele shared, “At Thumbnail we are always in search of new content development for the entertainment industry and experimentation with animation. In associating with Orion Studios we found a great opportunity to create an innovative format, that boasted of interactivity and had animation and local content as the ‘hero'”
” A new “idea” to work on famous Marathi “balgeete” which was untouched but which still had tremendous potential and content value for the animation artist to work on at the same time a fun way to engage the audience which has been starved of fresh local entertainment” he added.
Orion Studios Ashish Keskar shared,” The concept came around as a result of brainstorming. We opted for animation because it attracts children instantly and because it would help add a visual element and make the kids understand and appreciate songs from their own culture better”
Currently the children that come onstage to sing receive prior training with the troupe but the organizers are weighing various options of making the format completely interactive.
“A lot of kids from the audience have shown enthusiasm to come on stage and participate, leading to our launching a Talent Hunt. We have received more than 125 entries from kids aged between 5-14″ remarked Keskar.
Talking about the animation content, Thumbnail’s Khele remarked,” The total play out time for the animated songs is close to 37 minutes. It includes famous songs such as “uthaa rashtraveerho..”, “Tap Tap chale maza ghoda..”, “khodi mazi kadhal tar..”, “ChocolateCha Bangla..”
“Production took close to forty two days by twenty three students of Thumbnail Institute under the guidance of 5 faculty members and Animation Directors Nitin Nigde as well as myself” added Khele.
“If we give the right kind of animation training to freshers and interns on the classical look, visual aesthetics, subject delivery with effective communication skills then they will be able to create wonders for the domestic and international animation industry and gradually the animation market in India will get grow in every aspect. We will be able to air our own literature converted in the form of animation for local TV channels.” He concluded.
Next on cards? The makers of Twinkle Toons are now marketing the live show and plan to tie up with some of the prominent Ganeshotsav Mandals where this kind of an entertainment format could really spread fast. Also lined up is the same format in a Hindi version.
Bright ideas like these are definitely the positive spark that’s needed to set Indian animation firing on all cylinders as it sets a global trail…