What can Andy's mum teach the Malaysian animation industry?

Imagine a full-blown conspiracy theory circulating in the media explaining the link between all of the characters in Malaysia’s most loved animation films and how everything is an elaborate web of a story?

What would that theory be? Maybe it could be revealed that Upin and Ipin’s grandmother, Opah, was really the long-lost sibling of Keluang Man. And that they once had a pet cat who was really the cousin of Sang Harimau from Pada Zaman Dahulu.

Now wouldn’t that be an excellent publicity stunt for Malaysia’s animation industry?

And that leads us to the burning question - what makes a good animated story? That has been the question Malaysia has been asking since the launch of the Multimedia Super Corridor in 1996 and animation being the unofficial focus of our content creation.

With all the effort that has been put in and with so many animation films coming out such as Keluang Man, Usop Sontorian, Silat Lagenda, Upin & Ipin, Boboiboy, Bola Kampung and Pada Zaman Dahulu, it seems that it is progressing.

But somehow, something is slightly lacking. And this couldn’t be more obvious in the face of a recent conspiracy theory that has hit the international animation world and turned it upside down.

Pixar’s Toy Story, one of the most successful animated film franchise in the world with such strong appeal on children and adults alike, has suddenly seen a renewed interest by fans and non fans alike due to an expose by a blogger.

The blogger, Jon Negroni, through extensive research revealed on his blog the real identity of Andy’s mother. He wondered why all of the toys remembered their history, except for Woody, who seemed to have only been in existence throughout Andy’s life.

Through a series of screenshots from all three instalments of the movie, Negroni explains that Woody is actually a family heirloom that has been passed down to Andy. And that Jessie, the other cowboy toy, was actually owned by his mother, who is really Emily, the girl in the flashbacks in Toy Story 2.

Yes, it’s a pretty complicated theory. And Toy Story director, Lee Unkrich, hasn’t outrightly denied the theory, but has been mocking it on his Twitter account. But an interesting theory it is and it has definitely captured audience the world around just because it’s such a beautiful story.

Now imagine if this could ever happen to an animated film in Malaysia? Or even any mainstream film in our country? That’s something many would almost want to bet the farm on – that no Malaysian animated film to date would ever generate such a buzz amongst audience.

Why? It’s because many animated films produced in Malaysia seem to give more focus on the technical production aspects rather than the strength of its story.

“A sign of a good storyteller is when they make you feel that you're actually figuring out the story even before it ends, when in actuality, you're actually pointed that way through your own experiences and knowledge,” explains Hasnul Hadi Samsudin, Creative Digital Content Weaver at Textured Tapestry.

According to the former senior manager at Rhythm and Hues Malaysia, who was a part of the team that won an Academy Award for their animation work in the film Life of Pi, says that connection with the audience is what a good story is all about.

“If you agree with Negroni’s theory, good for him and good for you, because you build a better world for that story,” he says.

Basically, Hasnul is of the opinion that it doesn’t really matter if the theory about Andy’s mum is right or wrong. It’s what the audience get out of it that matters. And if they are willing to go to such extremes to find a meaning, then a connection has happened.

“Upin & Ipin is the closest animated story Malaysia has to something that can build a strong connection with the audience,” he adds.

Agreeing with this thought is Aizyl Azlee, creator of the pop culture website The New Forward, who explains that the sign of a good story is when an audience goes away thinking that they have gotten a full experience.

“Unkrich and Pixar do not have to reveal anything about the back story of the characters in Toy Story. That mystery just makes the story richer,” he says.

Aizyl says that it makes no difference if Andy’s mum is Emily or not. The process of being involved in the mystery is already more than enough to give that fulfilment and that connection to the audience.

“If you think Emily is his mum, then you’re right. If you think she isn’t, then you’re also right. That’s all. The important thing is that the audience get whatever they get out of it. It’s a personal connection,” he adds.

So is there a lesson that can be learnt from the emergence of the Pixar theory by Negroni for the Malaysian animation industry? Aizyl doesn’t think that there is necessarily any specific lesson just for Malaysian animators to learn.

“Good storytelling is something universal. It goes without saying that wherever you are in the world, you have to pay attention to the craft,” he explains.

What can be said is that the local industry faces one big challenge, and that is to balance being culturally relevant locally, and to be marketable internationally. If our local boys can get this right, then everything would be smooth sailing.