Taiwan-made cartoon to screen in US

Taiwan’s “Katz Fun” animation series will soon be entertaining U.S. cable TV audiences. (Courtesy of Bright ideas Design Co. Ltd.)

• Publication Date：02/08/2010
• Source： China Times

A Taiwan-made animation series based on characters derived from a traditional Chinese painting stored in the National Palace Museum will be screened on carton channels across 17 U.S. states this year.

Kuo Cheng-hsiung, president of Bright Ideas Design Co. Ltd.—a Taipei-based digital content company—said it took his firm four years to create the “Katz Fun” 3-D characters. “They come from a traditional ink painting that depicts four children playing in a Sung dynasty-style garden.”

According to Kuo, the company’s animators employed traditional Chinese elements, remaking and digitally transforming these to create stories with a modern feel that children can relate to.

“Katz Fun” follows the adventures of a mystical tiger named Katz and a group of children dedicated to delivering him from the lecherous clutches of the Dark Messenger. “The characters are lovable and the stories full of fun and imagination,” Kuo said, adding that he expects the series to strike a chord with viewers aged six to nine.

“The positive education value and humanistic touch carried in the stories, along with the Asian feel of the characters, will probably see the animation become a big hit in Europe, Japan and [mainland] China,” he said.

Founded in 1999, Bright Ideas has collaborated with NPM on a number of digitalization projects, as well as designing multimedia guides. The company is also working on creating a product line based on “Katz Fun” characters.

“Our team always looks to revive traditional concepts and give them a second lease of life in today’s world,” Kuo said. “This is inspiring process that delivers creative and cultural rewards. (PCT-JSM)

(This article originally appeared in “The China Times” Feb. 7, 2010.)