THE Covid-19 pandemic has not dampened the creative spirit of the team behind the popular animated hero Ejen Ali.
Just like the spunky young titular character that rises above setbacks, the personnel at Wau Animation have worked hard and soldiered on.
The effort has certainly paid off with its latest project – an animated short entitled Ejen Ali Misi: Juang – garnering over 17 million views and more than 270,000 likes on YouTube.
Last month, the three-minute, 21-second video won the Best 3D Animated Kids TV Programme award at ContentAsia Awards 2021 in Singapore.
The timely short feature, co-produced with Primeworks Studios, was part of a public service campaign that paid tribute to the tireless frontline workers and their virtuous efforts in fighting the pandemic.
"We are very thankful for the support and recognition. We had initially planned for it to come out between Merdeka and Malaysia Day last year, but we ended up releasing it on Dec 25 instead.
"Honestly, we were panicking a bit when the first MCO was implemented in March last year, but we managed to eventually organise ourselves well thanks to the dedication of our 'Wauriors'," said Wau Animation chief operation officer Faiz Hanafiah during a recent virtual interview.
He added that although the creative industry was badly hit by the pandemic, the animation sector was fortunate to be able to continue working.
"We were able to fully work from home, which we are still doing now, since we could carry on as long as we had computers and Internet access," he said.
Ejen Ali Misi: Juang features an epic battleground fight populated by the show's various characters, plus an animated cameo by Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.
"It took us about six months to complete. We wanted to visualise the various aspects of the pandemic so we had a representation of the virus, the face masks, vaccine, swab test and action of taking a temperature.
"We also wanted to convey a message of togetherness, where everyone including the heroes and villains was working in unity to defeat a common enemy.
"It was a way for us to give Malaysians hope, as well as to raise the spirits and pay homage to our many frontliners," he said.
VITAL CONNECTION
When asked what the biggest challenge for the team was, Wau Animation chief brand officer Fuad Md Din replied: "Internet connection."
"We had our staff at home working from all over the place. Some were out of state, while others were at their kampung and couldn't leave due to the lockdown.
"We had to find ways of working remotely and to make use of the network system in the office.
"There was a lot of troubleshooting involved, but now with the experience, we are able to conduct a much better workflow," he said.
So what's next for Wau Animation? Hollywood maybe?
"We're focused on giving our best and if there are opportunities that crop up, then it would be a dream to head to Hollywood and even work with the likes of Pixar.
"Ejen Ali is now available on Disney+ Hotstar and China's Tencent Video, so we're hoping to bring the show to Taiwan and Russia as well," said Fuad.
Faiz added that the team is currently hard at work on Ejen Ali The Movie 2.
"We're working on the production part of the sequel and it's quite labour intensive. So we've hired more personnel and all of our teams are currently on it."
But he explained that the release date for the highly anticipated sophomore feature film was still anyone's guess.
"Due to the pandemic and the closure of cinemas, we can't say when the film will be out.
"The pandemic has even affected our first film which came out in 2019. Although it was a hit and collected millions at the box office, certain cinemas have not fully paid us yet since they are also facing very hard times," he said.
As for pushing the Ejen Ali brand further, Faiz said that Wau Animation was willing to work with others to get funding.
"Funding is always a concern, so we're always open to collaborations, as well as partnerships for licensing and merchandise," he said.
So far, some of the Ejen Ali-themed products that fans can purchase include disposable and cloth face masks, body wash, sanitisers and special edition gold bars.
Children can also have fun playing the Ejen Ali Misi Boot Camp board game and the Ejen Ali Misi Alliance trading card game.
In the digital realm are mobile games, namely Ejen Ali: MATA Training Academy, Ejen Ali: Emergency and the multiplayer Ejen Ali: Agents' Arena, which are available in Google Play Store and Apple App Store.
Ejen Ali chronicles the adventures of a boy who accidentally binds himself to an intelligence device, IRIS, belonging to spy agency MATA.
He then finds himself unwillingly recruited as a secret agent whilst trying to juggle his chaotic normal life.
Following its debut on TV3 in 2016, Ejen Ali has been broadcast in over 50 countries in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, as well as the Indian subcontinent, China and North America.
Ejen Ali The Movie raked in more than RM30 million at the box office after six weeks in cinemas in 2019.
It has become Malaysia's third best-selling film of all time and the No.1 best-selling animated film to date.
In April, the film was also chosen to represent Malaysia at the Animated Feature Film Competition of the Fantaspoa Festival 2021 in Brazil.
All episodes of the Ejen Ali series are available on the official Ejen Ali YouTube Channel at www.youtube.com/ejenali.