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May 16th, 2007 12:10 PM by Aaron H. Bynum

Capitalizing on its success for roughly a year now in Asian territories, the television animation Nanoboy continues to expose Singapore animation group Scrawl Studios as a group of ambitious artists and writers eager to break into the international animation market. Recently acquired for limited distribution in the North American market, the animated television series Nanoboy is an action-comedy that follows a microscopic hero in his fight against microscopic villains in order to save the health and well-being of those he cares for. Employing a variety of creative strategies that draw from different parts of the global animation community, Scrawl Studios is proud of this animation production and are as eager as ever to become a successful contributor to the international animation industry.

Originally hitting the airwaves in the latter part of 2006, Nanoboy has found an audience in Asian markets other than those Singaporean. Nanoboy is a two-dimensional animated series where the youthful energy of a tiny hero proves to be far too much for the viruses and diseases evildoers seek to spread in the germ-free city of Neopolis.

At first a normal boy made fun of for his small stature, he later engages in de-atomizing to become Nanoboy this kid has decided to take up arms in the fight in the micro-cosmos, a universe in need to defense against dangerous amoeba and bacteria. Protecting microscopic metropolises from the throes of rogue proteins and disease, Nanoboy and his Nanosquad team fight day in and day out for the protection and safety of organisms everywhere.

With animation production by Singapore's Scrawl Studios, Nanoboy is an animation project that was originally developed for the mobile platform but eventually found its way to television distribution. Attractive for its imaginative and fun approach to small worlds whose smaller heroes are constantly embattled with smaller villains, Nanoboy has been distributed, successfully, all throughout Asia in the Korean and Thai regions; the program will additionally find its way to western shores in Europe and North America as well. Nanoboy is co-produced with Agogo Media, Ltd. for distribution in the Asian market and Village Productions for anticipated distribution to the European market. Agogo co-productions animation fans may be familiar with include or have included Code Lyoko and Berenstain Bears animations. Village productions has co-produced the Korean animation Rocketboy & Toro [past A.I. news: "Korean Animation on Britain's BBC"].

In recent news, the Scrawl Studios animation has been a part of overseas distribution deals that include regions such as Australia, Canada, Korea, Norway, Finland and Thailand. Cookie Jar Entertainment, a group whose increased presence in North American animation distribution has jumped in recent months, has reportedly inked distribution to Canada. Currently halfway through production on Season One of Nanoboy, Scrawl Studios has knowledge of a much anticipated second season, and expects revenue to be gaining quite a bit both this year and next. With original content creation, Scrawl Studios has found that smaller animation groups can be just as powerful and just as inventive as larger, well-recognized industry entities. Nanoboy has 52x12 currently slated, with a reported budget of 150,000 (USD) per episode.

Seng Choon Meng, co-founder and Head of Development at Scrawl Studios has commented in past interviews that his interest in animation stems from a variety of sources: Japanese manga and Japanese animation, savvy western productions that aim for a particular creative base and much more. Implementing his consumer interest and professional skill into the animation industry, the animator has helped Nanoboy develop and mature into a production that speaks well of international co-productions.

"Nanoboy has what it takes to appeal to an audience that is not only Singaporean, but Asian," Seng Choon Meng stated in an interview.

"Korea being a very mature production base with a very sophisticated audience, it also shows that in terms of the story-telling, in terms of the design, look and feel, Nanoboy can appeal to that kind of demographic as well. So it validates our belief that Nanoboy is a property that can travel and we'll be able to do well in territories outside of Singapore."

The Media Development Authority of Singapore has been additionally supporting of Scrawl Studios, pointing investors in their direction and offering a continual partnership with the company's success. With the outspoken goal of creating 65 hours of licensable content for television, online and mobile outlets/channels in the next three to five years, according to The Business Times, Choon Meng's Scrawl Studios isn't holding anything back. The animation group has been profitable for a few years now, and looks to capitalize on its first television animation in a way that allows the company to continue doing what it loves: develop and produce quality animation accessible by multiple demographics in multiple cultures.