Directed and written by Chuck Powers, “Ribbit” features well-known voice talents such as Sean Astin (‘Lord of the Rings’), Tim Curry (‘The Hunt for Red October’), Russell Peters (comedienne extraordinaire) and Cherami Leigh (‘Fast Food Nation’), and was recorded in Los Angeles, California. The development and post-production works was entirely completed in Cyberjaya, Malaysia, while the animation production took place in Cyberjaya, Malaysia and Mumbai, India. The bulk of the rendering work was done in Hong Kong, China, making “Ribbit” a truly global project, which is fitting for a story set against the backdrop of the Amazon rainforest.
Currently, Ribbit has been pre-sold to more than 80 countries worldwide including United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, China, South Korea, South America and the Middle East, commencing Q4 2014. Malaysia will release the original English version and an adaptation on 4 September, 2014. Ribbit’s adaptation into Bahasa Malaysia was directed by a well-known local film director, Mamat Khalid, and features the voices of renowned Malaysian artistes Johan Raja Lawak, Elfira Loy, Awie, Datuk Aznil Hj Nawawi, Izzue Islam, AR Badul, Sharifah Sakinah and many more.
The key driver, strategist and believer of this project, Norman A. Halim, the executive producer, who is also the executive president and Group CEO of the KRU Group of Companies states: “We are honoured and excited that we have garnered such recognition in our first foray into the animation arena. We have been in the entertainment business since 1992; however we realise that the best way for us to go global are via animated feature films and television shows. We have gathered the best talents in the region for Ribbit.”
This film features two sound tracks namely, Destiny and Magical Moment. Destiny is a catchy tune that starts the toes tapping, combines legendary American stars Supreme I-Self (Wu-Tang Clan) and DJ Motiv8 (official DJ for Black Eyed Peas). The MTV was shot in Los Angeles with the post-production – CGI & animation completed entirely in Malaysia.
Magical Moment brought Malaysian superstar diva, Jaclyn Victor together with the famous R&B group, Az Yet, in more ways than one. It was love at first sight for Jaclyn & Shawn Rivera (Az Yet member and Magical Moment lyricist), who tied the knot last month.
Ribbit tells the tale of a frog with an identity crisis. Unlike other frogs, Ribbit hates hopping and has a strong aversion to water. Feeling a misfit, he is full of questions about his life… and so together with his best friend, a flying squirrel; he embarks on a soul-searching journey in search of the truth and his rightful place in this world. Confusion reigns when Ribbit is accidently hypnotised by a conman or rather, a “conbat”, making Ribbit believe that he is a human prince trapped in a frog’s body. With the mission to kiss a human princess, Ribbit will soon discover that being a frog is not bad after all… and the love of his life has always been right before his very eyes.
Ribbit recently won the “Best Family Film” Award at its world premiere at the Niagara Integrated Film Festival (NIFF) 2014 in Canada in June 2014, it certainly seems this frog is all set to leave its mark on the global box-office.