DARWINIAN theories are set to hit Singapore TV screens in the form of a cartoon entitled The Future Is Wild.
The 3-D animated series - coproduced by Singapore Technologies (ST) Electronics and Canadian animation giant Nelvana, and co-funded by theMedia Development Authority - is based on an Animal Planet show of the same name, and revolves around a group of kids who explore the evolution of Earth's creatures in the future.
Executive producer Derek Reeves from Nelvana said that although the main characters were designed in Canada, a lot of extra design work for props, costumes and some creatures were designed in Singapore.
The 26-episode show will be screened on free-to-air channel Okto on Jan 3 next year. One episode is currently on at Science Centre Singapore. Animators at ST Electronics used simulation technologies normally used in aircraft and
military training for the show.
"Simulated artificial intelligence allowed us to create actions automatically, instead of animating them step-by-step,"
said executive producer Chua Woo from ST Electronics.
The series, ST Electronics' third foray into animation, took around 18 months to make and reportedly cost about US$12million (S$18 million).
The series debuted in the United States on Discovery Kids channel in October last year. When it aired on German TV channel RTL II this September, the show's first nine episodes captured 10.9 per cent of the market share for children aged three to 13. The best cartoon launch on that channel this year grabbed around 17 per cent of
that market share.
Given the success of The Future Is Wild, ST Electronics is gearing up for a bright future in animation.
"We are developing our own intellectual property on a small scale," said Mr Chua.
The Future Is Wild airs on Jan
3 on Okto. One episode is now
screening at the Science Centre
Singapore until Jan 2. Go to
www.science.edu.sg for more
details.
