Fast-growing yet largely invisible on the world stage, Southeast Asian animation is at a crossroads. Enter the South East Asia Animation Report, a document that aims to establish essential facts and figures about the region’s industry.
The report’s introduction cites an eye-catching statistic: around 90% of U.S. tv animation is produced in Asia (including Netflix and Warner Bros. Animation’s Green Eggs and Ham, pictured at top, which used Manila’s Snipple Animation as one of its service studios). It adds that a bulk of that comes from the countries covered here, namely Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
What’s certain is that Southeast Asia is flourishing as a service industry. But like China and Latin America, it wants to expand further and establish itself as a major creator of original animation. The report identifies greater collaboration between the region’s companies and countries as a crucial step in this direction.