| Geng: The Adventure Begins | |
|---|---|
Official poster |
|
| Directed by | Nizam Razak |
| Produced by | H.J. Burhanuddin |
| Written by | Muhammad Anas Abdul Aziz |
| Starring | Nur Fathiah Diaz Amir Izwan Balqis Fadhullah Lee |
| Music by | Mohamed Azfaren Aznam Yuri Wong |
| Studio | Les' Copaque Production |
| Distributed by | Grand Brilliance |
| Release date(s) | 12 February 2009 |
| Running time | 90 minutes |
| Country | Malaysia |
| Language | Malay |
| Budget | RM 4 million |
| Box office | RM 6,314,526[1] |
Geng: The Adventure Begins (Malay: Geng: Pengembaraan Bermula, originally Geng: Misteri Hantu Durian) is the first Malaysian computer animated feature film. The film is produced by Les' Copaque and released in Malaysian cinemas beginning 12 February 2009.
Geng was launched in a ceremony held on 11 September 2007 together with short animated series Upin & Ipin that have connections with the film. Planning for the film began in late-2005 as Les Copaque commenced operations. It received financial support from ICT-related agencies such as Multimedia Development Corporation and MIMOS.
Contents |
Bored with nothing to do for their school holidays, Badrol invites his best friend Lim to go on a camping trip at his old Kampung where he grew up, with intentions to experience some long-forgotten true Malaysian life in his Grandfather’s durian orchard. However their simple holiday trip is cut short by the discovery of a clue that leads them closer to the legend of the mystery house deep in the forest of death. Together with their newly found friends, Rajoo the animal-whispering boy, Ros (who Badrol develops a crush on, and she also revealed that she loved Badrol too) the village beauty, and her two cute twin brothers, Upin and Ipin, they work together to unravel the secrets surrounding the small Kampung.[2]
English-language actors are noted in parenthesis
It took two years, RM 4.7 million[3] and 40 local animators to complete Geng, which director Mohd Nizam Abdul Razak compares as cheap against Western animation budgets worth "around RM15 million to RM40 million" and "about 130 to 150 animators".[4]
Les'Copaque Production's Managing Director, Burhanuddin Md Radzi, told that planning the film began when Mohd Nizam, Muhammad Usamah Zaid and Mohd Safwan Ab Karim[3] met him to read out their plan. In terms of cost-saving, he said that the computers were bought from Low Yat Plaza with modifications of their own, besides financial and logistic support from MDeC, Mimos Bhd and MOSTI".[4] Maya and MentalRay were employed as the main 3D animation software. Nizam added that supply from Mimos worth millions of ringgit allowed Les' Copaque to perform rendering in only six to eight months compared to the usual over-one-year period, as well as saving costs.[5]
Geng was completed in August 2008 at 108 minutes, and was previewed to invited guests from MDeC, Finas, Mimos, RTM, Media Prima, Astro and the press. It had been shortened to 90 minutes on the advice of Finas to please the cinema operators. Les' Copaque was also busy completing the Upin & Ipin shorts for television which somewhat disrupted post-production of Geng.[6] Les' Copaque prepared five original Geng reels, three of which were sent to Kantana Group in Bangkok, Thailand for audio mixing.[7] On November 2008, Les' Copaque announced the Censorship Board's approval of their film without cuts and permission to screen by Finas.[8]
The music for Geng is mainly composed by Yuri Wong, who also composed music for the related animated series Upin & Ipin, along with Mohamed Azfaren Aznam, who contributed music as a second composer.
Les' Copaque has been reported to place targets ranging from RM5 million[4] to RM10 million, and even RM100 million after considering international distribution plans.[9] Geng opened on 12 February 2009 to incredible public response and rave reviews. On its first week in Malaysian cinemas, it gained RM2.3 million at the box office.[10] As of 1 April, it was confirmed that Geng had amassed RM 6,314,526 of ticket sales throughout its seven weeks on Malaysian silver screens,[11] in a rare event in which a Malaysian film has single handedly defeated an array of major foreign releases, which at that time included Oscar nominees Slumdog Millionaire and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
| Days of screening | Cumulative sales |
|---|---|
| 4 days (15 February) | RM 1.75 million[12][13] |
| 7 days (18 February ) | RM2.3 million[10] |
| 11 days (22 February) | RM3.7 million[14] |
| 14 days (25 February) | RM 4.09 million[15] |
| 18 days (1 March) | RM4.8 million[16] |
| 26 days (9 March) | RM 5.72 million[17] |
| 35 days (18 March) | RM 6.011 million[18] |
| 39 days (22 March) | RM 6.24 million[19] |
| 43 days (26 March) | RM 6.28 million[20] |
| 49 days (1 April) | RM 6.31 million[11] |
