Malaysia's Cool Animation: Upin & Ipin

My research on animation lately brought me to the super twins of Upin & Ipin. If you are Malaysian, you should have at least heard bout these 2 school kids & their friends.. or at least seen them somewhere..

After all, they are everywhere...! From TV show to road shows to their own monthly magazines, car stickers & even their own merchandise - mugs, school bags, etc... you can't really miss this duo.

Now what's so great about them? For one, they are overly Malaysian - they have your 3 major races thing, living in the kampung (village), and with Malaysian culture like respecting the elders, and also some Islamic teachings (eg about fasting). So this is definitely a thumbs up approval by papas & mummies.

But then how about the kids? Why would they like them despite the fact of having all these 'heavy stuff' which would most likely not fall into the cool category of most kids.

Well, for one, Upin & Ipin are cheeky & funny (think Alvin & The Chipmunks)... ie they are very likeable characters. And who can forget, they have that trademark of "Betul.. betul.. betul" (ie Right, right, right).

But like most successful cartoons, the storyline is also heart warming & interesting (the fact that it is set in the village most likely contributes to this).

Add all these factors together, and we get a very successful cartoon series & animation (their movie was one of the top movies of all time in Malaysia to date)... and with over 2 million fans on Facebook!

They are most likely the next big thing in Malaysia after movie hero Michelle Yeoh or pop princess Siti Nurhaliza... in fact, they may just be bigger.